All Things Month 12

Information is for month twelve of baby’s life.  I am in no way a doctor, medical professional, or even experienced in child care.  This is just information that I have gathered from books, websites, my pediatrician, and hearsay.  The time schedules and suggestion of eat/wake/sleep cycles are from Babywise.  The progression of development is from What to Expect the First Year.  Feeding amounts are the recommendations from my doctor.  Everything else is from various websites and friends.

Feeding/wake/sleeping:

• The first and last feeding of the day are the two strategic feedings.
  • It doesn’t matter what schedule your baby is on, all other feed-wake-sleep cycles will fall within those two “fixed” feeding times.
  • Need to remain consistent
• Majority of baby’s nutrition should be coming from food (baby food and finger foods), not formula.
• If baby will drink from a sippy cup, you can replace formula with whole milk.
• Between 46 and 52 weeks, the 3 cycles are reduced to only 2
  • When baby no longer receives a liquid feeding before bedtime
  • Below is an example schedule

By the end of month twelve, baby may be able to:

• Walk holding onto furniture
• Few gestures to meet needs
  • Point, show, reach, and wave
• Respond to name
• Drink from a cup with help
• Bang toys together
• Cooperate with getting dressed
  • Offer a hand or foot
• Reach to be picked up
• All things from 1-2 weeks
• Things accomplished in month 1
• Things accomplished in month 2
• Things accomplished in month 3
• Things accomplished in month 4
• Things accomplished in month 5
• Things accomplished in month 6
• Things accomplished in month 7
• Things accomplished in month 8
• Things accomplished in month 9
• Things accomplished in month 10
• Things accomplished in month 11

Activities you can do with baby:

• Baby can play with a homemade matching game.
• Provide baby with easy to manipulate pieces of food in a couple of bowls.  Help baby to “draw” different shapes with the food.  Make a face, a star, a heart, a square, or anything else you can think of.  Start with just one shape and help guide baby’s hand when needed with you helping to finish the shape.  Eventually baby will be able to do this on her own.
• Help baby stand in the middle of the bed and bounce up and down.  Or sit baby on the bed and bounce the mattress.
• Sit baby on lap and help them to hokey pokey.
• Sit back to back on the floor with another adult and encourage baby to explore. It is good to initially convey the concept to the baby by sitting back to back with the baby and let other adult squeeze in between.  When the baby manages in making a space in between you and your partner, cheer him to insert himself into the space and then squish him gently.
• Sing to baby while baby is laying on her back.  While singing, touch the opposite hand and foot together.  This makes baby cross the midline which is good for development.
• Put some contact paper sticky side out on a glass door, window, or fridge.  Gave baby chunks of paper to stick to the contact paper.  Beautiful art!  Watch out for baby eating the paper, though!
• Place potato flakes into a bin and allow baby to explore.  Can add measuring cups to show baby how to scoop and fill something.  Can add water to start making it goopey.  You can also add food coloring for extra fun.
• String-Along
• Use food coloring and scented oils for a new spin on bath time.  This will play to many of baby’s senses.

• Let baby smell the different spices you are using as you cook and name the spice.
• With supervision, give baby a piggy bank (or container with a slit in the lid) and some coins.  Allow baby to fill the bank.  If baby can’t quite master this, just use a bowl.

• Use food coloring to color bread crumbs and let baby dig into the rainbow!
• Hang up a picture of baby on the bottom of the fridge.  Show baby how to place a magnet on top of the eye so that when you say eye, baby places the magnet in the appropriate place.  Continue this with different parts of the face.  You can leave this up to practice until baby gets familiar.  You can also point to baby’s eye on her actual face and to your eye to further demonstrate.

• Give baby a bucket of wine corks and a plastic bottle.  Show baby how to put the corks into the bottle.  Tune those fine motor skills!  You can do this same thing with many objects such as cotton balls, coins, uncooked noodles, etc.
• Put a piece of construction paper in front of baby along with a bowl of water and a paint brush.  Baby can water paint with no mess!
• Cut a slit in the lid of a Pringles can (or oatmeal or whatever) and give baby some paint chips (free color swatches from hardware store).  Baby can slide the paint samples into the can.
• Cut holes into a box and give baby balls to put into holes can vary this by opening up both end of the box, elevating one side, and making into a ramp as well.
• Put a different oil scent in various plastic bottles (old spice bottles or travel size shampoo bottle thoroughly cleaned out).  Let baby smell the scent and tell her what it is.  Eventually you can have baby tell you what it is or you can make little cards with a picture of the scent (e.g. lemon or peppermint).  You can also just have baby smell different spices as you are cooking.  Soon enough, baby will be able to identify the scents.
• Package Play
• Month 11 Activities
• Month 10 Activities
• Month 9 Activities