9 Months – Where should my baby be?

Mama you made it! Your beautiful bundle of joy is now 9 months old. In this blog, I am going to help you to know what to look out for to ensure your baby is developing just right. We will be chatting all things motor, sensory, communication, and play! Remember that each child is unique, and this serves as a guide to help you understand your child’s development. Should you be worried about anything make sure to contact your pediatrician or local OT for advice!

Motor Milestones

When you hear the words “motor milestones” used by any health care professional they are referring to your baby’s physical development and certain skills that we expect a child at a certain age to have developed. 9 months serves as an important age for your baby to have met certain skills. These include:

• Your baby should be able to sit without support
• Their ability to sit and reach for toys without falling over should now be developed.
• Your baby should start to move with alternating leg and arm movements e.g. crawling or creeping.
• They should be able to put weight through their arms and pick their head up easily during tummy time.
• Your baby should be able to pick up small objects with their thumb and fingers.

Some Red Flags to Look Out For

• If your baby has a rounded back or is unable to straighten their back when sitting.
• If your baby is having difficulty crawling
• If they struggle to take weight on their legs.
• Predominant use of one hand.

How to stimulate my 9-month-olds motor milestones

• Provide your baby with the opportunity to explore with their body by placing them on the floor and letting them problem solve on how to get over obstacles and how to move from point A to point B.
• Don’t “rescue” your baby too quickly – allow them to make mistakes and solve problems as long as they are safe whilst doing so.

Sensory Milestones

Oh, the world of senses! This can be so complicated and overwhelming for new parents as we are always concerned about the correct amount and quality of sensory stimulation to provide our babies with. When we refer to senses we are referring to your babies ability to process visual information (Visual Sense), process auditory information (Auditory Sense), process the feelings of different materials against their skin (Tactile sense), and most importantly their ability to process movement (their vestibular sense). Your baby’s sensory milestones include:

• Your baby should be enjoying a variety of movements such as bouncing and rocking.
• He/She should enjoy exploring and examining objects using both their hands and mouths.
• Your baby should start to investigate the shapes, sizes, and textures of toys and surroundings.
• He/she will start to experiment with the amount of force needed to pick up different objects.

Some Red Flags to Look Out For

• Your baby does not enjoy playing with toys of varied textures.
• Your baby does not enjoy musical toys.
• If your baby does not move and explore their environment when placed on the floor.
• Your baby does not enjoy different types of movement.

How to stimulate my 9-month-olds sensory milestones:

• Provide your child the opportunity to explore with their different senses by exposing them to different positions during play, different textured toys and objects, and allowing them to literally “smell the roses”.

*More specific strategies to come in the blog post pertaining to your baby’s sensory world!

Communication Milestones

Communication is more than just words and sentences. So yes, at 9 months old your baby is already starting to develop their communication. Communication consists of both verbal and non-verbal attempts at engaging. By 9 months of age your baby should have developed the following communication skills:

• Your baby should start to use an increased variety of sounds and syllables when babbling.
• Your baby should start to recognize the sound of their name.
• Your baby should start to participate in two-way communication.
• Your baby should start to imitate sounds.

Some Red Flags to Look Out For

• Your baby is not interested in interacting with others.
• He/she does not maintain eye contact during playful interactions.
• There is no babbling.
• If your baby is unresponsive to sounds or voices.

Play Milestones

Play can often be described as the work of our children. It is the activities that they engage in which have behavioral, social, and motor rewards. Play has to be child led, spontaneous, and be enjoyable for the child. Your babies current play skills should include:

• Your baby should be interested in interacting with others, e.g. playing peek a boo
• He/she should enjoy playing with different sensory toys e.g. musical toys, toys of different textures and colours.

Your baby should maintain eye contact during playful interactions.

How to stimulate your 9-month-olds play milestones:

• Expose your baby with the opportunity to explore his/her environment.
• Provide your baby with the opportunity to play with toys of different textures, colours and toys that make noise.
• Provide your child with the opportunity to learn cause and effect – that their actions will produce an effect.

Remember that everything mentioned in this blog is just the tip of the developmental iceberg. Your little bundle of joy is a complex being who is developing and growing at their own pace to become their unique self. Remember to have fun and just relax! No one can do mummying better than you!

Mama you’ve got this!