6 Month-Old Baby: milestones & more

6 Months old? Or the “big half year birthday”

6 months is not an anniversary yet, but it should be celebrated as your baby has achieved so much until now and so did you! Your baby is not an infant anymore, but rather a tiny human who smiles and laughs.

In this blogpost, you will find the important milestones for a 6 month baby – the normal growth range, sleep, feeding, activities, must-have toys and a daily schedule.

Milestones

When researching my content, I use official websites such as the CDC ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). They list the below as the milestones a child should reach by the end of 6 months:

Social/Emotional Milestones

• Knows familiar people
• Likes to look at self in a mirror
• Laughs

Language/Communication Milestones

• Takes turns making sounds with you
• Blows “raspberries” (sticks tongue out and blows)
• Makes squealing noises

Cognitive Milestones (learning, thinking and problem-solving)

• Puts things in their mouth to explore them
• Reach to grab a toy they want
• Close their lips to show they don’t want anymore food

Movement/Physical Development Milestones

• Rolls from tummy to back
• Pushes up with straight arms when on their tummy
• Leans on hands to support themselves when sitting

By 6 months of age some babies might be able to remain in a seated position for limited period of time and to roll over and pivot ( 360 degrees). Very few babies will army crawl, start to clap , reduplicate babbling ( repetition of syllables like “baba”, “mama” , without understanding the meaning).

Baby Growth 

The normal growth range at 6 months old differs between boys and girls.

• Length
  • Girls range from 61 – 70 cm (24-27 in.)  in height;
  • Boys range from 63 – 72 cm (25-28 in.)  in height;
• Weight
  • Girls range from 5800-9500 gr (13-21 lb.) in weight;
  • Boys range from 6200-9900 gr (14-22 lb.) in weight.

Another important aspect is that the growth rate of the baby will slow down after six months: you will expect the baby to gain about 500 gr (1 lb.) per month moving forward.

For more info on this, check the Growth WHO Standards table and other baby standards here.

Baby Sleep

At this age your baby will have 3 naps a day with the below structure:

• 1st nap after 90 min ;
• sleeps after every 2 hours ;
• 7 pm bedtime (with none to 2 feeding times; I personally wait for at least 5 hours from bedtime for the first night feeding).

Baby Feeding

This is the perfect time for the baby to enjoy one solid meal a day. See some of the solids that can be introduced below;

Try waiting at least 2 days after introducing new food to the baby to check for any allergic reactions. If you notice symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting it might mean that the baby is allergic to a certain food type.

Don’t forget to start giving the baby water. If you use bottled water, check the level of sodium or sulphate. Look on the label to check the levels:

• Sodium (Na) <= 200 mg/l ; 
• Sulphate (‘SO’ or ‘SO4’) <= 250 mg/l.

Baby Eyes

Your baby’d eyesight has improved a lot by now and they are able to see right across the room. Also, if you are wondering what eye color your baby will end up, you might have a good idea by 6 months of age. A baby’s eye color will settle around 11 months of age.

Activities

Sky is the limit, there are so many activities that you can do without the need of any special toys or materials:

• Introduce the concept of body parts by showing the baby the major body parts in a mirror, or while naked;
• Chat as much as possible to encourage the baby make sounds; 
• Show the baby how clapping works;
• Encourage crawling by making the baby reach  for a favourite toy;
• Allow the baby to play with a spoon and a sippy cup to establish eating habits;
• Funny faces are so powerful at this age, your baby will enjoy the show and you’ll be awarded with giggles;
• Introduce new people as often as possible; especially now that separation anxiety might kick in;
• Peekaboooo;
• Teach the baby the meaning of NO.

Must-have toys 

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When you exhaust all the activities that use no materials, get some of the below toys (6M +); your baby will love them:

• Stack of circles. They’re very popular and promote hand-eye coordination and creativity. Get them here.
• Play mat. If you haven’t received by now as a gift from your friends , buy one yourself.
• Bath toys. Now that they can sit, your baby will spend more time in the bathtub. Get ready and prepare the setup.
• Teething toys. The first one or two teeth are coming soon, teething toys help a lot: can be soothing and help alleviate pain.

6 Month Baby Schedule

• 7:00: Wakes up & Nurse / Receives bottle
• 7:30: Playtime (activities & toys)
• 9:00: Nap
• 10:30: Solid food & Nurse / Receives bottle
• 12:00: Nap
• 1:30: Outdoor time
• 15:00: Nap (usually a cat nap if the first 2 naps were long)
• 16:30: Nurse / Receives bottle
• 17:00: Playtime (activities & toys)
• 18:00: Bath time and pre-sleep routine
• 18:30: Nurse / Receives bottle
• 18:45 – 19:00 Bedtime!

 

This is a personal blog. My opinion on what I share with you is that “All models are wrong, but some are useful”. Improve the accuracy of any model I present and make it useful!