Pulling up, cruising and clever little pincer fingers
Furniture is now gym equipment: many babies pull to stand around now, and some begin cruising along the sofa. Meanwhile fingers are getting precise — tiny things picked up between thumb and forefinger, usually en route to the mouth.
Development
Pulling up to stand is the headline act for many babies around now, with cruising — stepping sideways while holding furniture — sometimes following. Others are perfecting their crawl or shuffle first; the order varies hugely.
The pincer grip is refining: peas, crumbs and specks of fluff you can't even see will be expertly harvested. It's great self-feeding practice — and a reason to keep floors clear of small hazards.
Understanding is racing ahead of speech: many babies now respond to their name, pause at 'no', and may wave or start to point.
Safety as they climb
If you haven't already, lower the cot base to its lowest setting — a standing baby can tip over a high side surprisingly fast.
Think about what a standing baby can now pull: tablecloths, cables, cups of tea near table edges. Anchor anything tippable, and keep stair gates in action.
Falls will still happen — cruising is a contact sport. Soft landings and corner cushions help; so does remembering that small tumbles are part of learning.
Sleep
Two naps remains the common shape. A baby who has just learned to stand will often practise in the cot — standing up, wailing, sitting, repeat. Boring consistency and letting them practise the sitting-down part by day speeds this phase along.
Keep bedtime routines short, warm and predictable; big skills weeks often mean bumpy sleep weeks.
And you
Chasing a mobile baby is a workout you never signed up for — 'safe enough and mostly tidy' is a perfectly good standard for your home right now.
If you're back at work, guilt has a habit of visiting — it isn't evidence of anything except how much you care. Babies attach firmly to their people, including the ones who go to work.
Feeding at this stage
Pick how you're feeding — we'll remember for next time. Every one of these is a good way to feed a baby.
Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeds often continue their gentle step-down as meals do more — many babies are somewhere around two to four feeds a day, with wide variation.
- Distractibility can return with mobility — a busy baby may prefer efficient feeds in a quiet spot.
- If you'd like fewer night feeds, gradual works: shorten feeds bit by bit, and let a partner take some resettles if you can.
Breast + expressed
- Many mums are down to one or no pumping sessions at work by now if supply is established — go by comfort and your baby's needs.
- Direct feeds when you're together plus meals when you're apart is a pattern that works well for lots of families around this age.
- Keep using the frozen stash in cooking so nothing goes to waste.
Breast + formula
- Your pattern is probably fairly settled — protect the feeds you love and let the rest follow your baby's appetite.
- The NHS 10–12 months feeding pages sketch the meals-plus-milk balance you're heading towards.
- Cows' milk is fine in cooking and on cereal from 6 months, but shouldn't be the main drink until 12 months — formula and breast milk still hold that job.
Formula
- Many babies take roughly two or three milk feeds a day alongside three meals now — treat published amounts as a compass, not a contract.
- Keep shifting daytime milk into cups where you can; the fewer bottle habits to unwind at 12 months, the easier.
- First infant formula remains the right milk until the first birthday — no switching needed.
Totally normal (even when it doesn't feel it)
- Not pulling to stand yet — the range runs well past a year for some perfectly healthy babies.
- No cruising or standing — sitting-and-shuffling specialists get there in their own time.
- A distinctly bow-legged look when standing — normal at this age and usually straightens with growth.
- Constant falls onto their bottom — nappies are excellent crash mats.
- One food adored on repeat this week and rejected next week.
- Still only a tooth or two, or none — teeth follow their own calendar.
Worth checking
You know your baby best — if any of these ring true, or something just feels off, it's always OK to ask.
- Your baby isn't sitting steadily without support.
- They aren't moving around by any means at all — no rolling, shuffling, crawling or scooting.
- They consistently ignore or don't use one hand or one side of the body.
- Babble hasn't developed variety — few or no different sounds.
- They rarely make eye contact or share smiles and attention with you during play.
- They don't respond to their name or to familiar voices.
- Any of these deserves a conversation with your health visitor or GP — calm, early questions are exactly what they're there for.