Your 6-Month-Old

Can you believe you kept a tiny human alive for half a year?! Your baby is 6 months old and likely extremely opinionated. They might only want you to hold them, or they might hate certain foods or textures as you start introducing solids. Make sure you record their funny faces when they try foods for the first time as future blackmail material when they hit their teenage years. But for now, your baby should really love you and like hearing you call their name.

Your 6-Month-Old’s Milestones

At six months, your baby may start to sit up unsupported, roll from their stomach to their back (or the other way around), and may even start to scoot. Some babies may even be able to start crawling or some proto-version of crawling. If your baby rarely spends time on their tummy, they’ll likely start crawling later or skip it entirely and start cruising (walking while holding onto objects).

Your 6-month-old can likely distinguish between someone they are familiar with and strangers, as well as feed off of other people’s emotions. They are tiny Narcissuses and love to gaze at themselves in the mirror (but who can blame them?) and love to play. Your baby may continue to put things in their mouth and try to grab objects outside of their reach. They may even try to have a conversation with you as they respond to sounds with their own sounds.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some other 6-month-old milestones include:

• Make sounds expressing their happiness or annoyance.
• Babble vowel sounds (e.g.: “ah,” “eh”, “oh”).
• Start making “m” or “b” sounds.
• Roll over from tummy to back or back to tummy.
• Rock back and forth when on all fours or crawl backwards.
• Sit without assistance.

Your 6-Month-Old’s Development

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the average baby weight and height for a 6-month-old is 16.1 pounds and 25.9 inches for girls and 17.4 pounds and 26.6 inches for boys. In the next month or so, your baby will gain about 1 to 1.25 pounds and be about 1 inch longer. Don’t worry if your baby is not in the highest percentiles — those percentiles aren’t grades. Focus on the fact that your baby is growing and developing, and remember normal is a wide range.

Please contact your child’s doctor if you are concerned about your baby and especially if they show some of the signs of developmental delay at 6 months such as:

• Doesn’t reach for things outside of their reach.
• Doesn’t roll over in either direction.
• Doesn’t babble, make vowel or squealing sounds.
• Doesn’t respond to sounds.
• Doesn’t show attachment to parents or caregivers.
• Seems either very stiff or very limp.

Note: If you are visiting a medical professional during COVID, make sure to ask about the facility’s safety measures and confirm that they are following COVID protocols as indicated by the CDC.

A General Schedule for Your 6-Month-Old

If you’re exhausted with your 6-month-old even though it seems as if you did nothing all day, don’t worry. It’s totally normal. It can actually be very difficult to play with babies because not everyone loves to do it or finds it fun. While there are lots of activities you can do with your baby at six months, it’s also OK to let your baby entertain themselves. You do not have to be “on” all the time. It’s OK to set your baby in a bouncer or swing and have them watch you cook or fold laundry or use the bathroom.

Keep in mind that what you do in your daily routine is interesting enough for your child. Taking your baby while running errands, picking up other children, or even attending Mommy and Me classes or going to the park all count as “play.” It may be boring or routine for you, but those are precisely the things that will stimulate your baby’s mind and teach them about the world and how it works.

Here is one suggested routine:

• Morning: feed, play, feed, nap
• Afternoon: play, feed, nap, play
• Evening: feed, nap, play, bath (not necessarily daily), story or lullaby
• Night: feed, sleep, feed, sleep

Feeding and Eating Guidelines

Welcome to the world of solids! Most doctors and nutrition experts agree that by 6 months, babies are ready for the new tastes and textures of food. “A baby with good head control who watches eagerly when you prepare foods, readily opens their mouth and sits up without support is developmentally ready to try solid foods,” said board-certified infant feeding specialist Cynthia Epps.

Breast milk or formula can continue on as usual — the solids you introduce at this point are more of a bonus. Solids don’t take the place of milk, which is still your baby’s primary source of nutrition. Your baby will need about 32 ounces of formula or six to eight feedings a day.

You don’t need to start with the traditional rice cereal, unless your doctor recommends it. Many nutrition experts recommend that a baby’s first foray into foods be with green or yellow vegetables, diluted with water, breast milk or formula. You can start with one meal per day and bump that up to two meals per day when your baby is 7 months.

Make sure to resist the urge to introduce a lot of new foods at the same time to your baby. Space out new foods every few days so that if there is a negative reaction, you can easily identify the culprit.

Here are some foods that are easy to prepare and puree to start trying with your baby:

• Bananas
• Avocados
• Pears
• Sweet potatoes
• Green beans
• Carrots

Play: Toys, Games and Activities

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If you haven’t already, now is the time to learn and practice a repertoire of baby songs. Sit your baby in front of you and sing songs. Don’t be bashful about belting them out — and if they involve hand motions, even better. Remember the classics, like:

• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• The Wheels on the Bus
• Where Is Thumbkin
• Open Shut Them

Peek-a-boo also never gets old. It’s thrilling for your baby to see you, then not see you, wonder what’s about to happen, and then: poof! They see you again. Your baby is testing their mature level of “object permanence,” which tells them things are there even when they can’t see them.

If it fits in your schedule, join a Mommy and Me class or an informal playgroup for babies of the same age. We’re not meant to do this parenting thing alone, so joining a group gives you the chance to learn from others, and share information and support. Babies also love to watch and learn from each other.

Note: Please keep in mind that the CDC currently recommends you only gather with people within your household.

Sleep and Nap Guidelines

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Six months is a fair age to expect your baby to sleep well, said Heather Turgeon, sleep consultant and co-author of The Happy Sleeper. At 6 months, their internal clock is mature and they’re capable of self-soothing. This doesn’t mean they have to sleep 11 to 12 hours straight, said Turgeon, but they can fall asleep on their own — and when they wake up to feed, they can go back to sleep smoothly without much fanfare. Whether a parent decides to wean a baby from night feedings — or not — is a matter of choice. It’s perfectly natural for a baby this age to still feed one to two times in the night, said Turgeon.

“Six months is when a lot of families call us for help,” Turgeon noted. “If a baby isn’t in the habit of falling asleep independently at bedtime, it can start taking longer and longer to get that baby to sleep, and they’re more likely to wake in the night, too.” At this point, a lot of parents feel stuck. “To get unstuck at this age, you need a plan for how to back off from over-helping while still being responsive and supportive to the baby,” said Turgeon. “It’s tricky, and that’s where hand-holding through the process can be a game changer.”

Your baby should be sleeping about 12 to 16 hours in a 24-hour period, of which about 3.5 hours should be split between two to three naps. Your child should be awake about two to three hours between naps, but this will adjust as their circadian sleep rhythm becomes more established.

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If you notice your baby is having trouble sleeping at night, there are several possible reasons such as:

• Sleep regression
• Teething
• Growth spurts
• Practicing rolling, crawling, creeping

It’s OK if your 6-month-old ends up sleeping on their stomach — even when you put them down to sleep on their back. As long as they can lift their head and shoulders when on their tummy or can roll over, you should be OK. Make sure you follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to help avoid sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), and keep the sleeping area free of loose or soft blankets, pillows, and toys.

Common 6-Month-Old Health Conditions

When your baby hits six months, there is usually a 6-month-old checkup appointment with your child’s medical professional. At the 6-month checkup, the AAP and CDC recommend third doses of the following immunizations:

• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV13)
• Diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP)

Depending on the dosing schedule and type of vaccination, they may also receive the third dose for these immunizations:

• Hepatitis B (HepB)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Poliovirus (IPV)
• Rotavirus (RV)

Coming Soon: Your 7-Month-Old

Separation anxiety and raking objects to themselves!