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Baby month 9 for dads: babble, sitting and the 9 month review

By 9 months most babies babble strings like mamama and bababa, sit without support, and look for things that drop out of sight. In the UK a health visitor review is offered between 9 and 12 months. Your job: be at it, and fill in the questionnaire together.

How to read this

Month 9 means the baby is between 8 and 9 months old. Everything below is a typical range, not a test: babies get there at different times. If your baby was born early, ask your health visitor or pediatrician how to count. Anything that worries you goes to your GP, health visitor or pediatrician, or NHS 111 / 911 when it is urgent.

▸What is typical for the baby this month

Development: what is typical by 9 months

By 9 months, most babies make lots of different sounds like mamamama and bababababa, lift their arms to be picked up, look for things when they drop out of sight, and bang two things together. [CDC]

Most get to a sitting position by themselves, sit without support, move things from one hand to the other, and use their fingers to rake food towards themselves. [CDC]

If your baby is not doing one or more of these, or has lost a skill, CDC says to act early and talk to the doctor. That is a conversation, not a verdict. [CDC]

The UK 9 to 12 month review

In the UK your baby should be offered a review between 9 and 12 months, usually by the health visiting team, covering language and learning, safety, diet and behaviour. They send an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) to fill in first. [NHS]

The NHS says it helps, where possible, for both parents to attend reviews. Take the red book: it holds the weight, height and vaccine records, and you can add to it yourself. [NHS]

Feeding

Let your baby feed themselves with their fingers as soon as they show an interest, and keep distractions like screens away from mealtimes. [NHS]

▸Your jobs this month

  1. Fill in the ASQ-3 questionnaire with her, trying the activities at home. Then go to the review.
  2. Respond to the babble. Copy the sounds back and take turns; it is a conversation to them.
  3. Do one finger-food meal a day where the baby feeds themselves and you do not wipe every ten seconds.
  4. Update the red book or US health record with anything new: illnesses, medicines, accidents.

▸Her recovery, your head, and the two of you

Nine months out is as long as the pregnancy was. Say that to her. Then ask what she wants to get back to for herself, and make the time for it happen.

Postnatal depression signs the NHS lists include low mood, finding it hard to enjoy anything, feeling hopeless or unable to cope, feeling guilty or like a bad parent, constant worry, irritability, trouble sleeping even when there is a chance to rest, trouble concentrating, difficulty bonding with the baby, and thoughts of suicide or of harming herself or the baby. Symptoms can start any time up to a year after the birth. [NHS]

It is not only her. NHS Best Start in Life says up to 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men develop a mental health problem such as depression or anxiety in pregnancy or the first year after the birth, and the NHS says fathers and partners can also get depression after a baby. [NHS Best Start in Life · NHS]

Where to get help

UK: talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor. In England, adults can also refer themselves to NHS talking therapies. PANDAS runs support groups, a text line and a callback service, and Samaritans answer on 116 123. In an emergency call 999. [NHS · PANDAS]

US: talk to her OB or your own doctor. The Postpartum Support International HelpLine is 1-800-944-4773 (call or text; it takes a message and a trained volunteer gets back to you), and PSI runs a support group for dads. For a crisis, call or text 988, any time. In an emergency call 911. [PSI · PSI · 988]

▸Money and paperwork around now

US: FMLA bonding leave must be used within 12 months of the birth, and splitting it into separate chunks needs your employer's agreement. Three months left: book the rest. [U.S. Department of Labor]

UK: Shared Parental Leave must be used in the first year, and each block needs at least 8 weeks of written notice. A block in month 11 needs notice this month. [GOV.UK]

Get every first-year deadline as a date → · Vaccination schedule (UK and US) →

▸Common questions

What should a 9 month old be doing?

CDC lists things most babies (75% or more) do by 9 months, including babbling strings like mamama, sitting without support, looking for dropped things and being shy with strangers. Babies vary; if you are worried, talk to your health visitor or pediatrician.

What is the 9 to 12 month health visitor check?

An NHS review, usually by the health visiting team, looking at language and learning, safety, diet and behaviour. You get an ASQ-3 questionnaire to fill in beforehand, and it helps if both parents attend.

▸The whole first year

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Not medical advice

This is general information for expectant fathers, not clinical guidance. Anything about symptoms, pain, or bleeding goes to your midwife, doctor, or emergency service, not to an app.

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Your first year, dated from the birthday.

In the DAD-OS app, enter the birth date once and get this month's guide, the vaccine visits and every paperwork deadline as real dates, with a calendar export.

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▸Sources

Checked against these pages. Where guidance differs by country, follow your own GP, health visitor or pediatrician.