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Day 330 of 365 · Eleven months

Eleven months

Last reviewed · 4 min read · 13 sources · Plain-text version

The 12-month list as most babies, around now or soon. The 7-to-12-month guide for this stretch, the 1-year guide as the next home, and the first-word video, whatever the word is. Eleven months, done.

A Korean-American mother sitting on the kitchen floor with her eleven-month-old son standing at her knee pointing at the dog, the white father filming on a phone from the doorway, morning light.

Eleven months. One more month of the 7-to-12-month guide, then a birthday, a new guide, and a baby who is officially a toddler whether or not they walk. Today is the list once more, the two guides, and a video of the word.

Heart

By 1 year, most babies play games with you like pat-a-cake, wave bye-bye, call a parent "mama," "dada," or another special name, understand "no," put something in a container, look for things they saw you hide, pull up to stand, cruise, drink from a cup without a lid as you hold it, and pick up small bits of food between thumb and pointer finger (CDC). Around now or soon, for most: the checklists hold skills at least 75% of babies show by each age (Zubler et al., 2022), and a missed one at the birthday is a reason to ask, not to worry alone.

Head

The 7-to-12-month guide has been this stretch's home: crawling or not, pulling up, the pincer, pointing, goodbyes, cups in and bottles out. The 1-year guide is the next one, and its list is the one you'll read next: by 15 months, most toddlers take a few steps on their own, try to say one or two words besides "mama" or "dada," and point to ask for something or get help (CDC). It also carries the first family jobs for helpers in diapers, which is where this month's hand-me-the-sock was heading (Liszkowski et al., 2008).

Body

The word. Most babies call a parent "mama" or "dada" or another special name by 12 months, but having few or no other clear words at the first birthday is normal (CDC). The AAP says some babies have 2 or 3 words by their first birthday, but most 12-month speech is babble with the ups and downs of real talk, and any sound your baby uses consistently for the same thing counts as a word (AAP). Bring it up if your baby isn't babbling lots of different sounds by 9 months or doesn't look when you call their name (CDC). So the video is of whatever the word is, or of the babble.

Try today

  1. The baby in his high chair, harness on, mouth open mid-sound and reaching for a cup the mother holds just out of reach, the father's phone steady at the table's end.

    The first-word video

    Time: 5 minutes, when the word is likely

    1. Pick the moment the sound usually comes: the cup, the dog, the door. Set the phone where it can see the baby's face and the thing.

    2. Do the thing. Hold up the cup, let the dog in, open the door, and wait without saying the word yourself.

    3. Record whatever comes, the word or the babble, and say back what you heard: "Mog? Milk! Here's your milk" (AAP).

    4. Name the file with the date and what you think it meant. There's nothing to prove.

    Make it work:

    If no word comes today, record the babble; that's the recording you'll want later too.

Watch for

  • Normal

    "mama" aimed at the dog, the spoon, and the ceiling; the target comes after the sound.

    Bring it up

    if your baby doesn't look when you call their name (CDC).

  • Normal

    a baby who cruises the whole sofa and has never let go of it; walking alone ran from 8.2 to 17.6 months in the WHO's study (WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group, 2006).

    Ask about a developmental screening

    if by 12 months your baby doesn't pull up to stand, wave bye-bye, or look for a toy they saw you hide (CDC).

  • Normal

    a clingy, tearful week at goodbyes; separation anxiety peaks between 10 and 18 months and is a sign of attachment (AAP).

    Call your pediatrician right away

    for a fever over 104°F (40°C), or if your baby looks or acts very sick (AAP).

  • Normal

    knowing this baby better than anyone alive, and better than any list.

    Call anyway

    if your baby just doesn't seem right to you. Trust your instincts; three hundred and thirty days have built them (Lurie Children's).

For you

The parents on the back step after bedtime, two mugs between them, her head on his shoulder, the baby monitor on the step showing a sleeping baby on his back in a bare crib.

Eleven months of you. Once more, lightly: the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), call or text; 988 is for anyone; in an emergency, 911 (CDC). The 6-month visit was the last at which the AAP recommends screening the birthing parent for depression (Earls et al., 2019), so the question tonight is yours to ask each other on the step, and "not great" is an allowed answer. Partners count too: about 10% of fathers have depression around a birth, with higher rates reported at 3 to 6 months after (Paulson & Bazemore, 2010).

If you're the partner: play her the video, then say the thing from this month you'll still remember in ten years, out loud. Then keep going together: the 7-to-12-month guide covers the last stretch to the first birthday, the 1-year guide is the next home, and the notes continue tomorrow at your twelfth month.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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