Infant Development: 9-month Old Baby Care and Tips

This is going to be a fun month for both you and the baby. Even though your little one may throw a bit of tantrum after the doctor’s appointment, she will be in a jolly good mood for the rest of the month. Apart from that, your baby can start sleeping at night. 

What are some of the milestones of your 9-month-old?

• Your 9-month-old baby has started to crawl. It is also normal for some babies to not crawl at all. So don’t worry if your little one isn’t crawling.
• Your 9-month-old baby can stand up by using furniture or even you as support. 
• Your baby will be able to sit up for longer periods. This will help her to have longer play-time.
• Your baby has mastered that pincer grasp by now and is ready to try finger foods.
• Your baby is starting to develop preferences and will start to have favorite foods and the ones that she doesn’t like.
• Your baby has started to say those “mama”s and “dada”s by now. Her brain is also hard at work trying to associate “mama” with the mother and “dada” with the father. Soon she will be using those words to call out for the corresponding parent. 

Your baby’s developments in the ninth month

Be prepared to watch your baby grow like crazy this month. Most babies go through a growth spurt in the 9^th month and suddenly gain inches.

• Weight & Length- 

On average, 9-month-old girl babies weigh around 18.2 pounds and that of baby boys is 19.7 pounds. The average height of 7-month-old girls is approximately 27.7 inches, and that of boys is 28.4 inches. In this month, babies generally gain almost half an inch and put on around 3 to 5 ounces every week. 

• Sensory developments- 

Your baby’s vision will keep getting better this month. She can very easily recognize the familiar faces and her favorite objects. She can also recognize familiar voices, sounds, rhymes, and songs. Even though she doesn’t understand the meaning of “yes” or “no” yet, babies are very quick to understand body language.

Your baby will quickly catch on to what is expected of her when you say “yes” or “no” to any of her actions.

• Object Permanence- 

By now, your baby has understood the concept of object permanence. She knows that things are there even when she can’t see them. You will find her remembering her favorite toys and looking for them during playtime. She will also remember where certain things are kept at the house.

Related: 8-Month-Old Baby Development

• 9-month checkup- 

This month, your baby will have another checkup with the doctor. The doctor will measure her height and weight along with the head circumference. Your baby will also get her physical exam done.

This appointment may get a little scary for your baby as the doctor will do a blood test to check iron levels. If you have any concerns about your baby’s health, development, immunizations, or screening tests, now would be the time to clarify. 

Feeding your 9-month-old

• Bottle feeding: 

Your 9-month-old baby should drink around 24 to 33 ounces of formula within a 24-hour period. If you give your baby the bottle or the sippy cup 6 times every day, each session should have around 4 to 6 ounces of formula.

• Breastfeeding: 

Feedings generally continue to be around every three or four hours and babies at this age generally will have 24 ounces of breast milk.

• Solid food: 

At this age, babies generally have three small meals and 2 snacks. Try feeding her baby whole foods that are unprocessed and have no added sugar or salt. Your baby’s diet should provide her with enough protein, fats, and carbohydrates. It is imperative for your baby to try all kinds of food.

• Finger foods:

By this month, most babies master the pincer grasp, which is necessary to eat finger foods. Give her soft-cooking veggies, sweet potatoes, tofu, fruits like bananas, avocados, or even pasta. Remember that the food should be diced into tiny pieces and should be soft to prevent any choking.

• Order of feeding: 

A big change to remember this month is the order of feeding. From this month, you can gradually start giving your baby solid foods first and then give her the bottle or breastfeed her.

Related: 6-Month-Old Baby Development

• Caution: 

Whenever you introduce the baby to any new food, keep an eye out for an allergic reaction for the next few days. Don’t be afraid of introducing common allergenic foods like eggs. Research shows that introducing different types of food early on helps to reduce the chances of allergies.  

• Independence: 

You will notice that your baby will start to hold the bottle herself while bottle feeding. She has even got the hang of using a sippy cup and will be more comfortable using it. Your baby will also try to eat solid foods by herself.

• Comfort feeding:

From this month onwards, you may nurse to calm or soothe your baby. Non-nutritive nursing often helps to comfort babies when they are scared or upset.

The feeding schedule of your 9-month-old

• In the morning, give her whole-grain cereal, around 2 ounces of fruits and either breastfeed or bottle-feed around 4-6 ounces.
• For the mid-morning snacking, give her fruits and vegetables, finger foods and let her have a few sips of water in the sippy cup.  
• The afternoon meal can have a total of 4 ounces in solid foods. Solid foods will include yogurt, cheese, vegetables, tofu, or meat. You can then nurse her or give her the bottle where she will feed another 4-6 ounces. 
• The mid-afternoon snack will be just like the mid-morning snacks. You can change the foods but the quantity remains the same.
• The evening meal should contain a total of 8 ounces of solid foods and another 4-6 ounces of formula or breast milk. Solid foods should include proteins like meat or tofu, veggies, fruits, potatoes, rice, or pasta.
• Before putting your baby to sleep, you may breastfeed around 6-8 ounces of breast milk.

If you had been consuming proper and healthy pregnancy snacks during pregnancy, your baby will also be healthy. 

Sleep of 9-Month-Old

• Total amount: A nine-month-old baby will typically sleep for about 14 to 15 hours per day. 11 of those hours will be covered at night. The rest of the 3 hours will be divided between the two daytime naps. A lot of parents give out the sigh of relief in this month as almost 70% of 9-month-old babies start to sleep for 8 to 12 hours at nighttime without waking up.
• Don’t worry if your baby is not among the majority and is still struggling to sleep through the night. Sleep regression among 9-month-old babies is not an indicator of anything serious. It lasts for a few months but will soon be over.

This will be different from the sleep of your 5-week-old baby. 

Your 9-Month-Old baby’s daily schedule

• Your nine-month-old is going to be awake for almost 10 hours per day. She is immensely alert and of course, highly active! Other than feeding, she will be spending all her time either playing alone with her toys or playing with you. 
• She would love to hear stories in your voice and would love to play patty-cakes. She will also find rhymes like itsy-bitsy spider very amusing. Play peek-a-boo with her to get her giggling. She will also love to try out her new movement and motor skills. The obstacle courses can be made with soft cushions. 

Tips and reminders for the ninth month

• Don’t forget to take the baby to her nine-month doctor’s check-up.
• Schedule the 12-month doctor’s checkup.
• You can start giving your baby a spoon from this month. Initially, she will use it more as a toy and make a mess with food. But soon, she will realize how to use the spoon to eat solid foods. 
• Don’t worry if your little one seems to be growing at a slower pace than average. All babies grow and mature differently. 
• However, if your baby still isn’t babbling, sitting up with support, isn’t responding to her name, doesn’t recognize familiar faces, or doesn’t smile, it could be signs of developmental delays.

Frequently Asked Questions on 9-month Baby Development

Takeaway

Parents become more and busier as the baby keeps growing. While your baby is hard at mastering new skills, crawling everywhere, or trying to stand up and move, you have to become more cautious about her safety. Enjoy this month as she will probably be demanding more playtime and entertainment.

She will be experimenting with more varieties of solid foods this month. As your baby is gearing up to become more aware of your words, actions and body language, the hard parts of parenting i.e. disciplining your child might already be starting.

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