At 9 months old your baby is desperate to explore her environment and many are crawling by this age.  Others may not crawl but manage to get about by wriggling or rolling. 

Everything is a toy to your baby and often they love playing with objects which are not their toys for example mobile phone, tv control etc.  They quickly get bored of the toys they see every day, so it worth rotating toys to stop them from getting bored.  For example have a few boxes of toys and rotate them each week.   Treasure baskets are also a great idea at this stage.   These are a box of everyday objects which you have collected for example an empty tin, wooden spoon, piece of material etc, this provides baby with a wide variety of noises, textures, weights  etc.  Just never leave baby alone with the treasure as they may cause harm for example choking – babies put everything in their mouths, which you shouldn’t discourage as this is an  the  way they explore objects  A favourite game at this stage is throwing toys for example of her high chair.  It may drive you crazy as you have to keep picking them back up, but for her she has just learnt that even when objects are out of sight (object permanence), they still exist and is enjoying throwing things and seeing where they go.

At 9 months your little one should be able to sit steadily and nappy changing can become a battle as she won’t want to lie down.  She will probably be able to get herself into the sitting position and even be able pull herself to stand. 

Your 9 month old will be able to pick things up with her thumb and finger and a good way for her to practice this is at mealtimes – offer her small cubes of food for example cheese, carrot, peas. 

She will take delight in having an object in each hand and banging them together and will wave bye bye to you and may even clap her hands. 

She will now be very vocal and use sounds to get your attention.  You will hear lots of babbling – dada, mama and she will respond to her name and will love nursery rhymes, particularly ones you sing regularly so she knows them.

This age is such as fun age as they are into everything, but it can also be a dangerous time, so do look around you house for dangers and put safety measures in place.

If you have any concerns about your baby’s development, speak to your family health visitor.