{"id":100851,"date":"2019-09-05T06:05:15","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T10:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/100851\/9-week-old-baby\/"},"modified":"2021-12-08T16:12:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T21:12:40","slug":"9-week-old-baby","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/100851\/9-week-old-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"9 weeks old"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days, what Baby<\/span> thinks of as \u2018playing\u2019 you might call \u2018flailing their<\/span> hands and arms out without any apparent plan whatsoever.\u2019 But these seemingly random movements keep them<\/span> amused, build their<\/span> muscle control, and teach them<\/span> about the world. So really, this flailing a more important activity than it sounds. And sooner or later, all of these random movements are going to evolve into intentional movements. First it might just be exploring their<\/span> face, but in no time at all, Baby<\/span> will be using their<\/span> hands to explore YOUR face! And by that, we mean poke you in the eye.<\/p>\n

To this end, Baby<\/span> is pretty busy figuring out their<\/span> own hands – first they has<\/span> to learn that they\u2019re there – they might<\/span> have reached this step already – and then they needs<\/span> to make the connection that these strange, five-fingered things are a part of them<\/span>. After that, they\u2019ll<\/span> probably decide that their<\/span> hands are pretty neat, and spend some time playing with them.<\/p>\n

All of this playing with their<\/span> hands and fingers may mean it takes a little while longer before Baby<\/span> starts to care too much about the many fun and exciting toys that may be taking up space in your living room. Like any good explorer, after discovering their<\/span> hands, Baby<\/span> may move on to exploring their<\/span> feet, before moving on to unknown territory like blocks, rattles, and other brightly-colored baby toys. However, it\u2019s likely that really engaging with these toys won\u2019t happen for a few more months still.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to wait for Baby<\/span> to start to care about toys before the two of you can start to play, though. In fact, the best type of play for Baby<\/span> right now is the kind that\u2019s directly tied up in interacting with you. Baby<\/span>\u2019s fascination with their<\/span> own fingers is just one way that Baby<\/span> is more interested in other people than they is<\/span> in any toy right now. Dancing with Baby<\/span>, singing to them<\/span>, and making silly faces are all great ways to start to play with them<\/span> without having to wait for them<\/span> to hop on the \u2018toys\u2019 train. In fact, it\u2019s socializing activities like these that may help them<\/span> make more developmental progress than anything else, physically, mentally, and socially.<\/p>\n

Milestones<\/strong><\/h4>\n