Let's look at the main developmental milestones for 4 to 8 months old. 

Developmental Milestones: 4 - 8 months

From around 4 months, babies are gaining muscle strength, and this next phase will bring about many physical milestones. 

Between 4-8 months, these are the milestones you should expect to see:

• The fun begins as they are trying to roll over to explore and to reach out to get to objects.
• When placed on their tummy, they’ll lift up their head, and try to crawl, and prop themselves up.
• It’s around this time that your baby will start to sit up for brief periods and may also start to pull themselves up on furniture for support and stand for short periods. 
• You’ll notice your baby may show wariness at new faces and may get upset when not with their primary caregivers.
• They might recognize their own name and smile at familiar people and stretch out their arms to be picked up.
• They react when they see other babies as they're starting to become more social.
• As they become more interested in the objects around them, they’ll gravitate towards toys that interest them (brightly colored/make sounds) and will be able to pass objects from one hand to the other.
• They’ll enjoy playing with their feet and toes!
• As they leave the newborn phase behind and the weaning process starts, their eating and sleeping patterns become more settled, and they can stay awake for longer periods. You’ll notice them showing a preference for certain foods. 
• The teething process starts at around 6 months. Typically, the first teeth to come in are almost always the lower front teeth (the lower central incisors), followed by the top front teeth. Most children will usually have all of their baby teeth by age 3.

The Best Activities for Kids: 4 to 8 months old

Time To Play

Now that your baby is no longer in the newborn stage, she’s ready for more fun. Stimulate her by recreating sounds and actions she can mimic like clapping and waving. You’ll be rewarded with his laughs as you gently tickle him and play games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake and splashing around in the bathtub. As he’s now entering the crawling phase, place a toy just out of his reach and watch his determined little face as he tries to grab or swipe at it.

Reading Books

Now’s a great time to introduce short and simple picture books with large colorful images. Point out the images on the page e.g. the animal and mimic the sounds they make to keep her engaged.

Download and share our Developmental Milestones Checklist for 4 - 8 months olds

Other Milestones you might want to look at: