Your Baby Week 39
By week 39, your baby may be able to stand alone without any support (even if only for a moment), drink from a cup, play some simple games like peek-a-boo or roll a ball back and forth to you while they are in a seated position.
Security Blankets and Toys
Around the same age that many infants start asserting their independence, it may seem that they start becoming dependent on certain objects, like blankets or stuffed animals. And if you think about it, the timing makes perfect sense! It is right around this age when your infant is realizing that they are an individual and that you won't always be there to comfort them that they turn to some external object to provide comfort in scary situations, like bedtime or during their time with a babysitter.
It's important not to tease your child about this object or pressure them to give it up. Remember, this is a normal developmental phase that many infants pass through, and they won't need this security object forever. You should however, be careful that your child is not using a sippy cup or bottle full of juice as a security object. Having a constant supply of juice will not only ruin their appetite, it will also cause early tooth-decay. Tooth-decay in baby teeth can not only be painful, but it can cause a host of problems in their permanent teeth. If you just can't get the sippy cup out of their hand, it is best to fill it with water and not sugary juice.
Eating at the Grown-Ups' Table
By 9 months, you may want to start sitting your infant at the table with you at mealtime. It may be too stressful for you feed them their entire meal while you eat, but you should consider it an important part of your child's socialization. Set them up in their high-chair with a few healthy snacks so that they can feed themselves while you enjoy your dinner. Try including them in on the dinner conversation! If dinner time is the only time you and your partner have together and including your infant only makes your blood-pressure rise, save dinner time for the adults. Having some time just for you and your partner to decompress is extremely important, especially now that you have a mobile 9-month old getting into everything! Maybe in a couple of weeks you can revisit eating dinner with your infant.
