9 months is when babies graduate from having to see the pediatrician every two months, to every three months.  Some pediatricians don’t give immunizations at this age, but it’s still important to bring your baby to make sure their growth and development is normal.

Child development.

At 9 months babies are able to pull up on furniture, and many can walk along while holding on to your hand or furniture.  They may be crawling at this age, but the timing of crawling can vary widely from child to child.  They should be able to pick up small items, such as cheerios, with their pincer finger and thumb instead of the whole hand.  

At this stage babies are working on hand-eye coordination, which crawling can help with.  They can also judge distances, and throw things accurately.

A few babies are able to say a word or two, such as ‘dada’, or ‘mama’, but all of them are babbling.  They will turn and look where voices are coming from.

We advise not letting your child watch TV or other electronic items (cell phones, tablets).  Limiting these at this time and in the future helps improve their development and interaction with the rest of the family.

Child growth.

As usual your child’s height, weight, and head circumference are measured and marked on their growth chart.  

General health.

We will examine your baby, making sure that they are healthy.  Remember to ask questions about anything you’ve seen on your baby that you’re not sure about, such as birthmarks, dry skin, rashes, etc.  

Nutrition at this point is still mostly formula or breast milk.  However, most are eating a good portion of solids-either baby food, or soft foods from the table.  They can also feed themselves finger foods such as veggie puffs.  

Health history.

Let your pediatrician know if you’ve been to any other clinics, or to the urgent care or ER.  It’s important to keep your child’s medical information in one place so your doctor can appropriately treat your child.   

Family history.

We continue to keep up with your child’s family.  Does anyone in the family have a new diagnosis?  Let your pediatrician know.

Social history.

Is the baby going to daycare now?  Are there any new pets in the home?

Safety issues.

Please continue to keep your baby in a backwards car seat while driving.  Remember that your baby is very mobile now, so keep things like space heaters, poisons, and medicines locked or out of their reach.  Keep the Poison Center number in your phone.  1-800-222-1222

Caregiver questions and concerns.

Make sure to ask whatever questions you have.  We’re here to help you, so go ahead and ask, even if you think it’s silly.  I’ve had a lot of parents ask what they thought were silly questions that were actually very good ones.  

Vaccines.

As I’ve said before, while children generally all get the same vaccines, the timing at different pediatric offices may be slightly different.  At my office the 9 month visit only has vaccines if a child is behind and needs to be caught up, or if it’s flu season.

Links.

8-12 months at healthy children.org

Poison Center