Crawler: Your 09-month-old
This month is an important time for your baby’s social and language development. Word and rhyming games are big favorites. By this age your baby knows her name and what lots of words mean that are associated with people or objects she loves. If you motion for her to "come here," she understands what you want without having to explicitly hear the words.
Babbles and sounds
By now your baby is probably an expert babbler. In fact, she may have even moved on to repeating one sound over and over. A few may have linked a word with the object such as "wawa" (water) or "baba" (bottle).
Your baby’s growth
At 9 months babies usually range from 26.25 inches long and 16 pounds (10th percentile) to 29 inches long and 21.5 pounds (90th percentile).
This month your baby may begin to:
- respond to simple requests (such as "Give Mommy the toy.")
- use consonants as she begins saying "mama" or "dada"
- learn and say one other word
- pivot in a circle as her coordination continues to develop and her muscles strengthen
- feed herself, although she may be a bit messy
- manipulate tiny objects, such as veggie dices and cereal, between her thumb and forefinger
- drop toys on purpose to watch them fall and then look for them—a sign that your baby is curious about how she can affect the objects around her
- develop the instinct to bounce to music
- point and poke with her index finger as a sign of her growing curiosity
What you can do
- Since this is a big month for verbal development, praise your baby when she tries to speak.
- Continue singing nursery rhymes, playing music, and talking to her.
- Smile and respond to your baby's babbling, but let her ask for some items before giving them to her. This will support her language development.