Baby Development: 9 Months Old

Your baby

Will love to learn from toys that can be shaken, moved about and put into other containers.
May cry when you go out of sight; playing games of peek-a-boo and hide and seek can help them to learn you don’t actually disappear when they can’t see you.
Eating finger foods and using a spoon will help improve manual skills and hand-eye co-ordination.

Babies of this age…

May be able to pick up small objects with a thumb-and-finger ‘pincer’ action
Can eat finger foods on their own
Have good control when sitting and can turn their heads round and reach for toys without toppling over
May be able to get into a sitting position from lying down
Will look for a dropped object (or a thrown one... again and again!)
May be crawling by now (although some babies ‘bottom shuffle,’ and some never crawl at all)
Will start to pull themselves up to a standing position by holding on to hands or furniture
May start to be wary of strangers

Here comes trouble!

Once babies start to crawl, they’re into everything and need constant supervision. This is when safety in the home becomes most important. Having a safe environment to place your baby in for a few minutes – whether it's a playpen, a cot or a baby activity centre – can be a lifesaver when you have something urgent to take care of.

Now’s also the time many parents start saying ‘no’ a lot. Distraction is usually a better tactic than constantly saying no, however, and you’ll soon become skilled at offering your baby a lovely toy to gnaw on instead of your mobile phone!

Keeping a record is worth it

Your baby is growing and changing so fast these days that it's a challenge to keep up! It’s a good idea to periodically jot down the events of a typical day in your baby’s life - what they do, what they say, what they eat. You think you’ll never forget, but you will!