14 
Routine—9–12 Months
| FEEDING TIMES | NAP TIMES BETWEEN 7 A.M. AND 7 P.M. |
| 7 a.m. | 9:30–10 a.m. |
| 11:45 a.m./noon | 12:30–2:30 p.m. |
| 2:30 p.m. | |
| 5 p.m. | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Maximum daily sleep: 2–21⁄2 hours |
7 A.M.
Baby should be awake, diaper changed and eating no later than 7 a.m.
He should be nursed from both breasts or given formula from a cup, followed by breakfast cereal mixed with expressed milk or formula, fruit and finger foods.
He can stay awake for at least 21⁄2 hours.
Baby should be encouraged to play on the floor or enjoy other activities for 20–30 minutes while you have breakfast.
Wash and dress baby, remembering to cream all his creases and dry skin.
9:30 A.M.
Close the curtains and settle baby in his sleeping bag—in the dark with the door shut—at around 9:30 a.m. He needs a nap of 15–30 minutes.
9:55 A.M.
Open the curtains and undo his sleeping bag so that he can wake naturally.
Baby must be fully awake by 10 a.m., regardless of how long he slept.
Encourage him to play on the floor or take him on an outing.
11:45 A.M./NOON
Baby should be given most of his solids before being offered a drink of water or well-diluted juice from a cup; then alternate between solids and a drink.
Encourage him to sit in his chair with some finger foods, while you have lunch.
12:20 P.M.
Check the draw sheet and change his diaper.
Close the curtains and settle baby in his sleeping bag—in the dark with the door shut—no later than 12:30 p.m.
He needs a nap of no longer than two hours from the time he goes down.
2:30 P.M.
Baby must be awake and eating no later than 2:30 p.m., regardless of how long he has slept.
Open the curtains, and undo his sleeping bag so that he can wake naturally. Change his diaper.
He should be nursed or given a cup of formula, water or well-diluted juice, and perhaps a snack if he no longer has milk at this time.
Do not feed baby after 3:15 p.m. as it will throw off his next feeding.
4:15 P.M.
Change baby’s diaper.
5 P.M.
Baby should be given most of his solids before being offered a small drink of water or milk from a cup. It is important that he still has a good milk feeding at bedtime, so keep this drink to a minimum.
6 P.M.
He must start his bath no later than 6 p.m. and be massaged and dressed by 6:30 p.m.
6:30 P.M.
Baby should be eating no later than 6:30 p.m.
He should nurse from both breasts or have 7–8 oz. of formula; this will eventually be reduced to 5–6 oz. when a cup is introduced at one year.
7 P.M.
Settle baby in his sleeping bag—in the dark with the door shut—no later than 7 p.m.
Changes to Be Made During the 9–12 Month Routine
Sleeping
At this stage, most babies cut back significantly on their daily sleep. If you notice that your baby is starting to wake in the night or earlier in the morning, you should cut back on the amount of sleep he is getting during the day.
The first nap to cut back on is the morning one. If that has been 30 minutes long, then try cutting it back to 10–15 minutes. Some babies may also cut back their lunchtime nap to 11⁄2 hours, which can lead to them becoming very tired and irritable in the late afternoon. If this happens to your baby, try cutting out the morning nap altogether to see if it improves his lunchtime sleep. You may have to make lunchtime slightly earlier if he can’t make it through to 12:30 p.m. for his nap.
Your baby may also start to pull himself up in the crib but get very upset when he can’t get himself back down. If this happens, I suggest you encourage him to practice lying down when you put him down for his naps. Until he is able to maneuver himself up and down, you will need to help him settle back down. It is important that you do so with the least amount of fuss and talking. It is also worth taking a look at his daytime sleep total, as waking and standing up in the night can be a product of too much daytime sleep, which is easily rectified by cutting down, or cutting out, the morning nap. Some babies who cut out their morning nap earlier than the average will start to eliminate their lunchtime nap at this stage. It is not unheard of for a baby 11⁄2 months old to need a nap of only an hour or so (between 1 and 2 p.m.) and still sleep soundly until 7 a.m.
Feeding
Your baby should be well established on three meals a day, and should also be able to feed himself some of the time. It is very important that your baby learns to chew properly at this stage. Most of his meals should consist of foods that have been chopped, sliced or diced. By the end of his first year, he should be able to manage chopped meat. This is also a good time to introduce raw vegetables and salads. Include some finger foods at every meal. If he shows an interest in holding his own spoon, do not discourage these attempts. It is important that he enjoys his food—even if a certain amount of it lands on the floor.
At nine months, a formula-fed baby should be taking all of his water, diluted juice, breakfast milk and 2:30 p.m. feeding from a cup. By the age of one year, he should be drinking all fluids from a cup.
For more information on solid food at this stage, see Chapter Fifteen, Introducing Solid Food.