How to play with your baby, 9 months old

Babies learn best through self-driven exploration. Case in point: have you tried to intentionally work on a skill to no avail? You demonstrate and try to help her do it, but she quickly checks out or gets fussy.

For instance, maybe you’re trying to show your little one how to master the pincer grasp. You place her pointer finger and thumb together to pick up a piece of food, but she’s not having it. She defiantly uses her full fist instead – she is hungry, and that’s the easiest way to get food to her mouth. So, you take a break and move on to something else. 

Then, crazy enough, you look over see your baby trying to pull the buttons off of a shirt using the very same pincer grasp you were just trying to teach! Sometimes, learning a new skill just takes the right motivation and good timing. Playful games are one of the best ways to help them practice new skills. 

Tired mama, these activities are for you. They involve common household items and require almost no effort to put together. Even better, these simple activities are great ways to bond with your child and help you baby practice emerging skills through play. No frustration here!

9 Month Milestones

This month is a dramatic turning point for your baby. She will really start picking up on  social cues . You’ll see this in the form of:

 ·      Anxiety or fear around strangers

·      Clinginess with parents

·      Attachment to favorite toys

·      Understanding “no” (but maybe responding in defiance)

·      Copying your sounds and gestures – the adorable baby babble will start kicking in strong this month

·      Pointing to interesting things

·      Making sounds that are close to real words (you might even get a few first words this month)

In addition, your baby’s  problem solving and imaginative skills  are getting stronger, too. His dexterity increases a lot this month. You may notice your baby:

·      Looking for things that are hidden or lost (such as a missing pacifier or toy)

·      Putting more things in her mouth to explore them (time to baby proof if you haven’t!)

·      Successfully moving objects from one hand to the other

·      Placing objects inside of things

·      Using the pincer grasp to pick up small pieces, like cereal

And of course,  motor development  will increase quite a bit as well. This month, your baby may:

·      Pull up to stand – make sure to anchor furniture to walls. 

·      Sitting without support

·      Crawling

·      “Cruising” (holding onto furniture or a push toy to walk around)

*Don’t forget: these are general milestones and guidelines. Your baby may not master all of these this month. Talk to your pediatrician about any concerns.

Source: CDC 

“Where is Your…”

 Your baby is ready to learn about body parts and clothing. Make it fun by turning it into a simple game. All you have to do is sit and talk with your baby. Say, “Where is your head?!” Or, “Where are your eyes?!” And so on. You might get a few giggles if you make silly faces to give a hint – wrinkle your nose, bat your eyelashes, or raise your eyebrows. 

For clothing, put something on the wrong way (like a sock on your hand), and say, “Is this where my sock goes?” Then, put it on your baby’s foot and say, “No way! Socks go on your feet!” 

Not only are you helping your little one learn vocabulary, you’re also reinforcing communication and social skills by interacting together. Asking questions is great for language development. Pair this with Sandra Boynton’s silly book  Blue Hat, Green Hat.

Worm Holes  

Use a colander with large holes (or make your own “worm house” by cutting holes in the lid of an oatmeal container or a box). Let your baby work on her find motor skills by trying to push pipe cleaners or straws into the holes. To make it a little easier, cut wider slits in a coffee can lid and see if she can get jumbo wooden craft sticks inside. Another alternative (with a careful eye on your baby at all times), is to try to fit large craft pom poms into a water bottle.

Colorful Ice

Help your baby safely explore his senses. Fill an ice tray with water and use food coloring to create colorful cubes (you could also us an ice tray with shapes like hearts or fish for added fun). 

To prevent a mess, put the frozen cubes in a sealed gallon freezer bag. Your baby can feel the cold cubes and move them around in the bag (this a good high chair game to buy you a few minutes of time to meal prep).

Sponge Play

Cut colorful sponges into different shapes. Then, place them in a large bowl filled with water. Let your baby experiment with the floating sponges. See if he can squeeze the water into a separate bucket. This works on hand strength and coordination. (This game is best for outside.)

Bubble Mountain

In my opinion, this is even better than the traditional bubble wand (unless you have a bubble machine – those are awesome!). And, these bubbles last a bit longer and allow your baby to play with them. 

The secret? There’s not one. Just grab a container, pour in some bubble solution (or make your own with dish soap), and add a drop of food coloring if you wish. Blow through a straw to make a mountain of bubbles. This one also works best in the highchair. Your baby will love watching the bubbles grow and grow and have fun popping them. 

Peel the Tape  

Does your baby love to deconstruct things? That’s normal and great for development — but not so great for your house. Do you have some painter’s or masking tape? Use their curiosity as motivation to work on dexterity! 

Put strips of tape on the floor, table, wall, or high chair, and let baby peel them off. If it’s too easy, try crisscrossing the tape or making shapes with it. You can also use colorful tape if you want.

Jello Dig

Most likely, your baby is fascinated with different textures right now. Make some Jello, and place toys inside before putting in the fridge to harden. Then, let your little one dig through the gelatin to get them all out (a deeper dish or bowl makes it more challenging).