Month by month development of a baby - 6 months

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6 Months

Month by month development of a baby

At five months you noticed your baby settling into their feeding and
sleeping routines. Now at six months it’s time to get ready for the
next stage. Congratulations, you’ve reached a new milestone.

Development

Now they start to get pretty active, move from milk-only to puree or
finger foods and start sleeping through the night.

Your baby should now be babbling, making their own sounds and
enjoying listening to themselves ‘talk’. They’ll attract your attention by
shouting, and you’ll start to notice this new need.

They’ll begin to sit for short periods; a significant development.
They’ll also start to roll around, and be a lot faster than you might
expect, so be careful!

Some babies are creeping by now, the sign of an early crawler. Place
toys - or yourself - in their view to encourage them to aim for
something, you’ll be surprised at how frustrated they get.

They have a sense of object permanence at this stage, as well
responding to a light tickle now and then.

Sleep

Aim for extended periods of sleep through the night now. Limit
daytime sleeps to 30-40 minutes for a morning nap and 2-3 hours for
early afternoon naps; you can experiment with napping times.

Bedtime at 7-8pm for a 8-12 hour sleep is not unreasonable if the
afternoon naps are early enough..

They can sleep in their own room, giving you more space with your
partner, without the worry of disturbing the baby. They’ll cry if they
need you.

If your baby hasn’t stopped night feeding, now is a good time to try it,
just fill them up with milk before bed.

Food

It’s time for solid foods. The aim is for three small meals a day,
alongside their milk. Try not to delay weaning (as scary as it might
be). Your child needs to learn to chew and get a new range of
nutrients.

The first of three methods is a traditional way of weaning that starts
with smoother, one veg or fruit purees, and graduates to lumpier
mixed meals. It’s called the puree method. The second is very popular now. Given finger food, they learn to manage biting and chewing for themselves. They’ll get nourishment from milk, and interaction with food develops from play to proper eating. This is the baby-led weaning method.

It’s also okay to combine the two methods and can be a perfect
solution for baby and you.

Things to watch this month:
- Choking and how to respond
- Allergies and how to spot them
- What if my child doesn’t do these things yet?