At this month’s check up you might be worried that baby is not gaining as much weight as she should. Your little one is going the extra mile to discover her physical limits and is determined to conquer new terrain. Baby is extremely active now and will soon (if not already) crawl around like a natural born racer. On the other hand, feeding baby can often only be accomplished by offering her a toy as a distracter. Her interest in exploring and increased activity may attribute to her putting on less weight than you might expect. However, baby will soon pick up again so there is no need to worry.

Your baby’s physical development

Baby is learning every day and the word “milestones” does not seem to justify the speed at which she is becoming more and more active and independent. By ten months, baby can pull herself up from a sitting position and stand alone by holding on to furniture or a person. She will probably also be able to move into a sitting position when lying on her stomach. Some babies can already make some steps by holding on to the furniture (so-called cruising). She can play peek-a-boo, patty-cake (clap with her hands) and wave bye-bye. Her small fingers and hands allow her to pick up small objects with a so-called pincer grasp (though keep dangerous objects out of baby’s reach).

She may already be able to stand alone for moments before plopping back onto the floor and try to scoop up a toy from the floor while standing. Her urge for more independence will lead her to learn to drink from a cup very soon.

Your baby’s emotional development

By now, baby can communicate her needs and wishes by other means than crying or screaming. She may be able to point at something of interest or use some sort of gesticulate language (read more about Baby Sign Language here). Baby can understand the word “no” but she may not take it seriously (as yet) because playing is far more interesting of course.

When upset, she can actively seek the comfort of those closest to her. She will then lift up her arms to indicate that she wants to be held. Baby can also express diverse emotions such as hurt, sadness, happiness, fear and discomfort as well as being able to recognize them in other people. At the same time she knows how to show affection with hugs, kisses, smiles and pats.

By now, she knows when she does something wrong and will show feelings of guilt, too.

There are a lot of games and activities that he will enjoy now. Take a look at our activity list for some inspiration here.