Your baby at 9 months
By 9 months, your baby is much more mobile and likes to explore. Babies at this age are crawling and can pull up to stand. Safety in the home becomes an important issue as your baby’s curiosity (and mobility) grows. Your baby now responds to his or her name, loves to cuddle with family and may show shyness or fear of strangers. Games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake are popular.
What your baby is learning now
While babies may progress at different rates, the following are some of the common milestones your baby may reach in this age group:
- Makes sounds and uses gestures to communicate
- Fills and dumps things
- Uses toys to make noise
- Turns pages in books
- Grasps smaller objects with hands and fingers
- Sits, crawls and pulls up to stand
- What your baby is learning next
- Begins to recognize and know what words mean
- Points to objects
- Recognizes pictures in books
- Plays with others by handing them things
- Likes games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake
- Plays with toys by pushing, pulling, stacking and dumping
- Stands alone and sits with control
- What you can do to encourage your baby’s development
- Read books together and name the pictures.
- Name objects you see.
- Call your child by name.
- Encourage your child to imitate your words and sounds.
- Praise your baby for good behavior.
- Use finger foods to promote use of hands to grab food.
- Games and activities
- Containers for filling and dumping
- Soft blocks
- Rings on a stick
- Board books
- Activity centers with different textures, shapes and sounds
- Push-and-pull toys
- Balls
