Now that your baby is close to a year, you may find her exhibiting different skills given a little chance. She is now in the mood to express her abilities and emotions.
At this age she will be trying to walk by holding on to furniture and vocalizing. You can always be by her side in helping her explore the world around. You will see your baby is a lot more outgoing and adventurous than before. Here we shall discuss the developmental milestones you can expect from your baby at this age.
10 Month Old Baby Development:
Ensuring a safe environment at home is vitally essential as your baby is growing. A safe environment will not restrict your 10 months old baby’s freedom in any way.
1. Physical Development:
She is now close to tripling her weight since birth. You need to remember that every baby follows her own growth pattern. There is nothing to worry if she is lagging behind a bit.
- Genetics play a major role in one’s growth and size. Also, you need to keep a watch over her eating pattern over the week. What she eats will also have a major influence on her growth patterns.
- While her growth may not always be reflected in her clothes, you can see how big she is getting by placing her in her crib, pram or her cot.
2. Development Of Motor Skills:
Your baby at 10 months age can crawl, pull herself up from a standing position and cruise around the room.
- You can now expect her to walk in a few months.
- Her coordination has improved to a large extent at this age. She can now pick up objects easily and keep them clasped in her hands.
- Make sure nothing too small in size is there within her reach. She might try to swallow it and increase risks like choking hazards.
- She is now capable of holding a toy in one hand and engage her other hand doing something else.
3. Communication Skills:
Your baby loves mimicking at this age. You will be amazed to see her copying almost everything you do. Don’t be surprised if you see her brushing her hair with your comb or talking on the phone like you.
- She will now closely listen to the words you speak and gauge your reactions in different situations. For instance if you are getting emotional watching a sad scene, you may find her face crumpling up too.
- Your baby can now follow simple instructions and step by step commands like “clap hands”, or “bye-bye”.
- She may also understand meaning of some of the words you speak. For instance you can name an object and you may find her pointing at it.
Continue on next page...
4. Eating Habits:
While you may expand her palate adding a variety of vegetables and fruits, you may not find her very enthusiastic about it.
- She may have some of her teeth by this age, which will help her chew the thicker consistencies.
- Make sure the table foods you introduce are cut into small pieces that she can finger feed on her own.
- You can also offer her a spoon and let her help herself in the meal times. She will be messy the first few times but most importantly she will learn to eat.
- Make sure you are not offering foods that have choking hazards like raisins, nuts, grapes, popcorns and candies.
- Many parents prefer giving organic food over the traditional ones. Organic foods are said to contain lesser amounts of pesticides. However, the nutrient content in them are same as the traditional foods. What you choose to give is entirely dependent on you.
5. Sleep Pattern:
By this time she may enjoy just an hour of nap every day. However, there is no need to worry if she still enjoys more naps, as it is always good.
- In case you want her to skip a nap it is better to skip the one in the morning.
- It is good to have an after-lunch nap to prevent her getting cranky.
- If she feels sleepy she will make up by sleeping an extra hour or two at night.
About Her Health:
It will be very difficult for you to keep your 10 month old baby clean at this age:
- She will be keen on lying on the ground, in the park or in the playground.
- If you are planning to paint your home, make sure it is free from lead. You can avail of testing kits from hardware stores to take a look at the lead content. Babies are sensitive to such chemicals and may experience breathing troubles.
- Do take care of the cleaning agents in your home like fertilizers and pesticides and ensure the residues are not left behind.
Parenting Tips:
Here are some parenting tips that you can take a look at.
- If you feel your baby is not talking much, you can engage her in conversations. You can respond to her actions with words such as “really”, “wonderful”, “great”, “good”, and “interesting”. This will help her listen and keep learning.
- Music helps your baby learn so turn it on. It can be country, pop or the slow tunes. You will find her bouncing with the beats.
- Hide her toys and ask her to find them. This will help her develop an idea about object permanence. She will know this way that the object exists even if she can’t see.
- Your baby shall be making eye contact, babbling, and responding to different actions and words.
- If you feel she is not communicating well, you can bring it up with your doctor.
If you are not well or not healthy enough it won’t be possible for you to look after your little one. So make sure to get adequate rest to get back your energies. Take time to talk to your partner when you feel down or tired. You can also ask him to help you with some of the household chores.
Subscribe to our mailing list and LIKE US on Facebook for useful insights on parenthood!
Article written by Moumita Ghosh
