9-Month-Old Baby

Your 9-month-old baby may be able (either now or soon) to use gestures to indicate what she needs and imitate actions she's seen you do — sometimes even ones she's seen you do several days before!

If you've been teaching your baby sign language, you may soon be rewarded with some recognizable results as she taps those tiny fingertips together to indicate "more" or touches that little mouth to let you know she wants to eat.

Some 9-month-olds even master a delighted clap or a bye-bye wave. (Always a grandparent favorite!)

Your little one is outgrowing some baby rattles and teethers now (those are so yesterday), and moving on to bigger-kid stuff.

Cause-and-effect toys are perfect for piquing baby's interest at this stage. Watch as your sweetie opens doors, switches levers, pushes buttons, grabs knobs … she'll love anything she can manipulate and (at least try to!) master.

But that doesn't mean she doesn't love Teddy or Blankie too. Many babies adopt a soft pal or blanket (even a cloth diaper can be a cherished lovey!) as a security object around this age. Just remember not to put your little one down for a nap or bedtime in the crib with those trusty, fluffy friends. She’s still too little for it to be safe.

Your baby's been working on ways to communicate since she was born, and in month 9, she may well add more recognizable sounds and gestures to that bag of tricks.

That adorable jibber-jabber means she's well on the way to saying real words. Listen carefully and you'll hear speech patterns that sound more and more like your own words and sentences. Encourage the chatter by responding with enthusiasm and continuing to talk to your baby often.

Remember, she understands far more than she can let on, so don't be surprised if she soon proves she can grasp a simple command such as "please give me the ball."

The part of the brain responsible for memory, the hippocampus, is already 40 percent developed and will be fully developed by 18 months. That’s why a typical newborn baby will recognize her parents’ voices and other sounds she has heard frequently from the womb.

More memory tricks: By 1 month, your baby can remember when she's usually fed and will begin to expect a bottle or your breast at those times. By 4 months, your wee one can pick your face out of many others.

This emerging memory is why setting up routines for certain parts of the day can be so helpful. A bath and book before bed, for example, will trigger the memory for your baby that sleep comes next.

After months of giving that stuffed polar bear the cold shoulder, it suddenly becomes your sweetie’s most cherished possession — she drags it everywhere (or screams if it’s out of sight). Or she chooses a comfort object that you think has questionable comforting abilities (a pointy plastic plane? an old sock?).

No matter what shape the lovey takes, this developmental milestone happens in about 60 percent of babies, often at around 9 months old.

Actually, your baby is showing off those smarts. She’s realized that she and you are two separate people, and as great as you are, you aren’t around every second of the day. So she’s adopted a transitional object to help get through those rough spots when she misses Mommy or Daddy.

Transitional object tip: Have two identical stuffed bears, yellow blankets or pointy plastic planes in case one gets lost or needs to be degunked.

Driving with your baby? If you're taking a longer trip, make a pit stop when it's mealtime.

You might lose a few minutes, but it’s much easier than simultaneously dining and driving with a baby. That’s a messy, complicated business, and it’s none too safe to juggle bottles, jars and spoons while you're hurtling down the highway.

Have you noticed any changes in your little one’s sleep patterns (just when you thought you could count on a schedule)?

Sleep regression is common between months 8 and 10. Several factors may be standing in your baby’s way of getting the solid sleep she needs, including that compulsion to stand — in bed too! — and practice other exciting skills. Speak to your pediatrician if you notice this happening with your little one.