Why Your 9 or 10 Month Old Is Frustrated. What you can do to help your baby be more content and even sleep better.
You might be noticing that your 9-10 month old seems a bit frustrated and upset during wake time.
Your baby is probably understimulated mentally and/or physically.
It used to be that the world alone was enough to stimulate and challenge your baby, but now you need to put some effort into bringing some challenge.
Update Baby’s Toys
As your little baby grows up, she will come to find her once beloved toys a bit of a bore. Babywise mentions rotating toys and keeping them age-appropriate, but many moms still find themselves handing their 9 month old toys she played with as a 4 month old and wondering why she seems so discontent.
It does seem to happen around 9 months old. They want new toys. They are more mature and ready for a change.
My kids have both lucked out and had Christmas shortly before 9 months hit, so they had lots of new toys. If you have a spring baby, your child will likely have the same experience. Otherwise, very few parents are going to think about getting a bunch of new toys.
It doesn’t have to be a lot. You know how you get a couple of new shirts and/or pants and suddenly your wardrobe has a whole new life to it? Get your child a couple of new toys and spruce up the toy collection.
>>>Read: Best Toys for Baby: Ages 10-12 Months
You can also add a lot of ordinary house objects at this age. Measuring spoons or cups, pots, pans, and your mixing bowls make great toys. A pot with a spoon. Your old cell phone. Look around. Your child is fascinated with new items. Kaitlyn spent about 45 minutes straight one day playing with my measuring tape. I was surprised at her fascination.
Also, be sure to rotate books. If you don’t own a lot, take advantage of your local library. Kids get attached to books, but they are also very excited for new books. Just keep it fresh. Keep in mind that your little baby is growing so quickly and needs appropriate stimulation.
Rotating these toys will not only help your child perk up during playtime each day, it will also help your baby be tired enough to take good naps and sleep well at night. Babies in this age range will not sleep well if they are not mentally stimulated enough, and new toys can provide just the mental stimulation they need.
If you need ideas of great toys for this age range, see my list of great toys for toddlers I have on Amazon. You can also see my list of toys for babies to see if there is anything there that would be great for your little one.
9 – 10 Month Old Development
Here are some things to know about for your baby’s development at this age:
- Baby should be eating 3-4 times a day with a possible snack. Your baby should have 24-32 ounces of formula or breast milk each day. If your baby hates milk, other dairy such as yogurt can substitute that. Snack time is a great time to eat finger foods. Your baby should have solid foods 3 times a day, including fruits and vegetables.
- Finger foods should be in small pieces that the baby cannot choke on. Examples are cubed cheese, pasta, beans, cut fruits, cut veggies, cereal, and breads. Read up on Finger Foods Basics for more help.
- Continue to introduce new foods over time. This will help expand baby’s tastes.
- Your baby will likely have two naps a day. If baby is still taking 3 naps, work on dropping to 2.
- There is a sleep regression in this age range. Read Conquering the 8-10 Month Sleep Regression for help. Do not drop the morning nap at this age.
- Baby’s sleep should be pretty predictable if you have followed a routine and done sleep training.
- Your baby should have 10-12 hours of sleep at night.
Get more info for your baby’s schedule, as well as sample schedules, in these posts:
Here are some developmental milestones to watch for with this age. Remember babies do move at their own pace. Babies also focus on different types of skills at different times. One might focus on fine motor skills while another works on gross motor and another language:
- Most 9 and 10 month old babies are crawling. This is a great physical skill to get your child moving around to be more tired for naps and night time.
- Most babies can stand holding on to something.
- Most can pull up to standing from a sitting position.
- Most babies will get upset if you try to take a toy away.
- Most can say simple words like mama and dada.
- Most can play peek-a-boo.
- Most can wave back to you.
- Many can get into a sitting position from the tummy.
- Many can clap.
- Many have developed a pincer grasp wth the forefinger and thumb.
- Many can cruise furniture (walk holding onto something).
- Many can understand “no”.
- Some can stand alone briefly.
- Some can intentionally use words.
- Some can intentionally point to objects.
- A few can communicate wants without caring.
- A few can drink from a cup.
- A few can walk.
As you plan your daily activities, look at this list and see what your baby can and cannot do. Give time for baby to practice a skill on this list. It will help with cognitive development and will also help so baby is not bored and frustrated.
