Nearly one — first words warming up
Cruising is getting confident, 'mama' and 'dada' are starting to mean someone, and a few babies take their first wobbly steps — though plenty save that party trick for well after their birthday.
Development
Many babies now cruise along furniture with confidence, and some stand alone for breathless seconds. First independent steps happen anywhere in a huge window — a few before the first birthday, many between 12 and 18 months.
'Mama' and 'dada' may be attaching to the right people, alongside waves, claps and pointing. Games with rules — pat-a-cake, give-and-take — are suddenly playable.
Understanding outstrips talking by miles: watch them pause at 'no' or look for the cat when you mention it.
Sleep
Most babies are still best on two naps; the move to one usually happens somewhere between 12 and 18 months, so there's no rush.
An almost-walker often wants to practise at bedtime — expect standing ovations in the cot. Calm, consistent resettling and daytime practice shrink the phase.
Food and cups
Three meals plus milk is the shape now, edging towards family food — just go easy on salt and skip added sugar for everyone's benefit.
Start moving remaining bottle feeds into cups, one at a time; the NHS advises discouraging bottles from 12 months for the sake of teeth. Open and free-flow cups are the aim.
Self-feeding — messy, slow, gloriously proud — deserves as much floor coverage and patience as you can spare.
And you
Birthday plans may be brewing, and with them thoughts about feeding changes. Nothing has to change overnight at 12 months — milk transitions, bottle goodbyes and weaning decisions can all be gradual.
However feeding has gone this year — breast, bottle, both, bumpy — you've fed a baby through their fastest year of growth. That's the whole assignment, done.
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
- There's no reason to stop at one — the WHO supports breastfeeding alongside food to 2 years or beyond, for exactly as long as you both want.
- If you are winding down, drop one feed at a time with a week or so between — kinder to your body and your baby.
- Feeding gymnastics — latched baby attempting a headstand — is standard issue at this age.
Breast + expressed
- If pumping is ending around now, taper rather than stop dead — stretch the gaps between sessions over a couple of weeks.
- The freezer stash can keep being used in food and drinks up to its storage limits — check dates and use oldest first.
- Any expressed feeds you keep can move into cups now, same as other milk feeds.
Breast + formula
- From 12 months, formula's job is done — whole cows' milk can take over as the drink, while breastfeeds continue as long as you like.
- Start pouring formula feeds into cups now so the bottle goodbye is gentle rather than sudden.
- No need to buy anything new for the transition — no toddler milks required.
Formula
- Plan the 12-month switch: whole cows' milk becomes fine as the main drink from the first birthday.
- The NHS says toddler and growing-up milks aren't needed — whole cows' milk plus a balanced diet (and vitamin drops) does the job.
- Aim to retire bottles around 12 months — moving one feed at a time into a cup now makes that nearly painless.
Totally normal (even when it doesn't feel it)
- No steps and no solo standing — many confident walkers start at 13, 15, even 18 months.
- 'Words' only you can decode — consistent sounds for things are real progress.
- No clear 'mama' or 'dada' aimed at the right person yet — most babies get there around a year, with a wide spread.
- Still wanting a bedtime milk feed — comfort and nutrition can share a job.
- Dinner refused, thrown, then eaten off the floor — appetite and manners mature separately.
- Weight gain slowing down — growth naturally decelerates near the first birthday.
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 doesn't take any weight on their legs when you support them standing.
- They aren't sitting confidently on their own.
- There are no gestures — no waving, reaching up, or early pointing — as their first birthday approaches.
- Babble is absent or hasn't grown any variety.
- They don't respond to their name or seem to notice familiar voices.
- They've lost any skill they once had — always mention this one promptly.
- A quick word with your health visitor or GP settles most worries — and starts help early on the rare occasions it's needed.