What to expect from your 9-month-old baby

Your baby turns 9 months old and as you can notice, you have come a long way as a parent with 9 months of experience in taking care of a baby.

However, they are now moving around the house either crawling or trying to take baby steps, they are getting increasingly stubborn, chatty, and adventurous giving you a run for your money by posing questions after questions, mostly with their actions, if not words.

Brace up for different adventures now as your 9-month-old is growing faster than you think and will overwhelm you from time to time. Knowing what to expect from a nine-month-old baby is the first step to preparing for this new adventure and here you can read and learn what to expect from your little one before they throw the next surprise at you.

Milestones

You look back at those pictures of your baby from when you first brought them home and look at your bundle of joy now, they are hardly recognizable now. They look different, act differently, and are full of personality now with loads of curiosity and eagerness to learn.

As mentioned in earlier articles, each baby is different and grows at their own pace. Some grow fast, some are slow and if they do not reach certain milestones, know that there are no set yardsticks for their growth…

While some get better and faster at crawling, some may start walking with the help of walls and some may begin walking, skipping all the initial steps altogether. Make sure you enjoy whatever your baby’s achievement is, without worrying about them being slow, in case they don’t start walking by themselves.

Meanwhile, there are some developments you may expect to notice at a 9-month-old. They are likely to develop the ability to change their positions quickly, easily transitioning from sitting to crawling to standing positions. However, they may take time to go from standing to sitting positions and they may get stuck and get cranky about it.

Your little one understands language slightly better now. They may have had their own language until now, with sounds better known to them. But now they understand what you say and try to emulate you, and may succeed in saying a few words here and there. This is the time you start getting your child to understand “no”. Start implementing boundaries and teach them what “no” means so they know what to do when you ask them not to do something.

They will now start recognizing more people like your extended family, or friends who visit you often, your domestic help, if you have any, and sometimes even their doctors.

Bottomline is, entering the final quarter of their first year, they are now ready to throw more and more pleasant surprises at you and it’s time you keep those cameras handy, ready to document those special firsts!