2. Your Baby’s Speech

As of late, you’ve probably heard many entertaining “stories” told by your baby – and you probably haven’t understood any of it. Around 9 months, your baby is doing canonical babbling. This stage is defined by the repetition of vowels and consonants. This means that you’re going to be hearing short words such as ‘mama’, ‘dada’ and ‘baba’. While they’re finally saying ‘words;’ it’s likely that your little one is associating multiple people and/or objects with a single word. It’s important to continue talking to your baby and pointing objects out in order to encourage further vocabulary and language acquisition.

3. Your Baby’s Brain

While the games you play with your baby seem trivial, they actually have a huge impact on developing learning and thinking abilities. Playing peek-a-boo with your little one will help them understand object permanence. Up until this point, your baby might not understand that just because they can’t see an object, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Music also plays a role in your baby’s development. New research from the University of Washington shows that play sessions with music improved babies’ brain processing.

At 9 months, babies also learn about the connection between pictures and real objects. According to a study in the journal Child Development, researchers found that babies under 1-years old can learn about a toy from a picture.

4. Your Baby’s Immunity

At this age, everything your baby touches ends up in their mouth. Believe it or not, this is a good thing. It is a way of building up their immune system and learning about the world.

If you are home, and their pacifier falls on the floor, it’s totally OK to pop it back into their mouth. A study of 184 children showed that parents who licked the pacifier and put it back in had healthier kids. They had fewer allergies, asthma, and eczema. So, let your kid eat dirt–and while you’re at it, fruits and leafy greens.