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Info Centre - Growing and moving
During the ages of six to nine months your baby will make great strides in her development. The majority of babies can roll over purposely during this time in order to see something, and can manage to get themselves towards and object in this way; many will start crawling or shuffling along on their bottoms. Babies will then start to pull themselves up to a standing position using the furniture.
Babies develop at different rates however. Some are content to sit for months longer than others, and make very little attempt to move on their tummies or in any other way, such as ‘cruising’ round the furniture. (Babies are said to ‘cruise’ when they use the furniture to move a few steps.) If your baby is like this, it doesn’t mean her development is delayed. She may have more advanced communication skills, for example, or a less strongly developed sense of adventure.
Your baby’s first efforts to crawl will almost certainly be towards something. You can encourage this by putting a favourite toy just out of reach, or by calling to her from a few paces away. Place her on a soft blanket or carpet and be prepared for her to fall, as she will still be too young to support her own body weight on her arms.
During this time most babies will learn to sit up. This learning period is a wobbly time. Your baby will need to be watched and placed somewhere safe, so that if she topples over she won’t hurt herself. Gradually, she will be able to sit up for longer periods, and correct herself if she leans too far one way. She might at times get stuck, at which point she’ll wail for you to rescue her.
During these months your baby will be getting stronger and sturdier. At some stage she will show you how she likes standing up, with her underarms supported by your hands, and enjoy bouncing up and down, stiffening and then relaxing her legs, and sometimes resisting being put down again.
Once your baby is crawling then it is likely she will soon be pulling herself to a standing position, although some babies crawl for months before actually walking. She may get up and not know how to get back down – resulting in a call for help. You can teach her to lower herself onto her bottom by pushing her down gently. This way she will soon get the hang of standing up and sitting down.
Development check at 7-9 months
This may take place at home or in a clinic, and is an opportunity for parents to discuss issues about health, growth, development, behaviour, or parenting in general. The baby is observed, with particular attention given to her vision, hearing and early speech sounds, mobility and balance, hand-eye coordination, and social interaction. Play and reactions to stimulate may be looked at too.
Your baby will also be weighed naked, and both length and head circumference will be measured and plotted on her growth charts. Hips are re-checked by looking for full hip mobility, leg length, and equal skin creases. Boys will have their testes felt to ensure they have descended into the scrotum.
Fine motor skills
At first, your baby will be able to hold things in her fist but will not be able to manipulate them. As she gets older, she will learn how to hold something in one hand and then transfer it to the other, and how to pick something up with the other hand to hold on to two things. At this age, though, if she wants to hold something else that grabs her attention, she will let one of the objects fall.Your baby can hold things in different ways according to their shape, finding by experimentation the best way to hold something securely. Watch how she holds her teddy by an arm or leg, for example, because she can’t manage to keep hold of it by its ear. She’s learning by looking at and feeling different shapes and sizes, curves, and corners. Watch for when she manages to hold things between her fingers and thumbs, and examine them by turning them over. Her careful studies show her that things may look different from different angles, and yet remain the same. She will also bring them to her mouth so that she can try out different tastes and textures. At about nine months babies can compare two toys or other objects by looking at them in their hands. Your baby may enjoy banging them together to see if they make a sound.
Babies of nine months are usually able to see that some things fit together. They may know that some things have lids, and that some shapes fit into holes. At this age your baby won’t understand that a square shape wont fit a tubular hole, but just seeing that sometimes things fit and sometimes they don’t is important for her learning. Babies are interested in watching things being built up or screwed together, and then coming apart again. It’s fascinating for your baby to see that different shapes can become, predictably, another different shape.
Babies can move a page by grabbing hold of it, understanding that this is something like turning a page, but picking up a single page and turning it is beyond their skills for a while as their fine motor skills are not sufficiently developed. Your baby will be able to grab things, including her own feet, as they come into view. She’ll play with her hands, and chew on them, too. This doesn’t mean she’s hungry. Deliberately putting hands and feet – or anything else- to her mouth shows she has developed an awareness of her body and how to manoeuvre it.
Signs of increased mobility
Here are some signs that show your baby is becoming more mobile:- She sits up and turns round without toppling over
- She holds onto something for several minutes at a time
- She reaches to pick something up that she’s dropped
- She holds something out to you with an expectation that you will take it from her
- She reaches out to grasp something you are offering
- She kneels at the bottom of the stairs and tries to move up
- She can stand just holding your hands – first both, then just one
- She shows she knows she can deliberately poke a finger in a hole
- She knows small things are best picked up with a finger and thumb while large things need a whole hand, or even two hands.
Climbing out of the cot
Some babies never actually realise it’s possible to do this, even when they have the strength and the skills to do it; other babies discover they can do it as early as nine months or so. You can delay your baby’s ability and desire to climb out of the cot by using a baby sleeping bag. It’s important to do this before she realizes it’s going to stop her being more adventurous, so use one as soon as you see signs that she’s more mobile in her cot (e.g. sitting up and grasping the bars), and beginning to try to stand during her daytime play.
Page lasted updated 2009.
