Infant Development: 11-month Old Baby Care and Tips

Your little one is gearing up to finally become a toddler. She is working hard at acquiring all the skills that she can before her big day. This month will be full of activities with your energetic baby.

What are some of the milestones of your 11-month old?

Your baby may take her very first step in this month.
Your little one will be walking around by holding on to either someone, toys, or furniture. She will also probably be standing without any support for a few seconds.
Your little one has mastered crawling by now and she will try to get into action the moment you put her down.
Your baby will be able to clap her hands on her own, wave you bye-bye, and bang toys or blocks together.
In this month, some babies also figure out how to drink from the sippy cup.
Your baby will mimic and copy the sounds and the gestures of the parents.
By now, your baby has her favorite and familiar toys. Ask her where those toys are and she will point you in their direction.

Table of Contents

Your baby’s developments in the eleventh month

Your infant is going to continue getting taller in this month. Now that she is starting to spend some time standing up, with or without support, she is getting a whole new (horizontal) perspective of the world. This is going to keep your baby on her literal toes this month.

Weight & Length-

On average, 11-month old girl babies weigh around 19.3 pounds and that of the baby boys is 20.9 pounds. The average height of 10-month-old girls is approximately 28.8 inches and that of boys is 30 inches. In this month, babies generally continue to gain almost half an inch and also put on around 3 to 5 ounces every week.

However, all this hard work is going to constrain your baby’s rate of growth and she may not gain as much weight as she used to. If you notice that your baby’s rate of growth is extremely slowing down, you may talk to the doctor to rule out any serious issues.

Sensory developments-

By now, your baby has achieved the vision and depth perception almost as that of an adult. She can also follow people and objects moving. She will be easily making out familiar faces from almost 19 feet away. Your baby is going to start listening and looking at the same time.

Being able to do both of them simultaneously is going to help her understand her surroundings even more. Don’t be surprised if you find your baby ceaselessly and enthusiastically poking and prodding things. Some babies also start to rip papers and magazines. Give her some baby-safe finger paints and watch her turn into Mozart.

Physical changes-

A lot of babies start undergoing physical changes from this month. You roly-poly chubby baby may start to lose her baby fat and thus become lean. As she is working hard to get moving and walking, those adorable baby rolls that you love oh so much will start to vanish and will give way to lean muscle. Ensure that you know all the rules associated with raising kids around animals as well.

Personality development-

Your baby’s personality will gradually start to shine through in this month. Even though such early personalities often keep changing, it can be a total pleasure for parents to learn more about their babies. But she has probably got her likes and dislikes by now.

While some babies tend to be shy and demure, some tend to gravitate towards independence and seems to be quite expressive about their likes and dislikes.

Feeding your 11-month-old

Your baby has by now become a full-on solid foods eater. However, she will continue to have breast milk or formula along with solids this month, unless the doctor recommends a complete transition to solid foods. Your little one will continue to nurse or have formula 3 to 5 times every day this month.

She will also have at least 3 meals of a variety of solid foods and she will also be snacking on finger foods for 2 to 3 times per day.

Bottle feeding: Your 11-month-old baby should continue to drink around 24 to 33 ounces of formula every day. Therefore, if you give your baby the bottle or the sippy cup 3-5 times every day, each session will have around 6 to 8 ounces of formula.
Breastfeeding: Feedings generally continue to be around 3 to 5 times every day and babies at this age generally will have 24 ounces of breast milk. It is also absolutely okay for you to wean your baby from the breast and you may also choose to continue nursing your baby even into toddler years. There is no compulsion or stigma and as a mother, you should personally choose what will be the best for your baby.
Feeding troubles: Some babies continue to troubles nursing or feeding on either the bottle even in this month. As long as she is not losing weight or is not showing any signs of illness, such feeding troubles will soon pass.
Whole milk or Cow’s milk: Generally, doctors advise parents to not give the baby any milk, other than breastmilk or formula until the baby reaches 1 year. Cow’s milk or plant-derived milk is out of the cards in the eleventh month.

Sleep of 11-Month-Old Baby

Total amount: A ten-month-old baby will typically sleep for about 13 to 15 hours per day. Around 10 or 11 of those hours will be covered at night. The rest of the 2 or 3 hours will be divided between the two or one daytime nap. From this month, a lot of babies start napping only once during the daytime. Your little one may also finally start sleeping for longer stretches at night.
While a lot of babies start sleeping longer at night from previous months only, some babies will require a few more weeks to shake off that sleep regression. Sleep regression continues to be the nightmare of some parents even in this month. If your baby is still not getting long nights’ sleep, it doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with her.

If you find her being overactive before bedtime, don’t indulge her by playing or chatting. Instead, try to make your baby go back to her usual sleep routine. Follow a peaceful and soothing night routine of giving bath and baby massage before bedtime. Avoid following a late bedtime. If you are feeling down at any time, read the best parenting quotes.

Your 11-Month-Old baby’s Schedule

Your little one will have a morning nursing or bottle-feeding session after waking up. You can give a breakfast of solid foods such as pureed fruits, mashed scrambled eggs, cheese, or even yogurt. She will likely take her morning nap before having lunch. Another nap in the afternoon will be followed by dinner. Start the bedtime routine a few hours after dinner and then she will be dozing off for the night.
The hours your baby spends awake and not feeding will constitute her playtime. Spend time listening to the music that your baby loves and your baby will also try to sing that chorus with you. Play lots of peek-a-boo. Continue stimulating your baby’s motor skills and cognitive skills by giving her blocks, stacking toys, shapes, finger paints, crayons, toys with music and buttons, and puzzles to play with. Hand puppets and different voices are also a favorite of babies.

Tips and reminders for the eleventh month

It is high time to send out the party invites for your baby’s first birthday party (if you are having one, that is).
In case, you have been wondering about transferring your baby out of her crib, it would not be an advisable move. Your baby should not be sleeping on a bed until she has reached 2 to 3 years and until she is taller than 36 inches.

You can consider doing activities that will build positive attitudes.

Frequently Asked Questions on 11 Month Old Development of Baby

1. What does my 11-month-old baby understand?

Your 11-month-old baby has started to understand your body language and she will be able to gauge when you tell her “no” or “yes”. She is also starting to almost make conversations with you using her improved babbling. Your baby has also understood the concept of emotions by now. She will try to mimic your responses and actions.

She is also trying to figure out when to show which emotion. A lot of 11-month-olds become more aware of when they are hungry or when they are sleepy or when they want you to pick them up and they start to express their needs through gestures or expressions.

2. How many teeth should my 11-month-old have?

On average, 11-month-old babies have 4 teeth.

3. At what age will my baby start walking?

Babies vary in their timing but generally 6 to 18 months is considered to be the normal range of when you can expect your baby to start walking. Some 11-month-old babies can walk a few baby steps without any support, the majority of babies start walking after 13 months and some babies walk much later.

4. How can I encourage my baby to walk?

Don’t worry if your baby is taking her sweet time to make her first step. You can help your baby prepare for walking by giving her push and pull toys such as baby doll strollers, toy shopping carts, toys on wheels or toys bigger than your baby that she will be able to push across the rooms. Some parents also try ride-on toys to make the baby understand the joys of cruising and this nudges the baby to try walking.

5. How can I speed up my baby’s teething?

There is unfortunately not much that can be done to speed up your baby’s teething process. You will just have to be patient and sit this one out. However, babies have to endure pain for about a week for every teeth or pair of the tooth.

Basically, right before the teeth appears on the gum, it will be 5 painful days and it will continue to be painful for days after the eruption. After that, it will be back to normal again. You can also ask your doctor for baby safe gum gels to soothe your baby’s pain.

Takeaway

You have got a playful and enthusiastic 11-month-old baby in your hands in this month. For you, things will continue to be almost like the previous and for the baby, it will be the time to keep growing and developing.

As your baby is becoming more active and mobile, always keep an eye on her. You may be one of the lucky parents and you may get to see your baby’s very first step in this month.