What should an 8 month old be doing?

Read next: 2 months · 3 months · 4 months · 5 months · 6 months · 7 months · 9 months

An 8 month old should be sitting steadily, working out how to move, feeding themselves finger foods with growing confidence and objecting loudly when you leave the room. That last one is new, normal and the reason this month's sleep can wobble.

The ranges below are consistent with HSE and WHO guidance. They are wide on purpose, and a healthy 8 month old can sit anywhere inside them.

How much should an 8 month old sleep?

Roughly 12 to 15 hours in 24, usually 2 naps, with wake windows of about 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Many 8 month olds do a long night stretch, and a feed or a wake is still within normal. The wake windows chart has the numbers for the months around this one.

If sleep suddenly fell apart this month, you are not imagining it.

Why has my 8 month old stopped sleeping?

Three things collide around 8 months: separation anxiety means being put down alone in a cot is suddenly personal, new skills mean the cot becomes a gym for sitting up and kneeling practice at 3am, and teething picks its moments. The result is a sleep wobble that feels like the 4-month regression all over again.

It is temporary. Keep the bedtime routine identical, keep night visits brief and boring and give plenty of daytime practice at the new skills so they are less thrilling at night. Our guide to when babies sleep through the night has the honest ranges, because an 8 month old who wakes at night is not behind anything.

What should an 8 month old eat?

By 8 months most babies are on 3 small meals a day: lumpier mashed food plus a growing amount of finger foods they feed themselves, like soft-cooked vegetables, pasta pieces, banana, toast fingers and grated cheese. Self-feeding is messy and slow, and it is exactly how eating gets learned. Keep iron-rich food coming daily and offer water in a cup with meals.

Milk is still 500 to 600 ml of formula a day or breastfeeds on demand, usually 3 to 4 feeds. No honey before 12 months, no added salt or sugar, no whole nuts and nothing small, hard and round. The starting solids guide covers textures and safety, and the HSE's weaning pages are the official reference.

What milestones should an 8 month old have?

The 8 month old baby milestones to look for:

• Sitting steadily and reaching in every direction without toppling, maybe getting into sitting alone.
• Starting to move: crawling, creeping backwards or bum shuffling. Some babies skip crawling entirely, which is a style, not a problem.
• Pulling to kneel or stand against the couch, with a wobble.
• Banging toys together and picking smaller things up as the pincer grip starts to form.
• Screeching, squealing and shouting to get your attention. Loud, normal communication.
• Knowing their name and turning reliably when called.

An 8 month old baby screeching at full volume in a quiet room is not a behaviour problem. They have discovered their voice gets a reaction, and they are running the experiment repeatedly. It fades as pointing and first words arrive. The communication guide covers what comes next.

Is separation anxiety normal at 8 months?

Yes, and it is a healthy sign. Around 8 months babies work out that you keep existing after you leave the room, so being left, even for a kettle, can trigger real protest. Clinginess with you and wariness of everyone else, including grandparents, often arrive together.

It passes. Short, consistent goodbyes work better than sneaking off, which teaches them you might vanish at any moment. Peekaboo is genuinely useful here: it is a game that proves things come back. Expect it to colour bedtimes too, which is half the story of the sleep wobble above.

What is a normal day with an 8 month old?

An 8 month old baby feeding schedule and sleep schedule often looks something like this.

• Wake and milk around 7am, breakfast around 8.
• Nap around 9.30 to 10.30.
• Milk around 10.30, crawling practice, lunch around 12.
• Nap around 1.30 to 3.
• Milk around 3, a walk or floor play.
• Tea around 5, bath, final milk feed and down for the night around 7 to 7.30.
• Possibly a night feed, possibly a 3am kneeling demonstration.

Two naps that move around a bit is the usual shape now. If the second nap runs late, bedtime can drift later without the sky falling.

What checks or vaccines happen at 8 months in Ireland?

No vaccines this month. The next ones are at 12 and 13 months, and the Irish vaccine schedule guide has the full timeline. The 7 to 9 month PHN development check often lands right around now: sitting, hand use, babbling, hearing responses, vision, weight and a chat about weaning and sleep. If you have not been offered it, ring your local health centre. Our PHN visits guide explains what to expect.

What is not normal at 8 months?

Worth ringing the PHN or GP about, rather than waiting for the check:

• Not sitting without support.
• Not babbling, or not responding to their name, to sounds or to you.
• Not taking any weight on their legs when held standing.
• Not reaching, grabbing or picking things up.
• Using one side of the body much more than the other, or limbs that feel stiff or floppy.
• Refusing milk and meals with fewer wet nappies, or weight that is not moving over a few weeks.

How do I know if my 8 month old is on track?

Compare your baby against the ranges above over a week, not a day. One clingy, sleepless, dinner-throwing day is just Tuesday. A fortnight where feeds keep shrinking, or the babble goes quiet, is a pattern worth raising at the 7 to 9 month check. Lullagram logs meals, milk, sleep and milestones in a tap and turns a week of logging into the averages and reports the PHN asks about. It is free to try on Android, iPhone and web.

Every baby has their own timetable. This is a guide, not medical advice. If you are worried, ask your PHN or GP.