6-9 months

• Your baby may begin sitting up without support, and become able to get themselves into a sitting position.
• They may grab at objects, and possibly pass them from hand to hand.
• Weaning begins – your baby will enjoy trying a variety of foods, and will begin to feed themselves finger foods, and may want to start holding their own bottle or cup.
• Your baby might start to copy speech sounds, usually with simple consonant sounds like “dadada”. They are usually beginning to understand simple words too, such as “bye bye” or “No”
• They may begin to pull themselves to standing.
• Separation anxiety may begin at this stage – this is perfectly normal! Lots of reassurance and cuddles will help.
• At the beginning of this age range, only 16% of babies are “sleeping through the night” – this means that they are getting a 5 hour stretch of continuous sleep.
• “Reverse Cycling” is common – baby may begin to be awake more at night and sleep more in the day – this will pass eventually!

9 months – 12 months

• Your baby may begin to crawl, stand briefly or walk with support from a grown up.
• Baby’s grip may be getting better and stronger – you may see them trying to grip smaller items between their thumb and index finger (pincer grip).
• They may call “mama” or “dada” and know who it means.
• Your baby may enjoy simple, repetitive games such as “peek a boo” and “pat a cake”