Month Ten

Babies First Year: Month Ten

How Baby Is Changing

Is your baby saying any real words yet? A child just learning to talk often uses one word to mean several different things. Real words are words that mean only one thing.

Even if baby says "No" and shakes her head back and forth, she may not know what the word means. She may even say "No" when she really means "Yes." Don't take all "Nos" too seriously.

If your baby began to pull up to stand last month, she will probably learn how to get down by herself soon. She may be fascinated by stairs. With a gate on the second or third step, she can practice climbing. You still need to be there to catch her.

Watch baby's hand. Your child may pick up things with just a first finger and a thumb. Remember when she had to use her whole hand to smear food into her mouth? She has come a long way.

Don't worry if your baby doesn't seem to do things on schedule. Your baby is unique, and will develop on her own timetable. As long as your baby is making progress, just enjoy watching her grow.

Baby Wants You To Know

How I Grow

• I crawl up stairs, but I don't know how to get back down.
• I walk if you hold my hands.
• I may begin to sidestep, holding onto furniture, to get around a room.
• I sit down from a standing position.
• I climb up onto chairs and then climb down again.
• I'm beginning to show whether I'm right-handed or left-handed.
• I feed myself with my fingers, and help hold my cup.
• I may have trouble sleeping at night because I'm restless.

How I Talk

• I may understand simple sentences.
• I can say "No" and shake my head from side to side.
• I'm interested in conversations when I hear familiar words.
• I may drive you crazy because I like to say the same words all day long. Or, I may say no words at all.

How I Respond

• I react to your approval and disapproval.
• I cry if another child gets more attention than I do. I still don't like being away from you.
• I like to imitate people, gestures and sounds.

How I Understand

• I know which toys are mine, and I have some favorites.
• I will look for something if I see you hide it.
• I am beginning to think of myself as a person.

How I Feel

• I have many feelings now -- sad, happy, mad, scared, hurt.
• I can be very moody, and I get upset easily.
• I may still feel shy around people I don't know.
• I am very sensitive to other children's moods.

How You Can Help Me Learn

• Show me things you want me to know. For instance, clap your hands so I can learn by imitating you.
• Read books with me.
• Play hide and seek with me! If you hide behind a chair, I can come and find you.
• Put some pictures and a mirror down low, so I can see them.

Fun Activities

Anything your baby likes to play with is a toy. Look around your home. You probably have lots of safe objects to use as toys. Be sure all toys for baby are too large to swallow, have no sharp edges, and are safe for chewing.

• Baby is probably ready for nesting containers -- things that fit inside other things. You can buy a set of nesting cups or let him use measuring cups or food storage bowls. These let baby practice the ideas of "bigger," "smaller" and "in and out." These make good bath toys, too.
• Use old-fashioned wooden clothespins -- not spring-type -- and a box or coffee can for baby to learn "on and off." Show him how to put the clothespins on the can or box edge, and then pull them off. Baby can practice "in and out" by putting the clothespins in the container, and then dumping them out.
• Cut a hole in the top of an oatmeal box so he can drop large empty thread spools or other round objects in. He can take off the lid to get the objects out. Baby likes to do things with toys besides examining them.
• Making towers out of blocks or fitting rings onto a pole help his hand-eye coordination. You can make blocks out of empty, rinsed-out paper milk cartons. Open the top, and fold down the sides to make a cube. Tape each block shut. Rinsed-out, square baby-wipe containers also make good blocks.
• Baby may enjoy larger toys, too. A cardboard box with the ends cut out can be a tunnel.
• Baby can also roll over a pillow or beach ball and crawl into a paper grocery bag.
• Children love to do things their parents do. By 12 months, about one out of four babies will imitate housework. If you paint, let your child "paint" with water. Or give the child a broom, toy hammer, dusting cloth or other object to do work just like you do.
• Have fun with your baby!

Feeding Baby

Most babies don't learn how to eat with a spoon until long after their first birthday. But offer your baby a spoon as soon as he wants one. The food he tries to pick up with a spoon sometimes lands on the floor. But he is learning. And he needs practice to become skillful with a spoon.

Here are some foods that will stick to the spoon when scooped up.

• applesauce cooked cereal
• oatmeal
• cream of rice or wheat
• cottage cheese
• macaroni and cheese
• mashed cooked beans
• mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes
• mashed vegetables or fruits
• yogurt

If you're worried about your baby not getting enough food, try two spoons -- one for you and one for him. If he will let you, give him a mouthful in between his efforts. Remember to make mealtimes happy, not frustrating. Hungry babies want to eat. It's up to parents and other caretakers to help babies develop a good attitude about food. With lots of praise, a little patience and encouragement, your baby can learn a wide variety of tastes and textures in new foods. Good food habits start in infancy.