What is your baby doing?
- Being able to move from his stomach to a sitting position
- Developing a sense of humour
- Objecting loudly if you take something he wants away from him
- Standing unaided for a few seconds
- Responding to gestures such as wave bye-bye and give that to me
What not to worry about – dropping a day nap
Some time around nine months you’ll find your baby needs less sleep during the day, and will usually drop her morning nap and just go for a longer lunchtime nap. If your baby is fighting naps all together but gets cranky and weepy by mid afternoon try implementing a routine that encourages her to sleep every day at the same time i.e. a sleep after lunch in her bed with no distractions.
How you can help your child at this age
- Widen the rhymes and songs you sing to your child. Songs like Pop Goes the Weasel, 10 Green Bottles and itsy-bitsy spider help teach coordination of words and actions and counting skills.
- Research shows the more conversation and vocabulary your baby hears from you, the stronger her own language skills will eventually be.
- Television does not count when it comes to language, as babies need to hear interactive conversation that teaches them the basic patterns and rhythms of speech.
Troubleshooting - “I worry that my baby has missed a few key milestones what should I do?”
“Milestones are very variable”, says Dr Andrew Raffles, Paediatrician & Developmental Specialist at Viveka. “But in the first year of life, physical skills, such as sitting, rolling, crawling and then walking are important, but it’s hearing and vision that are the essential ones. If you’re worried or in doubt play your hunches - and speak to your health visitor or GP - they will either reassure you, or arrange a developmental assessment.”
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