Bounty feature

Your 10-month-old

• Help your baby settle
• Feeding a 10-month-old
• Refusing food

Try a toy
Plastic ‘beads’ or shapes that snap or link together let your baby create shapes. Sets of stacking cups or towers of bricks help your baby to learn how to build… and how to destroy!

Sucker-bottomed toys can be very useful in the high chair if your baby has a tendency to throw all his toys onto the floor. There are some imaginative Ferris wheel type suckered toys with brightly coloured moving parts to keep him amused while waiting for his dinner.

Start art
You may think that painting and colouring are better saved until your baby is a bit older, but it can make for an enjoyable if messy hour! Let your baby have a go with the paintbrush or crayon, or help him to use his feet and hands to make print pictures. Even if the finished product isn’t a masterpiece, you may still want to hang it on your wall, and your baby will have been learning about colours and paints the whole time.

Feet first
Babies start to stand by themselves any time from around now, but that doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a pair of shoes. Babies still need to feel contact with the ground and spread their toes in order to balance. At home, going barefoot is fine. It’s when your baby is taking his first steps outside, and his feet need protection that you need to think about putting those feet in shoes.

Baby proofing reminders
As your baby grows and starts getting mobile, perhaps even walking by now, you need to check your home again to make sure that dangerous objects and hazards are removed:

• when your baby starts to pull himself up in the cot, move the mattress to the lowest position
• if your baby starts to climb out of the cot, either take the side off the cot altogether, if possible, or move him into a bed
• remove mobiles and hanging toys from his reach
• keep hairdryers and other potentially dangerous electrical equipment unplugged and out of reach
• check the weight limits and recommended age guides on equipment and toys; move on to the next stage when appropriate
• don’t use tablecloths or placemats, which your baby can pull down along with the things on them!
• keep rubbish in a ‘locked’ cupboard or use a childproof bin.

Twin tip
As babies start doing more and more, differences between twins can become more noticeable. Don’t try to compare them, though. Every baby is different, and that includes babies born on the same day. Just enjoy watching them develop at their own pace and watching their different personalities shining through.

Help your baby settle
An older baby may find bedtime distressing because it separates him from mum and dad. You can help your baby to form a bond with a ‘cuddly’, and this will help. Muslin squares and terry nappies are great favourites. Place one against your baby while you feed him, so that he comes to associate it with comfort and warmth. Give him the cuddly at sleep times, and it can give him the security he needs to fall asleep.

Squinting
Some parents become worried because their baby’s eyes do not seem to look in the same direction. See your doctor as soon as you suspect a problem. If there is something wrong, your doctor will refer your baby to an eye specialist.

Formula on the go
If you’re planning a journey and your baby is bottle fed, readyto- feed formula feeds can be useful. Alternatively, take with you a vacuum flask of boiled water (cooled for no more than 30 minutes) and make up a fresh feed when your baby is hungry. Never keep formula warm while you’re travelling; it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.

Babies this age

• are working on walking
• may be ‘cruising’; holding onto furniture as they take some steps
• are perfecting the thumb-and-finger pincer grasp
• assert themselves
• develop fears
• imitate you
• say word-like sounds
• understand a lot more than you realise
• point at things they want.

Feeding a 10-month-old
Your baby will now enjoy lumpier foods and bite-size pieces. As your baby’s teeth come through, they can be put to good use!

Bite-size ideas
Babies like to snack sometimes, just like we do. So try these mini meal ideas:

• toast soldiers
• cooked vegetables (such as carrots or potatoes) cut into sticks
• breadsticks or rice cakes
• ripe banana cut into long strips to make it easier to pick up
• tiny sandwiches.

Refusing food
All babies refuse some solid foods sometimes. Don’t try to force her to eat. Just remove the food and try again later. Try to be low key about food. If you get cross with your baby, mealtimes can become very frustrating. Give her plenty of attention the rest of the time and offer her food without a fuss at mealtimes. As long as your baby is growing well, and is lively and is still taking plenty of milk (several breastfeeds or one pint of formula milk a day) don’t worry if she eats less than usual some days. If your baby is off colour, not gaining weight, ill, or you are worried, see your doctor or health visitor.

Less milk...
At this stage, when your baby is eating more solid foods and as her mealtimes gradually match your own, you can decrease the amount of milk she has. Give up breast or bottle feeds gradually. Replace them with a drink from a cup. Often the daytime feeds are the first to go. By the time she has had some solid food and a drink from a cup, your baby may not need the bottle or breast.

Foods your baby might love:

• flaked fish (check carefully for bones)
• well-minced meat or chicken
• cubes of cheese
• well-cooked eggs, chopped or mashed
• macaroni cheese.

For the next You and your growing baby guide Chapter, Emergency first aid, Click here