Your baby's developmental milestones at 9 months
Everything you need to know about your growing 9-month-old
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By 9 months, your baby is much more mobile and likes to explore. Babies at this age are crawling and can raise themselves to stand, so safety in the home becomes an important issue as your baby's curiosity (and mobility) grows. Your baby now responds to her/his name, loves to cuddle with family members and may show shyness or fear of strangers. Games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake are sure to be a big hit with your 9-month-old.
Social and emotional |
Lenguage and communication |
Brain Development |
Movement and physical development |
Food and nutrition |
Things to look out for |
Back to Baby's developmental milestones |

Social and emotional milestones at 9 months
Some of the ways you’ll see your little one learning to connect with the people around her at 9 months.
- Starting to cling onto adults she’s familiar with.
- Might be afraid of strangers.
- Has favourite toys that she reaches for often.
Tips for parents
- Follow your baby’s signals by letting her take the lead during playtime.

Language and communication milestones at 9 months
How your baby is expressing his needs.
- Pointing at things with his fingers.
- Understands the word "no" and makes lots of different sounds.
- He’ll start to copy movements he sees and sounds he hears.
Tips for parents
- Because your baby loves to point, read some board books with pictures. He’ll be able to show you what he’s interested in.
- Cut out pictures from magazines and create your own story about the objects or people in the picture.
- Identify the objects your baby notices in his everyday environment or in the house and name them. This will help with their linguistic and communication development.

Brain development milestones at 9 months
Your child’s brain is growing!
- Likes to play peek-a-boo and look for things you hide.
- Tracks objects as they fall.
- Moves things from one hand to the other, and likes to put objects in her mouth.
- Picks up small objects with her thumb and index finger.
Tips for parents
- Support and encourage your baby during playtime.
- Help her develop her fine-motor skills by giving her small objects to pick up while under your supervision.

Movement and physical development milestones at 9 months
How he’ll move through his environment.
- Can get into a sitting position and sit without support.
- Pulls up (using furniture for support) to stand.
- Starting to crawl.
Tips for parents
- Place your baby close to furniture so he can try to raise himself up.

Food and nutrition milestones at 9 months
What mealtimes look like at 9 months.
- Enjoys teethers.
- Beginning to eat thicker pureed foods and stays full for a longer period of time after eating.
- Reacts strongly to new smells and tastes.
Tips for parents
Try giving your little one half cup of mashed banana four times a day along with a healthy snack. For more ideas, read our article on Feeding your baby: 6-12 months.

Things to look out for
While all babies develop differently, you should speak to your pediatrician if your 9-month-old:
- Can’t sit without assistance.
- Doesn’t babble.
- Won’t respond to her own name.
- Doesn’t put weight on her legs.
- Doesn’t play any games involving back-and-forth play.
- Doesn’t recognize adults she knows.
- Doesn’t look where you point.
- Can’t transfer toys between her hands.