Baby Growth at 9 Months: Weight, Height, and Health Insights

By the age of 9 months, the weight of the baby becomes double or more than its weight at the time of birth. Usually, the weight of a 9 month old baby boy is between 7 to 10.9 kg and that of a baby girl is between 6 to 10 kg. Talking about the length, the length of a 9 month old baby boy is between 67 to 76 cm and that of a baby girl is between 65 to 74 cm. After birth, by the time the baby is 9 months old, his height increases by about 10 inches i.e. 25 cm.

Every child's physical development is different. Therefore, it is not necessary that the weight and length of all 9 month old babies are the same on average. But if you are seeing an excessive decrease or increase in the weight or length of your baby, then definitely consult your pediatrician about this.

Mainly 2 things are seen in a 9 month old baby. First- how physically self-dependent the baby is and second- how intense is his desire to discover new things. During this time you will see that many times if the baby is not able to do any work, then anger and irritation are also visible in him. By the age of 9 months, many babies also develop feelings like caution and fear. That is why you will see that many children walk cautiously instead of running very fast on their knees, even while standing up after holding something, they think 10 times that they may get hurt. Talking about the activities of a 9 month old baby, by this time your baby:

• Learns to sit up on his own without any support.
• Slowly learns to crawl on the ground on his knees.
• Uses both hands to look at his toys or any object.
• The baby has more control over his body while sitting and turning over.
• The baby's head automatically turns towards something that pleases the eyes.
• Pulling something so that he can stand up after holding it.
• Trying to pick up a toy or an object by bending forward or downward.
• Imitating a parent or a family member playing with him.
• If you see the following symptoms in your 9 month old baby, then contact the doctor immediately:
• If your child is mainly using only one hand.
• If he has difficulty walking on his knees.
• If the baby is able to move only one side of his body.
• If the baby is unable to lift his weight on his legs.
• If he is unable to transfer toys from one hand to the other.

This is a very important stage in relation to the baby's sensations and brain-related development. During this time, your baby wants to investigate the environment around him completely. In such a situation, you will see all these things in your baby:

• The baby tries to understand an object by inspecting it using both his hands and mouth.
• The baby turned several pages of a thick book simultaneously.
• The baby likes activities like taking the baby in the lap and moving it up and down or back and forth.
• Applying different types of force to pick up different things.
• Looking carefully at the shape, colour, size and texture of toys as well as other things.
• Keeping an eye on the surrounding environment from different positions - lying on the stomach, sitting, crawling on the knees.

(Read more: Milestones at 8 Months)

You will notice that by the age of 9 months, your baby starts trying to speak different types of sounds and words instead of babbling in a stammering voice. Like - Dada, Baba, Mama etc.

• When you call him by his name, he starts recognizing himself.
• Not only this, he also starts recognizing familiar people and things. For example, if you say that Dada is calling him, then he tries to point towards Dada.
• When you talk to the baby, he also tries to speak and respond on his own.
• When you ask the baby to do something, he listens carefully to that.
• He starts learning simple signals or gestures like shaking his head to say no.
• When you make a sound, he tries to imitate it.

(Read more: Pregnancy Nutrition: What to Eat)

By the age of 6 months, most babies are given a little solid food along with mother's milk or formula milk. In such a situation, by the age of 9 months, you do not need to feed the baby by making a puree of everything. If you want, you can start feeding the baby with a spoon and also start giving finger food.

However, do not completely stop feeding the baby mother's milk or formula milk until the baby is 1 year old. The nutrients present in the milk are very important for the baby. Therefore, use solid food as a supplementary food. Also, as far as possible, feed the baby fresh homemade food instead of buying packed food from the market.

Talking about the diet of a 9 month old baby, give him solid food 3 to 4 times a day and also give 25 to 30 ounces of breast milk and formula milk. By the age of 9 months, the baby starts eating many different things and also starts enjoying the meal time because he wants to eat or drink with his hands.

If you want, you can include fruits like apple, banana, papaya, berries, mango, grapes and vegetables like carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, beetroot, gourd, green peas, potato in the diet of a 9 month old baby. Apart from this, green moong dal, yellow moong dal, red masoor dal, rice, semolina, sago, ragi, barley, porridge, makhana and poha can also be fed to the baby.

By the age of 9 months, most babies start sleeping for 12 to 16 hours out of 24 hours daily, which includes sleeping for 9 to 10 hours at a time without waking up at night. Apart from this, short naps taken during the day when the baby gets tired after playing are also included. While some children sleep for only 30 minutes during the day, some children also sleep for 1 or 2 hours.

(Read more: Newborn Stretching: What It Means for Your Baby's)

The weight of a 9 month old baby is usually about three times the birth weight, i.e. between 7-10 kg. At this age, the baby starts eating solid foods such as mashed fruits, vegetables, dal, rice and porridge. Breastfeeding or formula milk still plays an important role in fulfilling his nutritional needs. The baby's physical development is rapid; he starts sitting, crawling and trying to stand. Mental and social development is also important at this time, such as responding to small words, playing with toys and understanding things around him. His health and development can be encouraged by giving him nutritious food and adequate attention.