Infant Development: 6-month-Old Baby Care and Tips

Go ahead and bring out that cake to celebrate these incredible first 6 months of your baby’s life. The celebration of an intimate half-birthday of your baby is going to provide a big change of mood for both you and your partner.

As always the sixth month will be no less exciting, and your baby will continue to develop and grow every day.

What are some of the milestones of your 6-month-old?

Your baby is now going to start repeating consonants over and over again. Get ready to hear those “mamma”s and “dada”s which will very soon turn you’re your baby’s first “mama” and “dada”.
Your little one is probably going to start finding everything amusing and will erupt in giggles and laughter.
Your baby has now unlocked the milestone achievement of being able to roll over from both her tummy to her back and from her back to her tummy.
Your baby is going to start grabbing objects and toys using the “raking” technique. She will push the objects towards her using her fingers, and then she will try to grab them.
Your baby will start to sit up either unassisted or with a little support. If your baby requires a little help in sitting up in this month, don’t worry. Very soon, she will be doing it all on her own.
Don’t be surprised if you find her passing objects and toys from one hand to another.

Your baby’s developments in the sixth month

Weight & Length-

On average, 6-month-old girl babies weigh around 16 pounds, and that of baby boys is 16.7 pounds. The average height of 6-month-old girls is approximately 26 inches, and that of boys is 26.8 inches. If your baby falls below the 50 percentile, don’t stress and think that she is undernourished. Your baby is still healthy and doing perfectly fine if she is following an upward trajectory in her own growth chart.

By the sixth month, almost all babies weigh a few pounds more than double their birth weight. However, from this month, she will not gain weight pounds as quickly. She will not triple her birth weight in the next 6 months as the rate of weight gain will fall. This is a lot more in comparison to the weight of your seven weeks old baby.

Growth spurt-

You may notice your 6-month-old has a growth spurt. During the growth spurt, your baby may put on around 1 pound this month. When babies experience growth spurts, there is a high chance that all their patterns will change. Your baby will become more hungry, cranky, and fussy during this period, but it will last for a few days.

Vision-

Your baby’s eyesight and vision clarity has not improved to the level of that of an adult. She will most probably get that 20/20 vision in this month. She has by now memorized the usual faces and can recognize them even from a distance. She will focus on and examine everything more closely.

Give her a baby-safe unbreakable mirror to play with, and you will find her trying to memorize her face. She will also have long and deep babbles conversations with her image in the mirror. Her depth perception is also improving in this month.

Related: 5-Month-Old Baby Development

Response-

Your 6-month-old will start to respond quickly and differently to various voices and noises. She will turn their head toward the direction of the sound. She will start to differentiate between the voice of her mother and father. Your little one may start to react negatively by crying and trying to go back to her mother when strangers try to play with her.

One new development is that your little one has by now understood her name and loves to hear your say her name. You will find her responding to you by turning her head or by giving a smile when you say her name.

Touching and exploring-

Your baby will touch anything and everything to explore the world around her. She will also put the objects in her mouth as it is an integral part of exploring textures.

Teething-

Most 6-month-olds starts teething in this month. Some indicators of a teething baby are a baby who cries more than usual, drools a lot, has a low fever, and has swollen and paining gums, and refuses the bottle.

First tooth-

The very first tooth can start peeking out this month. Remember that it is important to take good care of your baby’s oral hygiene. You should brush your baby’s teeth by wiping them with a damp gauze or washcloth or a toothbrush or finger brush which is made for infants. You can also use a very little, almost rice-grain amount of cavity-preventing and fluoride toothpaste for your baby.

Feeding your 6-month-old

Bottle feeding:

6-month-olds typically have six to eight ounces of formula around six times every day.

Breastfeeding:

6-month-olds typically feed every three to four hours, but it depends on your baby’s feeding pattern.

Solid foods:

Almost all six months old, babies are ready to start eating solid foods. Start gradually with a few tablespoons of pureed fruits like banana and avocado; pureed veggies; and whole-grain cereal such as oatmeal cereal and brown rice cereal. Keep changing the food every 3 or 4 days to keep things interesting for your baby.

Understand whether any foods lead to allergies. Water sips can be provided. You can give your baby a maximum of 6 ounces of water every day as long as she continues to have enough formula or breast milk.

Related: 8-Month-Old Baby Development

Sippy cups:

You may begin to introduce your baby to a plastic and unbreakable sippy cup. At this stage, she will mainly play with it and won’t be able to suck anything from it. Let her spill the contents of the up as that will help her to associate drinks with the cup. Start with giving only water in the cup as it will be less messy and will also be good for her oral hygiene.

Sleep of 6-Month-Old

Total amount-

The amount and the pattern of your 6-month-old sleeping will also depend on your baby. While some babies can sleep throughout the night or for long stretches, some babies remain cat-nappers sleeping for shorter stretches at a time.

Generally, 6-month-old babies tend to sleep for 14 hours every day. 10 of those hours are covered at night while the rest 4 hours are covered in 2 naps during the day. Most 6-month-old babies don’t take that third nap during the evening anymore. Consider introducing a storytime, as babies learn many skills through storytime.

Sleep Regression-

It is quite common for babies of this age to suffer from sleep regression which could last for a few weeks. However, your little may also be waking up in the middle of the night this month due to teething, growth spurt, or because they crave comforting cuddles.

Your 6-Month-Old baby’s Schedule

A six-month-old is no longer a sleepyhead whose days were only filled with feeding and sleeping. She is more alert and interactive and is more interested in playing and exploring the world. Have lots of dun with your little one this month. As she is trying to make more use of her hands, play patty cakes, and play with soft toys and softballs.

Give her textured objects and toys that make sounds, help her to sit up and stand up by giving the sturdy toys that are bigger than her. Read her storybooks and change the main character’s name to that of hers and she will love to hear her name again and again. Make facial expressions as she will start to respond to emotions.

Related: 9-Month-Old Baby Development

Tips and reminders for the sixth month

Take your baby to the 6-month doctor’s checkup. In this visit, she will receive the third dose of her Hepatitis B, poliovirus, DTaP, Rotavirus, and Hib vaccines.
Ask the doctor if your baby should get a flu shot.
Schedule your baby’s ninth-month doctor’s appointment.
Now would be high time to check if the house has been baby-proofed properly, for very soon your little one will start crawling.
Don’t fret if your baby is flinging most of her solid food instead of eating it. She will get her nutrients from formula or breast milk. The solid food at this stage is mainly to help her learn to swallow.
If your baby keeps rolling over on her tummy in her sleep, don’t worry as by now, the risk of SIDs has reduced and your baby will be able to roll over on her back by herself.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Development of 6-month Old Baby

1. Can I give eggs to my 6-month-old baby?

Yes, you may give your 6-month-old baby and entire egg, if your baby has started eating solid foods in the sixth month. You can puree or mash an entire hard-boiled egg or scrambled egg for your baby. For a liquid consistency, consider adding the breast milk. Eggs provide loads of proteins.

2. Can I give yogurt to my 6-month-old baby?

Yes, most doctors agree that if the 6-month-old has started eating solid food, then it is safe to serve yogurt to your baby. However, look for signs of allergies or lactose intolerance.

3. Can I give butter to my 6-month-old baby?

Yes, but wait till your baby has gotten the taste of single-ingredient purees for a few days. Once your baby starts getting bored, you may add a dollop of butter to enhance the flavor of the purees and cereal. Butter is super nutritious as well.

4. Is my 6-month-old drinking less milk?

Most 6-month-old babies start to drink less breast milk once they start eating solid foods. You may not be able to tell the difference as your baby will nurse for the same time but will be having less milk. Don’t worry as your baby will feed until she is hungry and will eat as much as she needs.

Takeaway

This month will be exciting and filled with playtimes and chatting with your little one. Get the camera ready and take lots of pictures this month as your baby gears up to sit unassisted. Soon she will start crawling even before you can say “cheese”. Your little one is going to start eating solid foods this month and will be practicing hard to say her first words.