10 Months Old Baby Development & Milestones
At 10 months old, there is so much your baby would have accomplished already, from crawling confidently to sitting independently, pulling to stand to saying their first words. They are also growing by leaps and bounds with each passing day, not just physically but even cognitively. They are more interested in play time, have emotional connects with their caregivers, show evident social personality traits like being shy, giving you those special smiles and others and probably waving. Stranger and seperation anxiety also seems to get more instense as they age.
They are big on communication this month with continuos babbling, saying their first words like 'mama', 'dada'. They may also try to say familiar words like ba for ball or gaga for glass or likewise. They are more interactive than before, and enjoying playing games like peek-a-boo or waving at you and others.
10th Month Milestones
There is so much going on this month - crawling, teething, standing up with support, trying new forms of communication like signs. Social, Emotional and Cognitive developments along with improved both gross and fine motor skills. Let us look at all the exciting new milestones this month.
Sitting Up
Babies would have mastered sitting up independently by now and even leaning forward and side to side to reach for things.
Communication
The babbling has intensified and is more tuneful now with lot of variations in response to your voice. They start to communicate using pointing, shaking head, waving, responding to their name, maintaining eye contact and more, also it is a great age to teach them signs to ask for things they need like more food for example. Your baby is constantly listening to what you have to say and learning new words, sounds, language which will be used in months to come.
Crawling
Many babies would already be crawling with confidence by this age, moving around the house. Some may be just starting out and may get tired faster and all this is normal. Babies crawl anytime from 8 to 12 months of age. You can help build their confidence and engage their muscles by adding some obstacles like toys, pillows, cushions along their path and make it interesting for them as well as they explore.
Pull to Stand
Soon after begining to crawl, babies try to hold on to things to pull theselves to stand like sofa, furniture, your leg. This is a very important milestone that sets the foundation for cruising which follows next holding on to furniture and walking next.
While pulling to stand is a big deal, babies at this age are wobbly and learning to maintain their balance, they will eventually learn to lower themselves back to the floor safely but this age is prone to accidents so keep an eye on your baby.
Cruising
Not very long after pull to stand, babies atempt to hold on to furniture like sofa and walk more sideways like a crab till they learn to balance themselves better. As they practice they get better and quicker over the weeks to even walk unaided for a few steps before they grab on to the next piece of furniture. Try placing the chairs and tables a bit apart to encourage your baby to let go for breif seconds before gthey need support. All this will build their muscles and core to balance as they walk independently in a few weeks or months to come.
Walking window in babies is huge where most babies do it anytime between 9 to 15 months and others might between 15 - 18 months with all being in the normal range. Talk to your doctor if your child is not walking by 18 months.
Gross and Fine Motor Skills
They have made great advances in the gross motor skills area with being comfortable on all fours, moving back and forth to and away from objects, pulling to stand, cruising and on the fine motor skills they now display the pincer grasp, where they now pick up small objects, food using their thumb and index finger, place the food in their mouth, grasp ojects with ease, shuffle them between the two hands.
Feeding Routine
At 10 months your baby is pronbably chomping through a variety of foods from fruits, grains, vegetables, proteins and so much more. You can add spices to make it more interesting for their taste. As they get used to the variety you can start offering food from the family pot but ensure they are soft and cut to small pieces to avoid any choking.
Don't give them any honey, sticky foods, popcorn, nuts, marshmellows or food that is difficult to chew and digest. Stick to simpler mashed or small bite size piece foods for your baby.
Milk continues to be a major part of the baby's diet even at 10 months of age with should be about 24 -32 ounces or 700 - 950ml of milk per day. Some babies start to transitioning to eating more solids, fruits and variety foods and may not drink as much milk now which is normal too.
Related: Baby Led Weaning
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Sleep Routine
Things don't change much this month here, your baby still continues to clock about 14 hours of sleep each day including 2 naps a day. Having said that, sleep disturbances or regression is also common as your baby could be teething, experiencing seperation anxiety or just milestones related changes in sleep pattern. All this is normal and should get back to normal pattern in a few weeks. Key is to continue to follow a consistent night time schedule so your baby knows its time to sleep and is not overtired.
Height & Weight
The average weight for ten months old baby girl is around 8.5kg and height of 28.2 inches.
The average weight of ten months old boy is around 9.2kg and height of about 28.8inches.
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10th Month Doctor's Visit
There may not be appointments this month, next should be around 1 year mark. You could catch up on any missed vaccinations or schedule an appointment if you have any concerns or questions.
Safety is of utmost importance both at home and while outside. Baby proof the house if not already done as your child is mobile now and could get into trouble. Ensure you have a car seat properly installed for when you need to step out with your bubba. Always keep an eye on your child, its important not to leave them unattended.