Five Interactive Games to Teach a Nine Month Old

Guess what? My baby is nine months old, and she can finally play and interact well with us. I love it!

Here are some simple games you can play with your baby. Your baby might pick up on some of these activities immediately, and others might take a little while. Don't stress if they don't work for you right now. They don't have to! When you're a parent, you do what works.

1. Peek-a-Boo
This sounds simple, right? I mean, you've probably played peek-a-boo with your wee one when she was just a few weeks or months old. Did you know that your baby can play it herself now? All it takes is a little practice.

Start by playing peek-a-boo with a blanket when your baby is in a good mood. Hold it up so she can't see you, and then drop it. Tell her, "Peek a boo!" Once she is into the game, help her hold the blanket. Do it a few times with her. Then, hand her the blanket and say, "OK, you do it!"

                 

Both of my children seemed so proud when they learned to do this game all by themselves. I remember back in the day when I'd be folding laundry with Oliver, and I'd have to call out "Peek a boo!" every time he got a hold of an article of clothing. It's super cute when your baby can initiate a game herself.

2. Baby Drumming

At this age, your baby wants to communicate with you. She can't talk yet, but she'll be delighted when she can do something and you respond to it.

Teach her to drum! You don't need a drum. You can use an upside down coffee can or a large piece of tupperware or whatever is laying around. I have an empty wooden box from a board game, and it works perfectly.

When your baby is in a good mood, sit down with her and place the "drum" between you. Take your hand and pat it. Do it again and again. If your baby doesn't reach to do it herself, gently take her arm and do it for her. She'll probably smile when her hand comes down and makes a noise. Every time she drums, be sure to do it back. She will get such a kick out of it!

She might not be talk to you with her words, but she'll love that she can send you a message that you'll understand. Drum away!

              


3. The Sharing Game
We started this game with Oliver. Joanna loves it just as much. Actually, no, I think she enjoys this game even more than Oliver ever did.

I think this game takes a little more practice than the others, but your baby will pick up on it and will get a total kick out of playing it with you.

Hand your baby a little toy. Let her examine it and shake it or bang it or whatever she likes to do these days. Then, take it from her. She'll look shocked at first, but just tell her, "Oh, thank you! Thank you for sharing with me! You're so nice." Then, give it back. If your baby is like mine, she'll look stunned for a bit. I like to pretend to read my baby's mind, and so I'm pretty sure she thought, "What the heck just happened?" when we first played this game.

Take the toy from her a few times, each time cooing at your baby and telling her thank you for sharing with you. Don't keep it for long. Give it right back. After you've done it a few times, start holding your hands out expectantly at her when she's playing with her toy. You can even ask, "Can I have that?" The first few times, your baby might not be good at getting the item to you at all. She might just drop it. That's your baby trying to give it to you. Make a big deal out of it, coo, and say thanks.

Soon, you'll be playing the sharing game. You'll hold your hands out, and she'll drop it in. You'll say thanks, and she'll smile proudly. Then, you give it back. Rinse and repeat.

Here's the post I made of Oliver when he was 9 months old and playing this game.

Here's a video of Joanna playing the sharing game:


4. Echo!
Joanna invented this game herself. Maybe she'll be an inventor like her great-grandfather, Charlie.

We gave her a water bottle without the lid. She was babbling away and heard it echo. The expression on her face was priceless. Andrew made noises into it, and gave it back to Jo. Before long, they were alternating turns yelling into the empty bottle. It's become a regular daddy-daughter game.

5. Patty Cake
OK, you're going to be doing most of the work for this game. Clap your hands together, and then pat your baby's hands with your own. Do you know the patty cake rhyme? It's pretty simple:
Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can. Roll it, pat (prick) it, mark it with a B, put it in the oven for baby and me!

We've always said "pat it," but, apparently, some people know the rhyme as "prick it."  You can also have fun changing the letter to your child's first initial.  "Mark it with a J, put it in the oven for Joanna and me!"

Babies love the interaction and will stare in wonder as you pat their hands.  You can do some variations of this game. If your baby loves clapping, let her clap while you clap and say the rhyme.  You can add in fun little things like "pricking" your baby's belly button when you say "prick it," or rolling your baby's arms when you say "roll it."

Nine Months for Jo!

Nine months in the womb, and nine months out.  Joanna is her own person.  She has gotten interactive and loves to play little games with us.  She initiates peek-a-boo, and she loves a game that Grandma Colleen taught her: you lean forward, and then she leans forward to touch her forehead to yours.  Repeat that over and over and over again.  She enjoys mimicking, and we alternate drumming on surfaces.

Jo's language is developing a bit more.  Her favorite sound to make is still "Bwa," but she also says, "Mumumum," a lot.  Shrieking has started back up again, louder and shriller than ever before.  She coos a lot, too.  She still enjoys waving and being social.

She has a new appreciation for her brother.  Oliver is the funniest person, as far as Jo is concerned.  She loves reaching for him and pulling on his hair and ears--and he lets her!  Oliver is such an amazing brother, that I'm tearing up just thinking about it.  I really lucked out with these kids. They absolutely adore each other.

Weaning seems to work two steps forward and one step back.  She was down to three daily feeds and one night feeding when her top teeth started to come in. Boy, she didn't like those! After both of those teeth popped through (she has four now), she went back to 3 daily nursings and one nighttime nursing. Then, last week, we decided to cut out the night nursing for good. Jo has done really well with that change, but--wouldn't you know?--she got sick a few days ago. She's had a moderate fever and diarrhea. She doesn't seem to want to eat or drink much, so I've been nursing her for extra feedings to keep her hydrated. Over the past few days, she's been nursing about 5-6 times during the day. Wow! Hopefully, things will settle down to get back on track to having her weaned at 12 months old.

As far as solid foods go, Joanna still loves her Gerber sweet potato puffs.  I also toast some whole grain bread for her and scrape a very thin layer of peanut butter over it.  I cut it into thin strips and let her eat those.  She loves it!  Cheerios are another good standby for Jo, but I have to feed her those one at a time. Otherwise, she just shoves them all into her mouth at once, and I have to fish them out. She usually enjoys a jar or two of baby food each day, too.

There's been one more big change: Joanna is now sharing a room with her brother.  I have my living room back!  It's so cute to step into Oliver's room and see him sleeping on his mattress and Jo sleeping in the crib across from him.  I love it.  Sleep is getting much better, too!  Jo wakes up at night once, and Andrew goes into to pat her and comfort her (instead of me nursing her back to sleep).  It usually takes about 20 minutes or so, but she eventually falls back to sleep. She seems to want to go to bed earlier and earlier. These days, we fight to keep her up until 7pm. She's usually up by 6am. She usually takes one short nap and one long nap during the day. Unfortunately, they're usually just before and just after Oliver's afternoon nap. I look forward to when she's napping once a day so we're not trapped at home so much.

Joanna still doesn't stand well while holding onto things.  Well, she will, but when she gets tired, she just hurls herself to the floor without a worry in the world. She doesn't pull up to a stand and actually has yet to pull herself into a sit. She does, however, easily move out of a sit and into the crawl position. She doesn't work much on crawling. Instead, she cries until we sit her back up. Crawling might not happen for a couple more months yet.

At 9 months old, Jo's likes and dislikes are:

Likes
Oliver!
Dumping over buckets of toys
Being held
Grabbing people's hair and noses (still!)
Peek-a-boo
Oliver's Sesame Street music videos
People who stop to smile at her

Dislikes
Diaper changes
The car seat
Heat
Being put down on the floor
Teething

Here's a flashback to Oliver's 9 month old update.

Nine Months Ago Today

It was nine months ago today that I got to finally hold my baby Oliver after carrying him in my tummy for nine months. I vividly recall all the emotion I felt at the hospital. I bonded instantly to him! I also recall the challenges of bringing a newborn baby home for the first time. Mr. Oliver wanted to be held at all times! He was completely dependent on us for everything.

Now, Oliver still wants to be held most of the time, but we can also plop him on the floor when we do laundry, dishes, or take a shower. Oliver's proto-crawling, and when I hold him upright by the waist, he walks. He babbles a lot, and his current favorite sounds are "Buh," "puh," "Baa," "Wuh," and "Ahh." He still clicks in response to our clicks and sometimes coughs in response to our coughs. Also, he still pats the table when we pat it.

His sleep schedule has gotten a little worse, I think from all the traveling (this month, we've been to Cape Cod and Chicago). We're house-sitting this week, but after that, we're going to stay at home in our own bed and crib for a long time. Oliver now goes to bed at 6:30pm, wakes once at about 2am, and then gets up for the day at 5:30am. Many nights recently, he's been getting up around 10pm or midnight and refuses to go back to bed until Andrew walks him around.

Oliver's napping had gotten much, much worse for a while. There were a few days when he only napped once for about 40 minutes! Once I realized the problem was me trying to lift him up into his crib, I remedied the situation by putting his mattress on the floor, and he's been napping well ever since.

Another change this month has been a big increase in Oliver's separation anxiety. Oliver clings to my clothes when people try to pick him up. If I'm nearby and someone else is holding him, he sobs and sobs and sobs until I go get him. If I'm not around, he does OK with other people. This makes it a little embarrassing because someone will be holding him, playing with him, having a good time, and then I walk into the room, Oliver sees me, and cries! Also, Oliver's definitely a bit shy. He often burrows his head into my shoulder or Andrew's shoulder when other people tell him hi.

People who meet Oliver point out how observant he is, how much he loves his momma, how big his eyes are, how many teeth he has (6), and how happy he is. They sometimes also mention how tall he is and how chubby his thighs are.

Oliver is still nursing every 3-4 hours, but he gets distracted easily and doesn't drink as much. He eats solids three times a day (although he doesn't eat much for breakfast) and drinks a little water throughout the day, too.

Oliver has been working hard recently on climbing over some easy obstacles. He tries hard to pull himself up to a stand but hasn't done so yet. It's also still rare for him to pull himself into a sit, but he does it occasionally.


Oliver's Likes:
*Being held by Mommy
*Seeing Daddy when he comes home from work
*Cheerios
*Knocking down the rattle tower
*Examining objects, especially buckles, belts, and purses
*Cell phones (I don't let him "talk" into them because of the radiation, but he likes chewing on phones that are turned off).
*Tags
*Lentils
*Clicking at people
*Singing, "aaaaaiiiieeeee."
*Trying to grab water that's in a cup or bucket
*Rain
*His pinwheel
*Unfolding laundry
*Unfastening his cloth diapers, even through his clothes sometimes
*Standing


Oliver's dislikes
*Not being held by Mommy when other people are around
*The car seat we rented in Chicago
*Mommy leaving the room
*Riding in the car for more than 15 minutes
*Getting his diaper changed