Month 6 With Your Baby!
Happy half-birthday to your baby! She has crossed the half-year milestone and it’s a big deal for her and you. At this point in time, she weighs about twice as much as she did at birth, if not more. The first year of a baby’s life is one of rapid development growth which surpasses any other stage life. Keep learning about what you should be expecting her to do and what you could be doing to help her with development.
Month 6 Of What To Expect From Your Baby
By now your little one has mastered the act of rolling over onto her back and stomach and she may be using this novel movement to make her way across the room (barrel rolling). She may also discover the art of sliding along on her tummy to move to a spot where her favorite toys are placed.
She is starting to learn to keep her balance in a seated position and she may actually be able to sit up on her own because she has already practiced propping herself up on her arms so well, by now.
The most evident change you may see in your baby’s appearance is that her eye color may have changed to it’s permanent shade by now. (If your baby has green eyes, you can be fairly certain that she is going to be a green eyed beauty for life!). Also, If your baby has not cut any teeth yet you should start to see the first one or two little toothy pegs erupt this month. As your baby’s teeth are cutting it often makes them irritable, upset and may even trigger a slight temp or runny nose.
Baby is trying hard to communicate with smiles, laughs, and babbles now. She is very keen on ‘talking’ to the people she recognizes. So much so, she may have a special name or sound for you and your partner to call out to get your attention.
At the same time, she may start showing signs of being wary of strangers or people she does not see very frequently. This is when ‘separation anxiety’ can show up and you have a bub who was once happy to be left with or held by anyone, now suddenly wails when mom leaves the room or they are passed to someone else. This will get better in time as she realises you will in fact come back to get her and she builds up bonds with others.
Try this: teething gel can help relieve sore and inflamed gums as can keeping baby distracted and lots of cuddles. Some babies also find relief gumming on cold teething rings or a frozen/cold wash cloth.
Month 6 Of Being Prepared!
It’s time to start introducing solids. This can be very fun, but also very messy!
You’ll need a safe way to secure baby while feeding and also make the feeding process easy. Check out the Easy Seat Portable ‘High Chair’ which basically turns any chair in your home into a high chair.
This means you can avoid having to use a bulky and cumbersome high chair and simply take the seat harness off when you’re done. It’s machine washable and affordable enough to have two in your home – simply pop one in the wash while the other is in use.
Month 6 Of What To Expect From Yourself
Give yourself a break if teething is taking it’s toll on you and try and rest more often during the day, as it usually causes babies to wake more often at night. You may find your little bub can only settle while being held by you if teething is really bothering her and while the extra cuddles are nice, it often means less gets done and mum is left exhausted. This is why we say to try and rest when you can, reach out for help if you need it, and just know that it should be over in a few days.
Tips For Starting Solids
This is the time for you to start slowly introducing solids to your baby (while still maintaining current breast or formula feeding) because she is at an age where she is developmentally ready.
You may hear conflicting advice about what to introduce first, when and how much. This may make you feel overwhelmed and confused.
Ask your healthcare provider about their recommendations on what to give baby first and how much. They will likely suggest giving small amounts of fruits and veggies, made in an easy to digest form like a puree, or a baby cereal. A good way to start your baby on solids, especially fruits and vegetables, is to give them one item for a while, wait for a few days to see if it agrees with their stomach before starting another. Remember that the food item they seem to love today may top their list of ‘most-disliked-foods’ tomorrow, so don’t worry if this happens. It’s all a learning experience and experimenting for baby at this stage and not essential to ‘fill them up’.
“ I made up a batch of veggie and fruit puree’s for my baby and put the mixture into ice-cube trays in the freezer so I could use two squares for a serve as I needed them”
Encourage baby’s ‘talking’ by holding conversations with them, and also read to them often to improve their grip over the language.
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