Everything you need to know about your growing 6-month-old

As a parent, it’s natural to have questions and concerns about your growing baby. Every milestone and development can bring both excitement and uncertainty. You want to ensure that you are providing the best possible care for your little one. At six months old, your baby is going through a critical stage of growth and development. There are so many things to learn and discover about your child during this time. This blog aims to provide you with valuable insights and information that will help you better understand your growing six-month-old. So, whether you’re a new parent or a seasoned pro, read on to discover everything you need to know about this exciting stage of your baby’s life.

Social and emotional milestones at 6 months

Some of the ways you’ll see your little one learning to connect with the people around him at 6 months:

• Is usually happy and responds to the emotions of others.
• Starting to differentiate between familiar faces and strangers.
• Enjoys playing with you and others.
• Has fun looking at himself in a mirror.

Tips for Parents

• Talk to your baby about what is going on around him in a sweet tone. 
• Include a child-friendly or plastic mirror with his toys so he can watch his movements.
• Start playing more body games like peek-a-boo.

Language and communication milestones at 6 months

How your baby is expressing her needs:

• Will recognize and respond to her name.
• Puts vowel sounds together and likes taking turns saying them with you. She is starting to make some consonant sounds, too.
• Will respond to noises by making sounds.
• It makes sounds to show positive and negative emotions.

Tips for Parents

• Engage in playful conversations with your baby: Create a *serve-and-return interaction by repeating back to her the sounds she makes.
• Familiarize your baby with her name by using it frequently. 

*Serve-and-return:

The reason why ‘serve and return’ accurately describes what’s important about the interaction is that it goes in both directions. A baby serves a smile, a coo, a babble, a gesture, and the parent or other adult caring for that child returns a response that is connected to what the baby did. Baby makes a sound; you make the same sound back. A baby points to something; you look at that and point at yourself. That’s the key. It goes both ways. The baby can start it. The parent can start it.  The key is how you respond.

Serve and return is not necessarily something that works the first time you try it. But the more you practice it actually gets easier.

Brain development milestones at 6 months

How your child’s brain is growing:

• He is curious: He looks at objects nearby and tries to grab ones that are out of reach. 
• He passes things from one hand to the other and brings his hands to his mouth.

Tips for Parents

• Provide your baby with toys that are easy to pick up with one hand.
• Have conversations with your baby about different objects he is putting into his mouth.

Food and nutrition milestones at 6 months

What mealtimes look like at 6 months:

• Is showing an interest in food and opens his mouth when spoon-fed.
• Is moving food from the front to the back of his mouth when he chews.
• Is starting to eat cereals and single-ingredient pureed foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears.

Tips for Parents

• At 6 months, your baby needs more than breastmilk alone. Start giving him just 2 or 3 spoonfuls of soft food four times a day.

Things to look out for

While all babies develop differently, you should speak to your pediatrician immediately if your 6-month-old:

• Doesn’t show affection to parents or caregivers.
• Won’t respond to nearby sounds.
• Doesn’t laugh.
• Has a hard time getting things into her mouth.
• Doesn’t make vowel sounds.
• Seems too floppy or too stiff.
• Can’t roll over in either direction.
• Doesn’t attempt to grab objects nearby.

>> Read more: Everything you need to know about your growing 9-month-old