Now your baby is taking a more and more active part in life and has become an established member of the family. During the second half of the first year, the baby develops a great deal physically and mentally. He will sit up unsupported, may crawl, stand, and even walk by his first birthday. Babies at this age are developing a real personality and will reward you with laughter, funny faces, affectionate hugs, gurgling, waving, playing with his toys and yelling for attention. He begins to model speech patterns after the speech of those around him. This is a period of steady progress, though the stages of progress may vary with each child.

One-year-olds are delightful. Each child is special in his or her own way, and you will be amazed at the new discoveries as your older baby develops. Your baby's first steps and first words are exciting events.

Feeding
This is the age when he starts putting anything he wants to explore, into the mouth. This is the best time to introduce him to soft finger foods to hold and nibble on. By the time your baby is 8 to 10 months old, he may be ready and interested in eating with the rest of the family. At this age she can hold a spoon and is ready to learn to drink from a cup. Some babies will already be on three meals a day at six or seven months. Others will be on milk feedings only. Solids need not be quite as liquid because she can cope with a slightly thicker consistency now, although foods should still be pureed. By the time she is having solids three time a day she will probably be taking only two milk feedings. Start your baby on very soft table foods such as mashed, potatoes, bananas or apples; yogurt, rice cereals, boiled and pureed carrots, cauliflower or other vegetables, and soft textured meats. Cows milk, citrus fruits, egg whites etc is best avoided during this time as they may cause allergy. As your baby grows more teeth, the consistency of the foods as well as the foods we offer can become more varied.

Crawling

Moving around on all fours is a great achievement. A 6 to 7 month old baby starts lifting her chest and bottom, not together but alternatively from the floor supporting her weight on her arms and legs. By 7-8 months she begins to move, sometimes backwards not forward, or wriggles forward on the stomach. She may not use each leg in the same way, a lopsided shuffle with one knee and the other foot is quite normal. Then she'll figure out how to move forward and backward by pushing off with her knees. Encourage her to practice crawling by placing a colourful thing or toy in front of her just out of reach or sitting a few feet away and calling to her. You must note that many babies never crawl, but may go right ahead with learning to stand and walk. Some may just roll over or push themselves forward in the sitting position to move from one place to another. Between 9 to 12 months, the crawling becomes well coordinated and fast.

Sitting up
Between 6 to 9 months of age your baby will learn to sit up without support. At first when she learns to balance sitting up she will lean forward and spread her legs out wide and straight for support. Then she gets enough confidence to reach her hands to grasp things while sitting. They could turn their whole body while sitting, with out fear of toppling over by 9 months.

Standing and walking
Most babies will pull themselves up to a standing position by holding on to some support, for the first time between 9 and 12 months. But some babies may do that even earlier. Once he gains confidence to pull himself up first and then get back down, he will want to spend more and more time standing. By 12 months most of them take their first walking steps with support more often sideways holding on to something with both hands. Falls are common when they first begin to walk, so take care to protect them. The ages at which they begin to walk unsupported may differ widely with babies. Some may take steps on their own as early as 10 months but others may do so only after their first birthdays in 15 or 16 months.

Height and Weight
The variables affecting growth, especially weight, in this period are many. By 8 months of age, most babies weigh around 6.3 - 8.1kg, although the normal range is wider than that. After the first 12 months of life, most babies will probably have just about tripled their birth weight and will probably stand about 70-80cm (28 to 32 inches) tall.

Physical Changes of your Baby

The Eighth and Ninth Month

Many babies begin to crawl. If they don't crawl they start moving from one place to another by whatever method she uses as 'crawling'.
Starts to be interested in pulling herself up to a standing position by holding on to some support.
Leans forward while sitting without toppling over.
Shouts most effectively to get what they want, to be fed, or to get a toy or to be picked up.
By the end of the eighth month, he may begin to use different syllables all in the same breath.
Puts objects inside other things and likes rolling objects.
Holds two things simultaneously and transfers them from one hand to the other.
May be frightened of other people outside her immediate family.
Enjoys watching herself in a mirror. More time is now spent closely examining objects with the eyes and hands.

The Tenth Month

Can possibly stand up without support for a few minutes and even take a few steps with support.
Loves to climb stairs
Baby says "mama", "baba" or "dada."
Recognizes several words
Starts to be fearful of bath and loud sounds.
Tries to help you dress her
Searches for something if you hide it.
Discovers that she can say 'no'- and you discover she means it.
Enjoys sitting in a high chair or push-chair and dropping things over the side for you to pick up so that the game can start again, and infinitum.