9-10 Months

It is time to move on to a well chopped up texture. Continue to offer your baby a wide variety of textures, flavours and a rainbow of colours. Come back to foods your baby has refused before. Offer these foods again but don’t force your baby to eat them. It can take up to 10-15 attempts before a baby will accept a food. Your baby will be able to enjoy minced and chopped textures and continue with finger foods. Make life easier, cook the same healthy foods for the whole family!

At this stage, your baby might need less of their usual milk to make more room for food during the day. Develop a routine of three meals a day and start adding healthy snacks, like vegetables, fruit, cheese, well cooked chicken breast/fish/eggs or bread/toast. Look at the Fun First Foods booklet below.

Although your baby will be having less of their usual milk it should still be the biggest part of their fluid intake. You should offer tap water in a free-flow or open cup with meals.

For more information look at:

• Fun First Foods booklet - this leaflet is available in other languages and in audio format.
• NHSGGC Starting Solids Show Cookalong and Short Recipes Videos
• NHSGGC Happy Healthy Tots: Feeding your baby or child
• First Step Nutrition Trust Eating well resources

Your baby now uses their thumb and side of their index finger to pick up objects. Once they have picked up a small object, they can let it go on purpose. Playing with building blocks and stacking cups will help them to get more precise. Your baby can now clap their hands together. Your baby will be poking at small objects with their pointer finger and is beginning to point at objects further away, you can help them by playing the point and name game from CBeebies Parenting.

Your baby won't be spending much time lying in one place by now. They will often prefer to sit to play and are able to stay in this position for 10 minutes or more.

They will begin to change their own position. They will move from lying to sitting. They will also try to kneel and pull themselves up into standing against furniture. They don't have much control when getting back down and often bump down. These are learning bumps!

They should now be getting better and faster at crawling. Some babies may be bottom shuffling to get around.

Your baby may be starting to take some steps when you are holding both their hands. This is how they learn to balance and support their own weight in standing. Baby walkers will delay this process.

Moving toys to a higher surface such as a low table or sofa will help your child to be up on their feet. This will help them prepare for walking. You can also dance with your baby, find out more from CBeebies Parenting Dancing with baby: Learning through boogie.

Dressing 

When you are dressing your baby, they will try to help you. They will lift their foot up so you can put on their sock. This is the first stage in learning dressing skills. It helps to talk to your baby about what you are doing. You can even sing songs about getting dressed or about the different parts of the body. Use nappy changes as an opportunity to chat too about the dressing routine and different parts of the body. Find out more from CBeebies Parenting Chat during nappy change.

Eating and Drinking

Your baby is now holding a spoon and tries to feed themselves although you are still doing the bulk of the work. Prepare for a messy few months ahead as they learn how to get their spoon into their mouth effectively! There are things you can do to help them use a spoon:

• Make sure they are well supported in a highchair or on your lap or on the floor (it helps if their feet are supported on the floor or on a footrest). 
• Think about the utensils you are using:
  • Spoons with thick and/or textured handles are easier to hold.
  • Spoons with a short handle are easier to control.
  • A messy mat on the floor is a good idea too as it makes cleaning up easier.
• Use foods that stick to the spoon as these are less likely to spill. Try yoghurt, porridge or mashed potato.
• Practice makes progress. Give your baby a spoon at every meal and give spoons at play time too.

Teeth Brushing

Brushing your teeth is an essential part of looking after your body. You should be brushing your child's teeth at least twice a day. You can find out more from:

• The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) A Practical Guide to Children's Teeth
• Childsmile Oral health for babies: birth to 3 years old

Listening and Understanding   

Your baby is starting to understand everyday words in their daily routines like 'clap hands' and 'up'. They recognise familiar sounds in their own world and respond to them. Your baby will be responding when you call their name. They understand 'no' and 'bye bye'. They will react to 'where’s mummy/daddy?' too.

Talking

Your baby can imitate playful sounds like smacking their lips or pretending to cough. They can be quite noisy now - their babble sounds like a conversation with their toys. They babble to chat with you all the time now.

Interacting

Now your baby can play peek-a-boo with you. Your baby holds out objects to show and share with you. They enjoy dropping things for you to pick up. They can point and look at you to get your attention. They may vocalise (make sounds) to get your attention. Your baby will reach for things they want whilst looking at you.

Find out more from Parent Club Top tips for chatting together with your baby.

Your baby is now displaying definite likes and dislikes at meal times and also at bed times. Tuning in to your baby's interests can help their development. Find out more from CBeebies Parenting Tools for Talking 9-12 months: Tuning into your baby's interests.

Being silly together is great for their development too. Blowing raspberries is fun but a great learning experience as well. Find out more from CBeebies Parenting Blowing raspberries.