Your Baby: 6–9 Months – Developmental Milestones

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By the end of nine months, your baby will be a
sociable, lively member of the family. You’ll notice a dramatic change
in her development as her coordination improves, and her little brain
sets to work making sense of the world around her.

By nine months, your baby should:


  • Be eating solid food along with her regular milk

  • Grasp objects on her first or second try

  • See small objects easily, and pick them up

  • Move a toy easily from hand to hand, and sit and play with toys

  • Sit by herself without pillows or other support

  • Enjoy standing when you hold her up, and begin to pull herself up to stand at the furniture

  • Practice rolling from her stomach to her back, and back again

  • Begin to crawl on her hands and knees (some babies never crawl, but develop an efficient bottom-shuffle instead)


  • Move from lying down to sitting up


  • Babble and make “b” sounds


  • Enjoy blowing bubbles


  • Turn her head when you call her name

  • React positively when she sees you—and perhaps laugh

  • Search for an item that she sees you place out of sight


  • Explore everything with her mouth

  • Show signs of picking up on your emotions, perhaps smiling when you are happy, or frowning or looking worried when you sound or look angry


  • Start to imitate your actions


  • Begin to reach out to you to be picked up


  • Show the first signs of nervousness around strangers or separation anxiety

She’s now ready for …




  • Solid food,
    and in increasing amounts—by nine months she should be eating three
    meals a day, and beginning to show less interest in her milk feedings

  • A firm bedtime routine, which she will now remember and anticipate

  • Favorite books and bedtime stories, which she will also remember and look forward to

  • A sturdy push car or wagon, which she can use to support herself as she pulls up to begin the process of learning to walk

  • Saying her first word—she
    may make a sound such as “ba” that she uses, with meaning, for many
    different things, followed shortly afterward by real words mixed in with
    the babble