Your baby is growing so fast that you can’t believe the things she can do. She is learning to think and solve problems; for example when a toy drops she looks to see where it went. She is doing more with her body on her own like trying to crawl or bum shuffle. She is making so many different sounds to communicate with you, that you’re often trying to figure out what she is trying to say.
You also notice that when you compare her to other children, she likes her environment to be more calm and quiet rather than with lots of sounds and activities. This is her personality shining through!
Although children develop at their own pace there are milestones you can watch for that show she’s growing well.
If you have any questions about your child’s development, please share them with your child’s health care provider!
Your baby from 6 to 9 months can:
- Imitate facial expressions
- Become upset when a caregiver leaves
- Look for a hidden toy
- Respond to “peek-a-boo”
- Respond to telephone ringing or a knock on the door
- Imitate a cough or other sounds like “ah,” “eh,” or “buh”
- Use gestures to get what she wants like reaching her hands up to get you to pick her up-Sit without support for a few minutes
- Stand with support, when helped into standing position
- Use her hands and mouth to explore an object
You may not even know it, but the everyday interactions you do with your baby supports her development!
Here are just a few examples:
- Create routines for all regular activities, like changing, bedtime, feeding or playtime. This helps her to learn what’s happening next and helps control her emotional reactions.
- Respond to your baby’s babbling sounds by making the same kinds of noises. This helps her to know that you are interested in what she is saying.
- Read simple books with pictures and encourage her to hold and turn the pages. This will teach her to love reading
- Gives things to your child that she can bang together like pots, plastic bottles, wooden spoon and blocks. She will learn that her actions cause things to happen
- Give your baby different objects to play with in the bath like different sized containers. This will help you baby to enjoy the water while learning basic math like volume.
- Help your baby to calm down when she is upset. She will learn to soothe and calm herself over time
- Roll a ball back and forth on the floor with your baby in a sitting position. She will learn how to take a turn while playing.
Check out my previous posts on what to expect when baby is 0-2 and 3-6 months.
Want to know what to expect when your baby is 9 to 12 months? Stay tuned for my next post in this series about your baby’s growth.
