Week 35

Days 239 to 245 · 34 weeks 0 days to 34 weeks 6 days old · about 8 months This week a typical baby is about 70 cm (27.6 in) long and weighs around 8.2 kg (18.1 lb). Babies vary widely, and what matters is that your baby keeps growing along their own curve on the growth chart. Your baby turns 8 months old this week. They are likely more mobile, more social and more interested in sharing their world with you, looking where you look and laughing at games they know. You may be settling into the rhythm of illness and recovery that comes with this age. This week covers following your gaze, keeping a sick baby home, play that gets your baby moving, a sample day of eating, your baby's sense of humour, the 8-month mark, and what to do when the cold reaches you.

Day 239 · 34 weeks 0 days old

Your baby is learning to look where you look

Turn your head to look at the window and watch what your baby does. More and more often, they will follow your gaze to see what you are looking at. Soon they may also follow your point, looking at the thing rather than at your finger. This is called joint attention: two people paying attention to the same thing at the same time, and knowing that they are sharing it. Joint attention usually develops over the second half of the first year and keeps growing well into the second. It matters because it is how babies link words to things. When you say "dog" while you are both looking at the dog, your baby can connect the sound and the animal. Without that shared focus, the word just floats by.

You build joint attention by noticing what catches your baby's eye and talking about it. Follow their lead more than you direct them. If they are fascinated by the washing machine, the washing machine is today's lesson. By around 12 months, most babies follow a point, look back and forth between you and an object, and try to draw your attention to things themselves. If your baby rarely looks at you or at what you show them by then, mention it at their checkup.

Try this: Look at something across the room, say "Oh, look!", and see whether your baby turns to follow your gaze.

Day 240 · 34 weeks 1 day old

Keeping a sick baby home, and when they can go back

If your baby is in childcare, you will often face the morning question: should they go today? Rules differ between settings, so ask for your provider's illness policy in writing. Common guidance has a few shared themes. Babies usually stay home if they have a fever, are vomiting or have diarrhea, have a rash with fever, or are too unwell to join in ordinary activities. Many settings ask that a child be free of vomiting and diarrhea for 48 hours before returning, because tummy bugs spread so easily. Some infections, like conjunctivitis or impetigo, may need a doctor's visit or treatment before your baby goes back, depending on local rules.

A runny nose or mild cough on its own, in a baby who is otherwise playing and eating normally, usually does not mean staying home. If that were the rule, many babies would never attend at all.

Think about your backup plan before you need it. Who can step in when your baby is ill: a partner, a grandparent, a friend, a sitter? Can you work from home on short notice? Sharing sick days between adults, where possible, keeps the load from falling on one person every time.

Try this: Ask your childcare provider for their illness policy and write down two people you could call on a sick day.

Day 241 · 34 weeks 2 days old

Play that gets your baby moving

Your baby learns to move by moving, and the best place for that is the floor. Plenty of floor time, on a safe, clear surface, lets babies practise crawling, pulling up, cruising and all the in-between positions that build strength and balance. Time spent strapped into seats, swings and carriers is useful, but try to keep it short when your baby is awake.

Make movement worth the effort. Put toys just out of reach. Make a gentle obstacle course with cushions and pillows to climb over, under supervision. Roll a ball for your baby to chase. Sit a little way off and call them toward you. Babies who are pulling up enjoy a low, sturdy table with toys spread along the top.

Push toys that your baby stands behind, such as a weighted cart or a sturdy box they push across the floor, can be fun once they are standing well, as long as you are close by. These are different from sit-in baby walkers, which are unsafe and will be covered in a later week.

Outdoors counts too. A blanket on the grass, sand under bare feet, a gentle bounce on your knees. Babies who move a lot also tend to eat and sleep better.

Try this: Build a small cushion mountain on the floor today and let your baby crawl over it while you stay close.

Day 242 · 34 weeks 3 days old

A day of eating at about 8 months

Every baby eats differently, but it can help to picture what a day might look like at this age. Here is one example for a baby who has been on solids for a couple of months. Amounts vary hugely, and your baby's appetite is the best guide.

Early morning: breast milk or formula. Breakfast: iron-fortified cereal or porridge made with your baby's usual milk, with mashed banana, plus a strip of toast. Mid-morning: a milk feed. Lunch: soft pieces of chicken or lentils, steamed broccoli, and a little rice or pasta, with water in an open cup. Mid-afternoon: a milk feed, and perhaps a small snack like plain yogurt with soft fruit. Dinner: flaked fish or scrambled egg, sweet potato wedges and peas squashed flat. Bedtime: a milk feed.

Notice the pattern. Each meal includes an iron-rich food and a mix of textures. Milk is still offered several times a day, which is typical at this stage. Water is offered with meals in small sips.

Some days your baby will eat everything, other days almost nothing. Look at what they eat over a week rather than a single day. If you are worried about how much your baby eats or how they are growing, your baby's doctor or nurse can check their growth curve with you.

Try this: Compare today's meals with this example and see whether you can add one more iron-rich food somewhere.

Day 243 · 34 weeks 4 days old

Your baby is starting to share a joke

Babies have a sense of humour, and around now it really starts to show. Your baby may laugh at a silly face, a funny noise, a sock on your head or the moment you pretend to sneeze. They may start to anticipate the funny part of a familiar game, giggling before the tickle arrives.

What babies find funny tells you a lot about their thinking. They laugh at surprises that break a pattern they know: a cup on your head instead of on the table, a dog that says "moo". To find that funny, your baby has to know what usually happens. Humour is a sign of growing understanding. Soon your baby may try to make you laugh. They might repeat something that got a giggle, offer you a toy and snatch it back, or put the cup on their own head and watch your face. These are some of the first deliberate jokes, and responding with a laugh tells your baby that sharing fun works. Games like "I'm going to get you", "round and round the garden" and songs with a big finish are perfect now. If your baby turns away or looks overwhelmed, slow down. Fun works best when your baby can choose to stop.

Try this: Do something gently silly today, like wearing a bowl as a hat, and see whether your baby laughs or tries to copy you.

Day 244 · 34 weeks 5 days old

Eight months: a look at this stage

Your baby is about 8 months old today. Think back to the sleepy newborn you first held, and how far they have come. At this age, many babies can sit steadily, get into sitting on their own, crawl or scoot, and pull to stand. They rake up food and may be starting to pinch it. They babble in long strings, recognize their name and some familiar words, and know very well who their important people are.

These are typical skills, not a checklist to pass. Some babies at 8 months are already cruising. Others are not yet crawling, and that is often perfectly fine. Babies tend to put their energy into one area at a time, so a baby who is very chatty may move a little later, and the reverse. Babies born early are judged by their corrected age.

If you have a concern, do not wait for the next checkup to mention it. Things worth raising include a baby who is not yet sitting with support, does not babble, does not respond to sounds or their name, does not reach for things, seems very stiff or very floppy, or has lost a skill they once had. Most of the time, a check is reassuring.

Try this: Write down three new things your baby has started doing this month, so you can remember this stage later.

Day 245 · 34 weeks 6 days old

When the daycare cold reaches you

Sooner or later, the germs your baby brings home will find you. Parents of young babies often catch more colds than they have in years, and being ill while caring for a baby is hard.

Most colds in adults pass in about a week. Rest when you can, drink plenty, and eat simple, nourishing food. If you are breastfeeding, keep going. Your milk does not pass on a cold; instead it carries antibodies that may help protect your baby, who has usually been exposed already anyway. Many common medicines are compatible with breastfeeding, but some decongestants can reduce milk supply and some products combine several ingredients, so check with your pharmacist before taking anything. Wash your hands often, especially before feeds and preparing food, and cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. There is no need to wear a mask at home unless you want to, though some parents like to when they feel very unwell.

Call your care provider if you have a high fever, trouble breathing, chest pain, a cough that lasts more than a few weeks, or you feel too ill to care for your baby safely. Then call someone to help.

For your partner: When the other parent is ill, take over as much baby care as you can and encourage them to sleep, even during the day.