Baby Physical Development in 7-Month-Olds: Raking Skills

It turns out all that hoping your mother did when you were a teenager came true: You did get a kid exactly like you. Too bad for Mom, that's just fine by you, since right about now you think that animated baby of yours is practically perfect!
What You're Thinking: "Breathtaking. I shall call him ... Mini-Me."

• Your child is learning to pick up smaller objects at this point in baby's physical development, but will still try to grab small objects by "raking" or using all her fingers to try to grab them. Put a few Cheerios on her high chair tray and see what she does with them. (Then put her on the floor afterward and see what she does with the ones she threw off the tray!)
• By now, if you put a cookie or cracker in your baby's hand, she can bring it to her mouth and feed herself. That doesn't mean the entire cookie or cracker will actually end up in her mouth, it just means that she's physically able to do it.
• Your baby is beginning to understand "object permanence"—the realization that things are there even if she can't see them. (This is the opposite of your "object transience"—the realization that your baby gut is still there, even though you choose to pretend that you can't see it.) Experiment with her new discover by covering a favorite toy with a blanket, and watching her look for it.

• You feel like a bona fide baby food connoisseur. Heck, you're a bona fide baby everything connoisseur!
• You finally packed up all your maternity clothes for storage (and it felt great to try on those third-trimester pants and have them fall to your ankles!).
• You and your baby met a friend for lunch and you only had to reach down a dozen times to retrieve fallen toys from under the high chair.
• You can't carry a tune if your life depended on it but you sing all the time to your baby.
• You discover that crumpling paper is a fascinating activity for a baby (and forget about it if you throw in some sticky tape!).

Why is it that your baby's toys are already breeding like rabbits? Where did those scads of plush animals come from? How are you going to take back the house? Take a tip (and a toy storage solution or two) from us and keep the house from becoming a temporary toy store. Read more ...

• My 7-month-old still hasn't started teething. Should I be worried?
• What should I do if my older baby still wakes up every two to three hours to feed at night?
• Easy Stress-Relief Techniques for Parents

Do It: Side Kick
Grab your little sidekick, pop him in the stroller and try these thigh-burning moves.
Buy It: Crib Rock Couture T-Shirts
Awesome tees for your little rock star!
Cook It: Baby's Chicken and Vegetable Stew
It's never too early for comfort food, especially when it's the healthy kind.
Discuss It: Chat with other new mamas and papas on our Baby Board.

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All babies grow and develop at different rates. So please don't compare your kid with so-and-so's baby from across the street—you'll just drive yourself nuts. If you have any concerns, bring them up with your pediatrician at your baby's next checkup.