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- 9 - 10 Weeks Old Baby Development Milestones
Your baby at 9 - 10 weeks: development milestones & what to expect
Learn what to expect at 9–10 weeks: baby growth, sleep patterns, crying and colic support, and how connecting with other parents can make a difference.
6 min
No two ways about it, this is a pretty adorable age. At 9 – 10 weeks your little one is growing more responsive to your face, your voice and other stimuli – and as their muscles develop they’re interacting with the world in new ways too. Time to put away the dangly earrings and invest in plenty of hair ties – the grabby hands are coming!
Physical development milestones from 9 - 10 weeks
Those chubby thighs! Those delicious arms! Your little one is growing fast now and increasing muscle mass at a steady rate. That means they should be able to hold their head up for longer during tummy time, they’re kicking their arms and legs, and they have started to work out how to work their fists.
This is the perfect time to introduce some simple toys, like a baby rattle, which is easy to hold and fun to engage with. Choose something soft to start with – they won’t have full control yet! – and with a gentle noise that won’t drive you completely crazy. Your baby will love the feeling of making sounds through their actions and all this repetitive shaking and bashing is a huge learning experience for them, as well as great exercise.
Eyesight is continuing to develop, with better 3D vision helping them develop their hand-eye coordination, which is all part of this full-body effort to start picking up objects.
All this work is exhausting, so try to watch out for signs of tiredness and get your little one down for a nap before they become overtired. Wake times are typically limited to 90 minutes at the most at this age – and sometimes just 30 – so even if you’re not looking to establish a fixed schedule, it’s worth bearing that in mind.
Milestone checklist
- Sleeping slightly longer at night – Your little one’s circadian rhythm should start to kick in soon, meaning they’re getting slightly better at sleeping in the night and being awake in the day
- Getting grabby – Your baby will soon start interacting with the world through touch, by which we mean grabbing at whatever they can get their fists around. Your hair. Your jewellery. Any pets that venture too close.
- Listening ears – As your little one pays more attention to the world around them, you might notice them pause to listen to new noises. Try experimenting with different sounds to see what floats their boat. (This is as good a time as any to start working on their taste in music!)
Child brain development at 9 - 10 weeks
It may sound like the same old story from one week to the next, but every day marks an increased interest in the world around them at this age. In this period, if you’ve started introducing books to their play and bedtime routine, look for ones with faces in – since faces are highly appealing to babies at this age.
Their colour vision hasn’t fully developed yet, but clear, simple illustrations will appeal – as will photographs, if you fancy making a photobook to introduce your little one to all the important people in their lives.
Social & Emotional Development
Conversation is a while off yet, but your baby will definitely be making noises at you around now, so take the opportunity to have a good chat. Whether they’re on your lap, on the floor, or in a baby seat, enjoy holding eye contact and making silly sounds back and forth, watching their mouths twist to find the shape of new sounds. It’s incredibly rewarding to have this time with them, and you might even start getting a few almost laughs. Make ‘talking’ part of your play and don’t be afraid to be silly with them. Most babies love being bounced and tickled, and it’s all good for strengthening the bond between you.
If you’re taking your little one to baby classes, watch them make the most of their newfound skills to explore their senses, reaching for objects, grabbing crinkly paper foil, watching the pretty flashing lights, or just listening to the baby songs. Expect these situations to tire your baby out and don’t feel obliged to stay for a whole session if it’s too much. Remember that for little ones, overtired can often result in a body that’s too wound up to sleep, which can throw off your whole day.
Sleep & Feeding
Rhythms and routines at this stage
Talking of sleep, the good news around this time is that your baby’s nocturnal melatonin levels are increasing, meaning they are beginning to grasp that nighttime is for sleeping and daytime is for being awake. While this won’t immediately translate to long stretches of sleep overnight – you may still be being woken every few hours for milk – if you keep things dark and quiet, you might find it’s getting easier to settle your baby back to sleep after a feed. Just remember to still make time for winding to avoid being woken again soon after by a gassy, uncomfortable baby.
In terms of feeding, the number of ‘meals’ will vary depending whether your little one is breast or bottle-fed, and how much they’re taking at one time. By this point some breastfed babies will be emptying both breasts in one feed, while others might still be falling asleep before they’re really full. Around six to eight feeds per 24 hours is normal – but so long as your baby is thriving, just keep feeding on demand.
Moving to a cot
As your little one grows, they might start to look a little snug in their moses basket. Transitioning to a new sleeping spot can be a little tricky for your baby, who might actually enjoy being cosily encased in their bed. But it’s worth doing before they start rolling over and need the room to stretch out. There are a couple of things you can try to make the transition easier:
- Begin with daytime naps in the cot to get them used to the space
- If it fits safely, pop the moses basket inside the cot for a few nights so the view is more familiar
- Bring the cot mattress out for (supervised) tummy time fun, so it smells familiar
Encouraging daytime waking
Part of getting nights working better is getting your days in order. You can encourage your little one to be awake during the day by getting them out into the daylight more, either by taking them on walks in the buggy – still facing you – or out to meet friends, or just throwing open the curtains and playing by the window so the light’s shining in.
These daytime wakings won’t be very long, and you don’t need to be busy, busy, busy all the time they’re awake. It’s more about exposing them to daylight to encourage that circadian rhythm to do its thing.
Appointments at this time
By now, your baby should have been seen by the health visitor for their 6 – 8 week check and the nurse for their 8-week immunisations. If you haven’t been contacted about either of these, go to your local health centre and book in the appointments.
The immunisations are on a 4-weekly schedule between 8 and 16 weeks, so you will need to get on track to make sure your little one has all the vaccinations they need to keep them safe. There’s still plenty of time, and being a little late won’t matter in the long run, but the sooner you do it, the sooner they’ll be protected.
Looking after yourself
As your baby starts to fall into a more predictable pattern of waking and sleeping, it begins to be a little bit easier to reclaim some time for yourself. Whether your idea of self-care is uninterrupted time with a book, a nice long bath, time at the gym, or out with friends – try to make time for it. Becoming a parent is life-changing and it’s so easy to feel detached from who you were before your little one came into the world. These moments alone or with friends, doing something that’s just for you, are important to help you hold onto your sense of self post-birth.
Asking for and taking this time doesn’t make you selfish. Whether you think of it as filling your cup, setting boundaries, or simply living your life – it’s all good role modelling for your baby, who will learn about self-care from the way the adults in their life look after themselves.
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.
