11 months old

Developmental Milestones

With one month away before the milestone-to-end-all-milestones, you might feel like your little one is teetering towards toddlerhood more than ever. Anticipating your baby’s first steps might be high on your wish list, but there are so many other developments popping up – from your baby’s emerging verbal skills to his or her overall language comprehension.

It’s hard not to track and measure your baby’s development against “the norm,” but understand that there’s such a wide range of normal. Perhaps your baby is just learning to crawl or hasn’t said anything like “dada” yet – which isn’t anything to worry about. But make sure to let your doctor know if you have any looming questions about serious developmental delays.

Here’s what your 11-month-old baby might be doing or will soon be doing:

• Pulling up to a standing position
• Understanding and enjoying peek-a-boo games
• Saying “mama” or “dada,” sometimes even appropriately
• Getting into a sitting position from his or her stomach
• Picking up small objects (like a Cheerio) with his or her thumb and forefinger
• “Cruising” around the room holding onto furniture
• Clapping hands and waving
• Crawling or possibly even walking
• Pointing to something that he or she wants
• Possibly standing alone for a couple of seconds
• Understanding simple words and phrases, like “no”
• Objecting if you take a toy away
• Being able to roll a ball back to you
• Drinking from a cup without your help
• Babbling in more complex strings of gibberish
• Possibly even saying a word other than “mama” or “dada”

Play

• You’ve probably realized that your baby doesn’t need much entertainment, as everything and anything is exciting and fascinating. A pot is now a drum, a bucket is now a purse and a cardboard box is the coolest thing ever.
• Your baby is finally able to really engage and interact with toys (like ride-on and push toys) and enjoys vrooming cars, flipping through board books and banging blocks.
• Anything that can be pushed, pulled or flipped are also popular at this age.
• There are certain ways you can encourage your baby’s emerging language through playtime:
• • Label everything and anything. At this point your baby is growing more and more curious by the second, so he or she wants to know exactly what that cold box is that keeps his formula and what kind of animal is in his or her book. Point and label the car, tree, bird, dog, peas – everything.
  • Notice what your baby is interested in (follow her gaze and her curiosity) and label or talk about that.
  • Babies also love when you label their body parts, especially while singing a fun song like “Head and Shoulders.”
  • Listening is just as important as talking. Let your baby finish his or her babbling and then thoughtfully respond with, “Oh, really?” or “Wow, tell me more!” And then when you ask a question, pause for an answer. In fact, asking questions is a good way to prompt your baby to respond.
  • Even though it will be awhile before your baby will learn colors, it’s never too early to start identifying all of the colors around you.
  • Start giving your baby simple directions during playtime, like “Bring mommy that book.”
  • In fact, it’s a good idea to introduce pronouns now as well, such as “Bring me that book.”
  • Also start introducing different concepts into your playtime, like up and down, in and out, and big and little. You can also show him or her the difference between hot (warm) and cold, as well as wet and dry.
  • Continuing to use baby signs along with the spoken word is a good way to encourage communication
• Of course, continue singing, reading and talking, as you have been.
• Here are some of the best age-appropriate toys.