Baby Talk: 7-9 Months
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If you are reading this, I’m sure you are thinking, “how is my baby 7 to 9 months old already?” It happens so fast! Baby is most likely on the move, continuing to put everything in his mouth and making some really cool changes with his language.
At this stage, you will start noticing baby looking at you when his name is called. He is probably starting to use gestures – clapping, giving high fives, blowing kisses, and waving hello/good bye. You may see your baby reaching towards objects he wants, like a toy or food, in anticipation of you giving it to him.
Baby has been working hard to understand the cause and effect relationships in the world and he will now begin to incorporate this concept into his communicative attempts. You may see baby using eye contact, facial expressions, screeches, babbles, and gestures in order to gain your attention or meet his basic needs. Baby will continue to experiment with his voice through babbling. If he has already started using consonant sounds, you will probably hear more of a variety of sounds and faster repetition within the babbles.
The most beneficial ways to interact and play with your baby are things that parents tend to do instinctively. However, If you are searching for a little more guidance in these interactions, read on.
Speech and Language Play:
Talk: While holding your baby’s gaze, smile and talk. Talk to baby during diaper changes, when feeding him, and during bath time. Be sure to wait and give baby time to respond to your voice. The pattern of “you talk and I respond, then I talk and you respond,” is the foundation for back and fourth conversation. Slow down, listen, and really observe what baby is doing and you might be surprised by what baby has to say!
Point: While walking around the house or outside, point to objects, both close and in the distance, and talk about what you see.
Imitate: Using the “you talk and I respond, then I talk and you respond,” strategy from above, copy the sounds baby produces and then wait to see if baby will imitate you. You can then produce a different repetitive sound and pause to see if baby imitates you.
Play Peek-A-Boo: Hide behind a scarf, towel, or hands to facilitate the game of Peek-A-Book. This simple turn-taking game is good practice for how to have a conversation later on.
Sing: Simple songs are calming, attention grabbing, and interactive. Singing with baby provides a great interactive activity and supports future speech and language skills, such as auditory discrimination, phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and auditory memory. Some simple songs that baby might love are Hush Little Baby, Pat-a-Cake, The Wheels on the Bus, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle.
Read: Read, read, read! Start with simple books pictures in high contrasting colors. Baby might also enjoy books that introduce him through a variety of textures that you can encourage him to touch. Reading well before baby is speaking, is an important bonding experience and exposes baby to language, rhythm, sentence structure, and new vocabulary.
Gestures: Clap for your baby and see if he imitates, wave bye bye/hello to everyone your encounter, and hold out your hand and say high five. Be sure to wait to give baby time to respond.
Sensory Play:
Babies learn best through their senses which is why sensory play is so important for a developing baby. Any activity that allows baby to safely explore using a combination of their senses (touch/smell/sight/hearing) in creative and spontaneous ways is considered sensory play. By providing baby with the opportunity to play with a variety of open-ended, everyday materials, you are providing baby with sensory experiences that plays an important role in early brain development .
Some ideas for sensory play for baby age 7 to 9 Months:
Treasure Baskets: A treasure basket is grouping common, baby safe items together in a basket to encourage your baby to use his senses to explore these items safely and independently. Some ideas include balls, bean bags, and baby safe kitchen utensils. This is the basket we are using in the photo below.
Sensory Trays: I begin introducing baby to sensory materials starting out on a tray. The tray is a nice stepping stone to a sensory bin by giving baby better access to a smaller amount of material. We have used rice, cooked noodles, and snow at this age.
DIY Light Box: This is a great sensory/play activity for baby to expose him to light/dark and manipulating objects. You can build baby’s language while you are playing with this by describing what he is feeling and seeing. Simply fill an under the bed Tupperware container with white Christmas lights and the place objects on the lid. We are using oil and water in a bag pictured below.
Oobleck: (Cornstarch and water). Start with cornstarch and add water until you find a consistency you like. There is something mesmerizing about the consistency of cornstarch and water.
*Please do not leave baby unattended with any of these sensory activities These activities are designed to be facilitated by an adult.*
Toys:
Baby is becoming interested in objects that can be manipulated, objects that make fun sounds, and objects that he can fit in his mouth. So, any toy that baby can hold, shake, mouth, and drop are a good bet for a baby this age. I highly recommend avoiding toys that require batteries and stocking up on old fashioned toys that provide baby with more opportunities for open ended play.
Rainbow Scarves are a versatile toy that can be used with kids of all ages. We love pushing these scarves “in and out” of Oballs and wipes containers, playing “peekaboo,” and using them to twirl around while we dance.
Cars are always a hit in our house and the Melissa and Doug Pull Back Vehicles are one of our favorites. Baby can explore on his own or you can pull back with a “Ready, Set, Go,” and then send the car in his direction.
Baby Dolls are such a wonderful toy for both boys and girls alike. We love the mini JC baby doll as a starter doll because it’s the perfect size and can be wiped down after all of the slobbery kisses. Baby dolls encourage love and provide opportunity for endless pretend play.
Blocks – So many language concepts can be learned with a simple set of blocks. The Infantino Squeeze and Stack Block Set is a great starter set for baby. He can stack, throw, chew, and bang, without hurting himself or causing damage to anything else.
Pop Up Pals is a timeless toy. It’s fun to watch baby explore this toy. He starts by banging the toy around and accidentally causing the pals to pop up. As he continues to explore he begins to learn that the pals will pop up if he turns, pushes, pulls the knobs. It is also fun to pair a sound effect as the pals pop open.
Musical Instruments are a great way for baby to explore with sound. Simple instruments allow baby to experience cause and effect by shaking, banging, and pounding. The Melissa & Doug Band in a Box is by far our favorite musical instrument set for baby.
Activity cubes provide baby with a variety of ways to explore in one place. Initially baby will be able to open/close and spin the objects and then as baby becomes more mobile, he will begin to pull to stand on the cube to explore what’s on top. We have the B. Zany Zoo activity cube that both the baby and the preschooler like to interact with together.
Remember, every baby develops at his own pace, so there is a large window for when baby will reach his developmental milestones for this reason. There’s nothing to worry about if your baby is hitting his important milestones within a period that you and your pediatrician are happy with. If you as the parent are having concerns, do not hesitate to bring it up to your doctor.