As your baby closes in on toddlerhood and the end of the first year, it’s amazing to look back at newborn photos and see how much your little one has grown! And there is still so many changes to come before your baby’s first birthday. Here’s what to expect from month 11.
Eleven-Month-Old Development
Although your baby isn’t growing as gangbusters as those first six months, s/he’s still showing considerable gains. The numbers are about the same as last month: a little less than a pound in weight and about 3/8th inch in length. Babies grow in spurts. If your little’s growth seems to have stalled for a couple of weeks, just wait: s/he’s probably due for a big growth spurt.
Movement Development
Motor
Another month, another major milestone: many babies master cruising this month. Some babies will take their first steps this month, but most stick with holding onto the furniture, sliding their hands along and shuffling using sideways steps. While at first they are very cautious about letting go of a piece of furniture to transition to another, soon they’ll become confident and able to make the move independently. When it comes to standing, the majority of babies can do so with support while holding your hand, or maybe even balance alone for a few seconds. And remember how last month baby just plopped down to sit? During these weeks, you’ll likely see your baby lower down from a standing position to sitting using something – you, the furniture, a sibling – for support.
By now most babies are experienced, remarkably fast crawlers. This mobility helps babies develop the ability to absorb slightly differing views from both eyes, so they advance their depth perception and encourage their brains to see with a 3D capability. Crawling also helps baby gain control of his or her movements. Babies will rely on crawling for its efficiency even after they take their first steps and until they fully master walking.
Watch your baby passing objects back and forth between hands and then deliberately letting them go: those are pincer grasp skills at work. With improved depth perception, babies are beginning to understand about empty spaces in cups, and that things can be loaded into them. One in two babies will be skilled at depositing objects into cups by month’s end. You’ll soon notice this spatial awareness in another favorite pastime: dumping out baskets so s/he can put them back in.
Social and Mental Development
Babies at this age understand far more than they are capable of expressing. But lack of words aside, many become very adept at communicating through body language and hand motions such as pointing, waving, and shaking their heads no.
Although about half of babies have a handful of words by their first birthday, it’s not unusual for toddlers, especially males, to wait until they hit their second year to really start talking. Also affecting speech development is baby’s temperament – cautious kids tend to be slower to speak – and whether s/he has siblings who might fill in the words. And tots who are prioritizing learning to walk might not have much energy left to practice talking. Keep demonstrating and practicing conversation skills with your little, and trust that once your baby is focused on talking, the words will likely rush in.
Power struggles and newfound fears might be the name of the game these days. Your baby now has a sense of self, on display through increased assertiveness and a desire for independence. (It also means s/he begins to recognize that reflection in the mirror!). Babies start expressing their personalities through their likes and dislikes. And small developments in their judgment skills can cause babies at this age to experience the perception of danger and a sense of fear. You can’t rationalize terrors away at this age; it’s better to remove the fear than try to explain it.
Senses Development
Sight
Although 11-month-old babies are still slightly nearsighted, they can recognize faces 20 feet away, and track moving objects with ease. Their new understanding of object permanence means you might catch baby looking for toys that have rolled or been tossed out of sight.
Hearing
Big news: babies can look and listen at the same time, and also display more focus with their attention. It’s all helping baby collect important information about how the people and things in their world operate.
Touch
If your baby loves to take apart the diaper bag and examine its contents, or tear up paper, or poke those tiny fingers into holes, congrats, s/he is doing just what a curious 11-month-old baby should be doing. In all of that exploring comes essential learning and understanding.
Help Your Eleven-Month-Old’s Development
There are a few things you can do to help your baby's month-by-month development.
- Listen to your baby. He may be babbling, but if you listen and respond to him when he talks, it will boost his self-esteem as he gets older. Responding to your baby can also help improve his ability to listen, which is something you'll appreciate later on!
- In addition to listening to your child, encourage him to listen by buying toys that will talk to him when he pushes a button. This will help him imitate words and phrases.
- When you talk to your baby, start talking in regular words and eliminating the baby talk. Ask him questions, even though he doesn't respond by showing him colors and objects, such as "pants or shirt?" or "peas or carrots?
Milestones this Month
- Babies master crawling.
- Baby can stand with support.
- Baby pulls up to stand and might stand alone briefly or take a few steps.
- Baby holds on to the furniture and cruises around a room.
- Baby uses pincer grasp to self-feed and lets go of objects voluntarily.
- Baby recognizes and responds to familiar words and uses gestures like pointing to communicate.
- Baby says mama and dada and maybe tries out a few other familiar words.
- Baby imitates adults and older kids.
- Baby tests limits and becomes more assertive.
Feeding at Eleven Months
Solid food should be accounting for more and more of your baby’s daily calories, with breastfeeding or bottling falling to three to four feeds a day. If you haven’t already, begin the transition from bottle to sippy cup, with the goal of being off bottles by 18 months at the latest. That’s because toddlers who continue on bottles may take one to bed with them, and then sip on it all night, which can lead to tooth decay.
Sleeping at Eleven Months
Here’s hoping your baby is sleeping a solid ten to 12 hours a night; s/he is capable of that. This month some babies will start skipping their morning nap. If yours is one of the nap quitters, you’ll probably want to move baby’s afternoon nap earlier and also transition bedtime to a little earlier, to prevent baby from becoming overtired. Observe your baby’s behavior and watch for signs that sleep time adjustments are working or if you need to change things up.
Common Concerns at Eleven Months
Teeth or No Teeth
Some babies get teeth as early as four or five months old, but others won't start teething until eight months or older. If your baby at 11 months is still rocking a toothless grin, don't worry. By the time he's two-and-a-half years old, all 20 of his baby teeth will be in place. Look for teething signs, such as biting down on hard objects, excess drooling and the swelling of gums before you see those first teeth (it's usually the bottom two first).
New Parent Help: “Baby Holding Breath”
It's not uncommon for an 11-month-old to hold his breath when he's angry. If your baby is doing this, try not to panic, even if he seems like he's turning blue. Try to distract him with a toy – this habit is often because of frustration and distracting him can make him forget about it. Eventually he will learn how to deal with his frustrations and he won't hold his breath anymore.
See what’s next with our month to month guides
There are so many exciting developments and changes in store for your baby in just the next few months! Take a look at what to expect at twelve months and beyond with our month to month guides.