Approved by the What’s Up Moms Medical Advisory Board
Blink and you’ll miss it, but soon you may catch baby standing on her own. These moments are fleeting but — THUD. Yup, that’d be gravity. We told you it’d be brief.
Many babies are already cruising, i.e. clutching onto things for support while shuffling about – not unlike your college roommate’s post-party gait. Some babies will be taking their first unassisted steps sometime in the next month or two, though others won’t reach that milestone until well into the first year. In the meantime, avoid baby walkers, as they actually delay motor development and can cause serious injury.
Around this time, baby will develop the ability for parallel play, i.e. the capacity to play contentedly side-by-side with other babies her age. The babies won’t interact directly – instead they’ll just happily sit beside each other, seemingly ignoring one another, each doing his or her own thing. So awkward, right?! But for 10-month-olds, this actually is playing together. Babies this age are too young to make friends, but in parallel play they observe and absorb what their peers are doing. Keep this in mind when you’re on a playdate and being REALLY INTENSE about putting your baby up in the other kid’s grill. Jeez, back off, Mom!
In the food department, baby is drinking less milk and getting more and more calories from solid foods. And she may be #boss at mealtime from start to finish, using her pincer grip to pick up finger foods and handling the sippy cup on her own. At this point, you are offering her more and more table food – her diet’s starting to look more like yours. The more often you can do family meals, the better. Continue to hold off on cow’s milk, honey, and, of course, anything that’s a choking hazard.
Though baby may not be saying anything quite intelligible yet, don’t be fooled – this is a fertile time for her language development. She understands more than you think, and her own words are just around the corner – so help her along. When baby says Da in reference to her pops, say the word back to her: “Daddy.” When she points at something or someone, name that thing or person. Then name it again. And maybe once more for good measure.
As they say, repetition is the mother of learning.
