Baby Milestones 6-12 months and what you need to know

Read: All you need to know about the first six months of your baby’s development

Operative word; interesting. Your baby is on a journey of discovery.

6-month development

-Your little one is eating solids and is, therefore, learning more tastes and flavours.

-They are also very mobile at this stage and is on the move.

-There is also a lot happening to them emotionally: separation anxiety. Goodbye is their least favourite word and they don’t like seeing people they know well (mom and dad) leave. They also become very clingy

-Responds to her name
-Understands simple words
-Sits unaided

7-month development

-Baby is sleeping a lot more hours (about 11 hours)
-Understands and responds to ‘no’
-Enjoys dropping things on the floor
-Can find hidden items

8-month development

-Sleeping habits are improving vastly
-The baby grows to become attached to a blanket or a stuffed animal
-Can grab toys using thumb and index finger (pincer grasp)
-Starts to crawl
-Can start feeding themselves, so give them some finger foods

Tip: Do a crawl test to see what they are able to reach, can potentially play with and what is harmful and what isn’t.

9-month development

This is a big month for baby.

-She can lift herself using furniture, and can even start walking while holding on
-Can start using sounds that resemble real words
-May start pointing to things that they want
-He is probably shaking his head so say ‘no’
-Can follow simple instructions like ‘stand up’ or ‘sit down’

10-month development

At this stage of her development, your baby has time for nothing else but exploring. Places to be, people to see. She probably doesn’t even have time to eat.

-They can start using their hands to blow kisses or say goodbye
-Emotional bursts like pulling hair and headbanging, all normal behaviour to express frustration
-He starts experimenting with things. Making loud noises with the pots, stacking things together or tossing balls.

11-month development

-Can confidently cruise around while holding on to things
-Your little one is attempting to take those first few steps
-Understands the concept of object permanence
-Her sense of taste is developing

12-month baby milestones

Happy birthday to you! You did it. You reached a momentous milestone. It might feel like it all happened at the snap of a finger. Your little one is a year old and is still on the development roll. Don’t you just wish you could slow it all down? Their growth spurt might slow down a little, but it is not going to stopping.

-Mobility is giving her a sense of independence
-She is taking a few wobbly steps in an attempt to walk unaided
-His vocabulary is growing and is working very hard at sounding out words
-His vision has reached the full adult level

Well done on reaching the first year. You have a couple more to go.

Karabo Motsiri is a first-time mom, over-sharer, lover of life, chronic napper and married to her best friend. She loves a good party because the dance floor is her happy place. She enjoys good food, good conversations, laughs a little too hard, and cries during every episode of Grey’s Anatomy. She started her blogging journey because she wanted to share all the ups and downs of being a young modern mama in South Africa. Her blog Black Mom Chronicles has been featured on Ayana Magazine & SA Mom Blog. She has enjoyed airtime on Power FM and frequently writes for the parenting section of Saturday Citizen. She also works with MamaMagic on their Product Awards, Milestones Magazine, Heart to Heart blog, and the Baby Expo, which is South Africa’s biggest parenting expo. 

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