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Your baby at 9 months: development milestones & what to expect
At nine months, everything seems to speed up. Your baby is on the move and learning fast. Here’s what’s typical and how to support them as they grow.
8 min
Can you believe your baby is now three-quarters of a year old? They have now been outside your belly for as long as they were inside your belly – incredible! Which nine months do you think went quicker?
The days may feel like a bit of a blur, actually, since you’re continuously moving from one activity to the next. And your little one is growing so quickly and doing new things all the time, it contributes to that feeling of time flying by. Before you know it, you’ll be thinking about their birthday!
Physical development milestones at 9 months
With some encouragement, your little one might be starting to clap and wave, and you could even get a very limp high five. This is another way for you and your baby to communicate, and it really is so rewarding to watch them joining in with songs, waving hello and goodbye, and greeting everyone who comes into the coffee shop. Turn it into a conversation by waving back, clapping with them, and rewarding all their efforts with lots of smiles and encouragement.
Moving is still high on the agenda at 9 months, with recent crawlers trying to figure out how to go forwards, experienced crawlers trying to stand up, and new movers backing themselves into a corner. Your little one might get frustrated that they can’t move the way they want to move, but keep it playful and give them lots of positive feedback – they’ll get there.
Your little one may now be able to get into a sitting position from lying down – which might surprise you the first morning you see them sitting up in their cot! If they’ve managed to pull themselves to standing, you might also see them bending down to pick up toys. This is all part of the balancing act of learning how to use their whole body in coordination.
Milestone checklist
- Clapping – At last! Your little one can finally do the ‘clap, clap, clap’ part of Wind the Bobbin Up. Probably not at the right time though. Soon!
- Waving – Your little one might be mistaken for a royal with all that waving. It’s adorable.
- Bending – Now that they can bend to the floor, is it time to put on Legally Blonde and learn the bend and snap?
Child brain development at 9 months
Now that your little one is learning to communicate with you, you’ll find them lifting their arms to be picked up, pointing to things they want, and generally using everything at their disposal to ‘talk’ to you, even while their language (https://www.hipp.co.uk/advice/baby/bonding-and-development/speech-and-language-milestones-at-6-12-months) remains limited to babbling. This is a great sign that they are preparing to find their first words, and a good time to get out the books during playtime as well as at bedtime.
For playtime books, look for really simple picture books with just one or two words per page or per picture, which helps your little one build those mental connections. Animal books are especially enjoyed and if you’re going to a baby signing class these books will help you use the new signs you’re learning. Story books with actions and repetition are also great for developing understanding and familiarity with language. And of course, lift the flap and sound books are really good for babies to experience that ‘cause and effect’ learning we’ve already talked so much about.
Most babies will enjoy cuddling up on their loved one’s lap to listen to a story, especially if they’ve had a busy morning playing. And most grown-ups love this cuddly time too.
Social & Emotional Development
How is your little one doing with separation anxiety, and have you found a solution for it yet? Different things work for different children – and what works one week might not work the next, so it can feel like a never-ending struggle.
Though this can be a long phase, it won’t necessarily be a consistent one. Some days they might have no worries about you going to the loo by yourself, and others they might scream the house down. A lot depends on what else they have going on. Developmental leaps, sore gums, feeling tired or hungry or poorly, can all play a part in how your baby copes when you’re not there.
Since you can’t possibly be with them all the time, this is one of those storms you’re going to have to weather. Try to ease the pain of, for example, leaving them with a grandparent, by making sure you’ve dealt with the immediate discomforts (hunger, wet nappy, tiredness) before you leave so that they’re in a more resilient frame of mind. Say goodbye, so they know you’re leaving, but don’t turn it into a prolonged performance. Try to organise with whoever is taking over for a fun, exciting distraction to try to keep your little one’s mind off your absence.
Crucially, they will likely be fine within a few minutes of you leaving, so don’t let it spoil your time away. You’re doing important development work here. In time they will learn that every time you go away, you always come back. For now, they’re learning that they are safe without you.
Sleep & Feeding
Rhythms and routines at this stage
At 9 months your baby has put purees behind them and is well on their way to eating family style meals. Things like spaghetti bolognese, chicken casserole, and lasagne can all be part of their diet now – so long as you make sure all the pieces are small enough to swallow easily, and there’s no added salt in their dinner. This might mean there are days when you’re all eating the same thing at the same time – lovely!
In terms of sleep, it would be lovely to promise you that by now your baby will be sleeping through the night. The truth is that while many babies can sleep a solid 10 hours at this age, there will be many more still waking through the night. If sleep deprivation is causing you grief, read on.
Still waking through the night
What is causing your baby to wake every few hours overnight? It could be they’re uncomfortable – wet nappies, sore gums, too hot, too cold. It could be that they’re hungry – though they are technically capable of going through the night without food now, many babies simply don’t believe it. It might be their busy brains waking them up, reminding them of all the cool things they could be doing – 3am clapping anyone? According to The Lullaby Trust, a third of babies won’t have slept through the night – ever – at 12 months old. So if your little one is still waking, you’re not alone.
No doubt you’ve tried just about everything, but here’s a little reminder of sleeping do’s and don’ts:
| Do's | Don'ts |
|---|---|
| Do stick to a regular bedtime routine – this will help condition your baby to know when they’re expected to sleep. | Don’t forego daytime naps – this will not help them sleep at night and may even make them overtired, which conversely prevents them from getting a good night’s sleep. |
| Do keep the lights off, noise levels low, and basically be as boring as possible during these night wakings. | Don’t rush in if they’re awake but not unhappy. If they’re gurgling or practicing clapping or waving to their teddies, they’re ok. Try and let them settle themselves back to sleep. |
| Do keep your baby's room at a comfortable temperature (ideally between 16–20°C) and dress them appropriately for sleep). | Don’t offer milk as a first resort – they might not be hungry, and you don’t want to encourage them to think they need milk to get back to sleep. |
Constipation
Now that you’re deeper into weaning and getting accustomed to the newer, stinkier nappy situation – have you noticed anything different about your baby’s bowel movements?
Some babies get constipated when they start weaning – which feels logical, given they’re moving from a pure-liquid diet to solids, but is best avoided if possible! Make sure you have a sippy cup of water for your little one at every meal and encourage them to drink from it, and of course give them plenty of fruit and vegetables. You might also find that certain foods – sometimes too much dairy – can make your little one constipated, so if it’s happening regularly try to keep a food diary so you can track what’s going on.
If you’re worried your little one is constipated, go and see your GP for advice and support. They might prescribe laxatives if they think it’s needed, or they might suggest you try some exercises – bicycling their legs, for example, or massaging their tummies. Any baby massage techniques you’ve picked up may come back into action.
It’s important to try to get on top of constipation at this age, not just for health reasons, but also to avoid it becoming a chronic issue as they grow up and start potty training, when it become very stressful for the whole family. If you have any questions about constipation, ERIC, the children’s bowel and bladder charity, is a really great resource offering lots of useful information and support.
Looking after yourself
Will you be heading back to work soon? Statutory maternity pay runs for 39 weeks in total, though you are entitled to take a full year – so you might be feeling the pinch, financially, while also facing down a ticking clock. These months at home with your little one have been such a drastic change to being at work – how are you feeling about it?
There are so many things to think about when heading back to work. Will you be returning full time, or part time? Will your baby be in nursery, with a child minder, with family, or a combination of all three? How will you balance the books, paying for all these things – especially if taking a drop in salary.
It’s a lot to think about and it’s really important that you don’t feel left alone to make all these decisions. Your partner is equally invested in your baby being well cared for, in your financial stability, and in your happiness – so they should be involved in deciding what happens next. View some nurseries, meet some childminders, talk to your employer and to other parents to see how they are making things work. You don’t need to carry all the weight of this on your shoulders.
Meanwhile, when it comes to thinking about yourself and work, don’t doubt your abilities. It’s easy to imagine that a year away will have somehow left you less skilled than you were when you went on maternity leave. The truth is the opposite. You’ve spent the last 9 months multitasking like an absolute boss, squeezing an hour’s work into a 20-minute nap, learning a whole bunch of new skills and adapting on the fly every single day. They’ll be lucky to have you.
A Note on Development Milestones
Developmental milestones are guides – not deadlines. If your baby isn’t ‘keeping up’ with your friends’ babies, it isn’t an immediate cause for concern. Every child develops at their own pace. That being said, your health visitor and GP are there to support you with any queries you might have and will always be happy to see you with your baby if you have any worries.
