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Tia smiled at Joseph and Sara. “It sounds like you are wondering about Joseph’s developmental milestones,” Tia said.

Sara thought for a moment before responding. “Milestones? Can you explain what you mean by that?”

“Of course,” said Tia. “Milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. I have a milestone checklist we can go through. Would you like to see it?”

“Yes,” said Sara. “I think that would be helpful.”

“Okay” said Tia. “Let’s look at 9 month milestones.” Tia found the checklist for 9 months and handed it to Sara. “Is Joseph doing any of these?” Tia asked.

Sara looked over the list of milestones. She was happy to see that Joseph had met most of them. But sure enough, there was a feeding milestone that Joseph had not yet met. The checklist said that by 9 months, most babies are able to rake food toward themselves. 

“Right here,” said Sara, pointing to the milestone Joseph was not meeting. “He’s not doing this one yet.”

Tia took a look at the checklist. Then she looked at Sara and smiled. “You are doing a great job paying attention to your baby’s development! I see what you mean about this milestone. And, I can see it’s worrying you a little. I wonder, have you talked to Joseph’s health care provider about your concerns?”

Sara shook her head. “Not yet,” Sara replied. “Do you think I should?”

Tia smiled and nodded. “Absolutely! That’s what they are there for. They can check for other milestones too. And, they’ll give you great advice on what to do next.”

“Thank you,” said Sara. “I’m glad I asked!”

"No problem!" said Tia. "In the meantime, keep offering Joseph foods that are very small in size, like cereal o's. It is important the foods are small so that he does not choke. And, this will give him plenty of chances to practice picking them up!"