Enfamil’s 7 Month Milestones
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Dropping Games
This month your baby will enjoy dropping things and watching them fall. Sitting in his high chair creates the perfect opportunity to drop a spoon. A rattle. Whatever else is handy. Pick it up and he’ll drop it again. This cycle can become frustrating for Mom and Dad. But your baby is learning lots in the process.

Amazing as it seems, dropping helps your baby to understand an object’s characteristics. Heavy or light? Hard or soft? Noisy or quiet? Your baby is also learning that his actions make things happen. This is the scientific principle known as cause and effect. And your baby is developing a memory of the object. Remembering that it still exists as it falls through the air and lands on the floor.

Reaching with One Hand
As your baby masters sitting up, you’ll notice that he’s beginning to grab things with one hand instead of two. This step allows your little guy to make all kinds of new discoveries. Holding a toy with only one hand means that he can use the other to do something useful. Push a button, for example, or pull a lever. In the next few months, he’ll get much better at using his hands as tools.

Fingers are tools, too. Have you noticed that your baby sometimes picks things up with a palmer grasp, using his fingers to push something into his palm? Around this age, he may also begin picking up small things by pressing his thumb against the base of his pointer finger. This is called the scissors grasp.

Hearing and Language
Your seven-month-old is a remarkably good listener. That’s why he’s already making big strides toward learning how language works. He listens carefully to the words he hears most often, like “mommy,” “daddy,” and his own name.

Amazingly, your baby knows the sound of some familiar words. When babies hear people talk, they hear a continuous stream of words, all slurred together without periods or commas. But your seven-month-old is already learning to pick out where words begin and end. Language experts call this word segmentation. The next step is understanding what words mean. Word comprehension usually begins between eight and ten months.

Brain Teaser
Did you know…that your baby is becoming more aware of new things, which can make him feel wary or fearful? This may be happening because new connections are forming between the cortex and the deep brain structures associated with emotions.

Attention Getter
Your baby enjoys a rich social life now. He may respond to his name, and is excited to see people he recognizes. He’ll babble or cough to get your attention, and raise his arms to be picked up. You may notice he’s dropping things, too. But the goal isn’t really to get your attention. He’s actually learning about the object and about the principle of cause-and-effect.

A Nutritional Nugget
No doubt, you’ve already heard about the importance of vitamin C in your baby’s diet. You can rest assured that if you’re breastfeeding or feeding your baby Enfamil LIPIL® infant formula, you’re giving him his vitamin C. Not to mention the other nutrients he needs to grow and develop, like DHA and ARA. Remember these important nutrients found naturally in breast milk are also found in Enfamil LIPIL. With breast milk levels* of these nutrients, Enfamil LIPIL is the only brand that’s been shown in independent clinical studies to improve brain and eye development.† And the blend of nutrients in Enfamil LIPIL supports the developing immune system.

To ensure your baby is getting all the vitamin C he needs, doctors recommend that your baby drink breast milk or formula for at least the first twelve months of life. Cow’s milk lacks the proper amounts of vitamin C and iron that your baby needs to develop. Plus, it contains higher levels of proteins and minerals that are not appropriate for babies.

Also, now’s the time to talk to your doctor, if you haven’t already done so, about expanding baby’s menu of solid foods.

Life of the Party
At this age, your little one is a master at taking center stage. And since your baby is such a showoff, it’s a great time to show him off. While you’re widening his social circle, make sure it includes babysitters and relatives who might help care for him in the future. In a month or two, stranger anxiety is bound to set in. So, in the meantime, why not enjoy his willingness to be with others?