9 month old baby: what progress has he made?
In this article we want to dedicate many useful tips to new mothers who are struggling with a 9 month old baby. We will focus in particular on the first steps, the first illnesses of the season, allergies, the insertion of solid foods. In short, we will make a real overview of the progress made by the child during his development.
Now we leave you with a useful video that addresses the topic: parents and feelings of guilt.
When the baby is 9 months old, it is already possible to get a clear idea of how it is developing from a psychomotor point of view. You will find that your child at this age will be able to control their movements to achieve specific goals (grasping, moving around, finding out where a sound comes from, and so on).
Intellectual progress will also be evident, moreover you will not be able to help but notice that your child at this age may already have achieved a series of skills: first of all sitting with your back straight, moving, if necessary , the bust forward to take a toy placed at some distance.
In some cases, he will have already learned to crawl or crawl, or he may already be able to use the spoon on his own to grab food and bring it to his mouth. From this moment on it becomes extremely important to allow him to carry out all the movements of which he is gradually more and more master - grabbing, moving, lifting, turning - without, however, exerting pressure or expecting him to reach goals for which he is not yet ready.
Remember: for every single child there is in fact a “right moment” that must be able to arrive without external forcing which, moreover, would prove to be more harmful than useful.
See also
How big is a 9 month old baby?
The average weight of a 9-month-old baby is 8.7 kg. But what is the difference between a boy and a girl?
- A baby boy typically weighs between 7.5 kg and 11.5 kg.
- A girl instead, between 7 kg and 11 kg.
The baby at 9 months of age should grow about 500 grams. Its height, on the other hand, will be around 71 cm. Of course, these are only average values: what matters is that its growth is healthy and its development constant.
The motor skills of a 9 month old baby
The goal of the child's first steps is considered the most important during the path that will lead him to autonomy. One of the things to never do is to compare your child to other children of his age: as we said, every child follows his own rhythm, the developments, the first steps, the first teeth will arrive when the time is right. Nothing should cause you to worry, you just need to have a little patience. You will see that the child will be able to make important progress day after day that you will be amazed by. To accompany him in his growth you can choose Fisher-Price toys, studied for the needs of the little ones, they manage to combine play and education at the same time.
- Turtle Crawls with me
It lights up and walks forward to help the baby chase it and stimulate crawling. It can also be used while sitting while having fun with over 35 sounds, melodies and music.
- Zebra First Steps
It teaches the alphabet, numbers and allows you to do many activities for the development of complex motor skills. It can be used sitting or standing trying to take the first steps!
- Little Dog First Steps
The child can play while sitting listening to the music and phrases said by Doggie, or stand up alone and take the first steps. Thanks to the Smart Stages technology and the 3 levels of exploration, the learning contents will change with the age and stage of growth of the child.
- Laugh & Learn Doggie Armchair
Thanks to Smart Stages technology, the melodies, phrases and songs to be sung gradually change according to the age of the child. The chair is equipped with a sensor that detects when the child sits or gets up and starts all sounds.
What are the main stages that will lead him to walk? In reality, there are no specific stages, but what matters is that gradually the child, while skipping some of them, reaches the next goal up to the first steps. Let's recap.
- Already around five months old, the newborn proves to have good head control. He can hold it upright when held in the arms, upright or sitting position. He knows how to rotate it to identify the origin of a sound or a voice and fold it down to observe objects placed on the ground or that have fallen from his hand.
- At the age of six months he could sit alone with his back straight for at least a few seconds without support.
- The 9-month-old baby, on the other hand, knows how to maintain the sitting position for a long time, without staggering or accidentally slipping too many times. He will increasingly master the movement of the pliers, ie between the thumb and forefinger. He can thus take and hold very small objects in his hand. So make sure that he cannot get close to dangerous objects! While sitting he can grasp toys, throw them on the ground and concentrate on them for at least a minute, appreciates songs, shows enthusiasm when you play hide-and-seek with him, gets angry when he wants something that is not given to him.
- Between 9 and 10 months it may begin to crawl, or it may crawl. However, the stage of crawling is not compulsory and children who crawl may not walk before those who skip this stage.
As the months go by, the psychomotor progress becomes very conspicuous and mainly concerns walking and, more precisely, the phases that immediately precede it.Almost all children are able to stand up even starting from the lying position, sometimes simply with the help of their hands on the floor, others still by clinging to the bars of the cot or the net of the playpen.
After trying and trying again to stand up to make this step with ease, the child can begin to take the first steps by leaning against the wall, furniture, sofas or even when held by the hand.
From now on, the child could start walking alone, without support and without asking parents for help. It should be borne in mind that there are cautious children, who prefer to start walking when they feel very sure of their balance and the ability to manage the inevitable falls.
Just in case your child is still not walking at 16 months, it is advisable to consult the pediatrician, but before this moment, just wait.
Attitudes and gestures in a 9 month old baby
The most striking aspect is that during the ninth month, the children will begin to imitate the gestures of mom and dad. For example, if the mother throws a ball at them, the child will almost certainly bring it back. Or if the dad greets him with the hand, even the child does the same.
At 9 months the baby begins to wonder and understand that objects respond to a logic, which is why at this age it is the right time to give him games in which he can rearrange the letters, the animals, the rings in a pyramid, or match the forms.
The language of a 9 month old baby
At nine months, the baby can recognize his name and consequently responds when called. He can say "Dad Mom" and tries to imitate the sounds and words he hears, repeating them without getting tired. This is why the child likes to be spoken to and called by name. This is the right time to read him the first books where he himself can observe the letters and their sound.
The behavior of a 9 month old baby
The 9-month-old baby begins to understand the relationships that exist between him and his parents or between them and other babies. One example is that the child understands when he is told no. How does it react? Having understood, he will almost certainly cry to show his disagreement. The child knows perfectly well what he wants and wants it now, he is not used to waiting and if by chance the times are prolonged, he makes his voice heard through screams and crying.
The child at this moment is moving further and further away from the close relationship held up to that moment with the mother and is gradually learning to interact with others, to show empathy: therefore do not be surprised if the child begins to cry when he hears another child crying. .
The 9-month-old baby is discovering more and more the outside world, which can seem scary and distressing to him, which is why he often takes refuge and calms down with the soft toy, which represents a reassuring bond with his family.
Feeding a baby at 9 months
At 9 months the baby already has the incisors thanks to which he can bite off small pieces of food and try to chew them. Finally, it's time to switch from smooth fruit and vegetable based purees to solid food, which obviously needs to be offered in small pieces.
For raw food, it is better to wait a little longer and in any case observe the child: he himself will tell us when he is ready to experiment with this "other type of food."
During the ninth month it is good to proceed with the diversification of foods to ensure that the little one always discovers new ones and you too can adjust to propose new combinations of tastes and flavors.
The child will always tend to eat by bringing the food to his mouth with his hands, but occasionally let him experiment with the spoon. He himself will understand what he prefers, he may prefer the spoon for some types of food, while his hands for others.
9 month old baby: diseases, allergies and ailments
At nine months, the baby is ready for a check-up at the pediatrician. This will give you the opportunity to discuss your development, results, growth and diet with your doctor. Your hearing and vision will also be checked. So take the opportunity to ask all the questions perhaps related to fever or allergies that may occur.
The 9-month-old baby can have a fever, even a high one. However, this should not scare you, with the right care it will disappear in a short time. The situation is different regarding febrile convulsions, which are the consequence of the sudden onset of high fever.
It is rare for children to be affected by it, but it is better to know what happens so as not to be frightened if it occurs. The symptoms are unmistakable: the child is suddenly shaken by jerking tremors, then faints, sometimes uttering very slight moans. seizure typically lasts 1-2 minutes in all.
What to do? During the crisis, the child should be kept lying on the bed and turned on its side. As soon as the crisis resolves, paracetamol must first be given to bring down the fever. Then it is advisable to immediately notify the pediatrician who will outline the right therapy to be used also in the event of subsequent crises. The episodes generally disappear definitively by the age of 5.
The 9-month-old baby may begin to have allergy to dust mites, which often nest where there is dirt. The main symptoms are usually: sneezing, mucus from the nose, tearing and redness of the eyes, dermatitis, itching and in severe cases, asthma attacks. The latter are characterized by significant breathing difficulties due to the sudden narrowing of the bronchi.
What to do in these cases? First you need to consult your pediatrician and decide together whether or not it is appropriate to do real allergy tests to confirm that it is allergy to mites. We must then try to keep the environments and furnishings of the rooms where the child stays the most clean as possible.
For example: cover mattresses and bed pillows with special covers that prevent the passage of the mite; eliminate heavy curtains and hairy carpets; wipe the floor and furniture with a damp cloth every day to remove dust without lifting it; do not use the broom but only the vacuum cleaner; do not give the baby plush toys. Air the house every day, even in winter.
