It’s amazing how your 9 months old babbling baby starts to show joy and interest in all the small things and also gets annoyed when something is forbidden or out of reach. In this blog post, you will find the important milestones for a 9-month baby – the normal growth range, sleep, feeding, activities, must-have toys, and a daily schedule. Milestones When researching my content, I use official websites such as the CDC ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). They list the below as the milestones a child should reach by the end of 9 months: Social/Emotional Milestones Is shy, clingy, or fearful around strangers Shows several facial expressions, like happy, sad, angry, and surprised Looks when you call her name Reacts when you leave (looks after, reaches for you, or cries) Smiles or laughs when you play peek-a-boo Language/Communication Milestones Makes a lot of different sounds like “mamamama” and “bababababa” Raises arms to be picked up Cognitive Milestones (learning, thinking, problem-solving) Looks for objects when dropped out of sight (like his spoon or toy) Bangs two things together Movement/Physical Development Milestones Manages to get to a sitting position on their own Moves things from one hand to another Uses fingers to “rake” food towards himself Sits without support By 9 months of age some babies might start using the furniture to try to stand and even climb stairs on all four. Baby Growth The normal growth range at 9 months old differs between boys and girls. Length Girls range from 63 – 78 cm (25-31 in.) in height; Boys range from 65 – 79 cm (26-31 in.) in height; Weight Girls range from 6200-12100 gr (14-27 lb.) in weight; Boys range from 6900-12400 gr (15-27 lb.) in weight. Another important aspect is that the growth rate of the baby will slow down after six months: you will expect the baby to gain about 500 gr (1 lb.) and 1 cm (3/8 inch) per month moving forward. Expect your baby to triple his or her birth weight by about age 1 year. For more info on this, check the Growth WHO Standards table and other baby standards here. Baby Sleep At this age your baby will have 2 naps a day with the below structure: 1st nap at 9 am; 2nd nap at 1 pm; 6:30 – 7 pm bedtime (with no feedings during the night). It is normal for your baby to get up between 6 and 7 am in the morning, but also normal at this age to wake up between 5 to 6 am. Your baby might seem well rested ( probably slept for 11 hours during the night), but 12 hours is also achievable. There are a few things to try in order to push the wake up hour to 7 am: keep a sleep log to note down what you change in the routine and how it impacts your baby’s sleep. Get a free here; if you don’t have 80% darkness in the room, you should try harder to achieve it. I wrote here about the important room and baby sleep training prep; if your baby sleeps less than 1.5hr during the day, move bedtime 15 mins earlier each day until the baby will get on track (remember: sleep log!); if your baby sleeps more than 3hr during the day, try and cap the longest nap (so the baby will be prepared for the 12 hours night-sleep). if you tried all of these, just let the baby enjoy some crib time (don’t make light in the room until it gets as close as possible to 6:30-7 am). Baby Feeding This is the perfect time for the baby to enjoy 3 solid meals a day. See some of the solids that can be introduced below: Try waiting at least 2 days after introducing new food to the baby to check for any allergic reactions. If you notice symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting it might mean that the baby is allergic to a certain food type. Don’t forget to start giving the baby water. If you use bottled water, check the level of sodium or sulphate. Look on the label to check the levels: Sodium (Na) <= 200 mg/l ; Sulphate (‘SO’ or ‘SO4’) <= 250 mg/l. Baby Eyes Your baby’s eyesight is still maturing, but now he/she is able to see pretty well near and far and focus on moving objects. At this age, some babies will have the patience to “read” books, but most of the babies will just eat them. Activities Sky is the limit, there are so many activities that you can do without the need of any special toys or materials: practice crawling and standing up practice getting down from the bed kick a ball crawl up a step play the drums and the piano drop objects in a container get to a hidden toy clapping and playing peekaboo calling “Mama” or “Dada” giving you toys experiencing cold and hot meet animals saying bye bye drinking from a cup learning to self feed learning the meaning of Yes and No Must-have toys (Note: I participate in the affiliate amazon program. This post may contain affiliate links from Amazon or other publishers I trust (at no extra cost to you). I may receive a small commission when you buy using my links, this helps to keep the blog alive! See disclosure for details.) When you exhaust all the activities that use no materials, get some of the below toys (9M +); your baby will love them: Sorting Bin. It allows babies to slip the blocks through elastic bands at any position. Get them here. Musical Press and Go Inchworm Toy. This toy will attract your little ones to chase and crawl, which will build muscle strength and gross motor skills as they play; buy one here. Interactive 3D Fabric Activity Book. Stimulate Growth of Vision and Brain: Colorful content and
Tag: Baby Growth
6 Months old? Or the “big half year birthday” 6 months is not an anniversary yet, but it should be celebrated as your baby has achieved so much until now and so did you! Your baby is not an infant anymore, but rather a tiny human who smiles and laughs. In this blogpost, you will find the important milestones for a 6 month baby – the normal growth range, sleep, feeding, activities, must-have toys and a daily schedule. Milestones When researching my content, I use official websites such as the CDC ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). They list the below as the milestones a child should reach by the end of 6 months: Social/Emotional Milestones Knows familiar people Likes to look at self in a mirror Laughs Language/Communication Milestones Takes turns making sounds with you Blows “raspberries” (sticks tongue out and blows) Makes squealing noises Cognitive Milestones (learning, thinking and problem-solving) Puts things in their mouth to explore them Reach to grab a toy they want Close their lips to show they don’t want anymore food Movement/Physical Development Milestones Rolls from tummy to back Pushes up with straight arms when on their tummy Leans on hands to support themselves when sitting By 6 months of age some babies might be able to remain in a seated position for limited period of time and to roll over and pivot ( 360 degrees). Very few babies will army crawl, start to clap , reduplicate babbling ( repetition of syllables like “baba”, “mama” , without understanding the meaning). Baby Growth The normal growth range at 6 months old differs between boys and girls. Length Girls range from 61 – 70 cm (24-27 in.) in height; Boys range from 63 – 72 cm (25-28 in.) in height; Weight Girls range from 5800-9500 gr (13-21 lb.) in weight; Boys range from 6200-9900 gr (14-22 lb.) in weight. Another important aspect is that the growth rate of the baby will slow down after six months: you will expect the baby to gain about 500 gr (1 lb.) per month moving forward. For more info on this, check the Growth WHO Standards table and other baby standards here. Baby Sleep At this age your baby will have 3 naps a day with the below structure: 1st nap after 90 min ; sleeps after every 2 hours ; 7 pm bedtime (with none to 2 feeding times; I personally wait for at least 5 hours from bedtime for the first night feeding). Baby Feeding This is the perfect time for the baby to enjoy one solid meal a day. See some of the solids that can be introduced below; Try waiting at least 2 days after introducing new food to the baby to check for any allergic reactions. If you notice symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting it might mean that the baby is allergic to a certain food type. Don’t forget to start giving the baby water. If you use bottled water, check the level of sodium or sulphate. Look on the label to check the levels: Sodium (Na) <= 200 mg/l ; Sulphate (‘SO’ or ‘SO4’) <= 250 mg/l. Baby Eyes Your baby’d eyesight has improved a lot by now and they are able to see right across the room. Also, if you are wondering what eye color your baby will end up, you might have a good idea by 6 months of age. A baby’s eye color will settle around 11 months of age. Activities Sky is the limit, there are so many activities that you can do without the need of any special toys or materials: Introduce the concept of body parts by showing the baby the major body parts in a mirror, or while naked; Chat as much as possible to encourage the baby make sounds; Show the baby how clapping works; Encourage crawling by making the baby reach for a favourite toy; Allow the baby to play with a spoon and a sippy cup to establish eating habits; Funny faces are so powerful at this age, your baby will enjoy the show and you’ll be awarded with giggles; Introduce new people as often as possible; especially now that separation anxiety might kick in; Peekaboooo; Teach the baby the meaning of NO. Must-have toys (Note: I participate in the affiliate amazon program. This post may contain affiliate links from Amazon or other publishers I trust (at no extra cost to you). I may receive a small commission when you buy using my links, this helps to keep the blog alive! See disclosure for details.) When you exhaust all the activities that use no materials, get some of the below toys (6M +); your baby will love them: Stack of circles. They’re very popular and promote hand-eye coordination and creativity. Get them here. Play mat. If you haven’t received by now as a gift from your friends , buy one yourself. Bath toys. Now that they can sit, your baby will spend more time in the bathtub. Get ready and prepare the setup. Teething toys. The first one or two teeth are coming soon, teething toys help a lot: can be soothing and help alleviate pain. 6 Month Baby Schedule 7:00: Wakes up & Nurse / Receives bottle 7:30: Playtime (activities & toys) 9:00: Nap 10:30: Solid food & Nurse / Receives bottle 12:00: Nap 1:30: Outdoor time 15:00: Nap (usually a cat nap if the first 2 naps were long) 16:30: Nurse / Receives bottle 17:00: Playtime (activities & toys) 18:00: Bath time and pre-sleep routine 18:30: Nurse / Receives bottle 18:45 – 19:00 Bedtime! This is a personal blog. My opinion on what I share with you is that “All models are wrong, but some are useful”. Improve the accuracy of any model I present and make it useful!