At this point, you can interact in an even more complex and creative way with your baby. While classic activities such as chatting with and singing to your baby are still effective, you can also try the following, including:

• Buying puppets or making them from old mittens or socks by drawing faces with marking pens. To help increase your baby’s language skills, make the puppet talk to your baby and encourage her to talk back.

• Cutting out pictures of things such as a ball, animals, and other familiar objects from magazines and pasting them in a scrapbook. Look at this scrapbook with her and help her point to the pictures as you name them.

• Singing familiar songs and reading nursery rhymes.

Believe it or not, continuing separation anxiety and fear of strangers are signs that your baby has a healthy relationship with you. Fortunately, here are some ways you can cope with them:

• Do your best to leave her with people she’s familiar with.

• Be sensitive to your baby's needs. Introduce her to new people and new situations gradually and carefully. Try not to leave her when she's tired, hungry, or sick.

• Practice separating by leaving her with someone in another room for short periods. Your baby will learn that she's OK when you're gone, and that you’ll always come back.

• Leave quickly. Her tears will gradually stop when you're gone.

By the tenth month, baby needs a new pair of shoes. But how do you choose the best for her? It’s a good idea to look for the following in a baby shoe:

• Soft and flexible, allowing your baby to move her feet easily

• Flat, non-skid soles so she doesn’t slide and fall

• Soft, porous tops that allow the foot to breathe

Baby shoes need not be expensive. The shoe of choice? Sneakers, secured with laces or Velcro® fasteners, to prevent trips or falls. Remember: Since your baby's feet will grow rapidly, the shoe size will have to keep pace. Check for sizing monthly.

Aside from stranger fear and separation anxiety, your baby’s further awareness of the bigger world may cause her to fear situations that never bothered her before. For instance, everyday things such as darkness, thunder, and the vacuum cleaner may become mini-monsters, and inspire sudden tears.

Here’s how to make life more tolerable for your baby at this time:

• Eliminate the source of fear as much as possible. For example, use a night-light in her room at night (use only “cool” night-lights that do not get hot).

• Try turning her fear into a positive learning experience. For instance, while holding her hand and saying comforting words, encourage her to touch the vacuum as it is running. She may start to back away. If so, you may want to let it go, to prevent further fear.

• If that approach doesn't work, try vacuuming (or using the hair dryer, etc.) when she's sleeping.

All babies develop at different rates, but by the end of your baby's tenth month, she’ll probably:

• Walk with you holding her hands

• Say "mama" and "dada" and know what they mean

• Stand holding on to someone or something

• Protest if you take a toy away

• Play hand games and wave bye-bye