Babies are blessing from God, and with their each growing month, it brings new challenges and excitement for parents. Six months is such a significant age when parents notice some beautiful and exciting developments in their babies. If you are a new parent of a six-month-old baby, then are you wondering about the milestones and marvels of your baby? If yes, then this is the article that will provide you with all the details you need.
Physical Development
By six months, a baby’s physical development is on the trend.
Teething
By the age of six months, usually, the first teeth emerge. Some babies can have teeth earlier or even later. Generally, the central lower front teeth appear first, even though there is no fixed timeline for teeth emergence.
Milestone
By the age of six months, the baby seems to demonstrate significant changes such as:
- Rolling over
- Sitting without support
- Hands to feet or feet to hands play movements
Babies often love to stand up with support at this age. They may even bounce up and down.
Communication Development
At six months, babies show their communication skills by babbling, imitating sounds and laughter.
Speech and language development
A baby’s speech and language development speed up at six months since the baby can make a variety of sounds. You may hear your baby has repeated consonant sounds like ‘ba, ma, ga’ and simple vowel sounds like ‘oo, eh, eh.’
Milestone
At six months, the baby can understand familiar words like “no” or “mommy,” and when you call out the baby’s name, chances are more that they will turn their head toward you.
Feeding Development
By the age of six months, babies usually start taking healthy solid foods.
Solid Foods
Six months is the recommended age to introduce solid foods that come with significant health benefits for your baby. You can introduce a little cereal at first, like rice. The introduction of vegetables and fruits starts, and it is better to introduce vegetables first.
Milestone
Holding up the bottle with both hands while drinking milk or formula is a milestone for a six-month-old baby. They may also show interest in feeding themselves and enjoy the different taste and texture of foods.
Mental Development
As your baby’s brain develops, they make sense of the world around them.
Problem-solving ability
Baby now started developing their problem-solving ability. You can see they look for hidden objects, and if you drop a toy, they may see to find and grab it.
Milestone
By six months, the baby can recognize familiar faces, like the parents and grandparents, and show excitement and joy at their sight. They love to engage themselves in games like peek-a-boo and loves to be talked to with meaningful gestures.
Sleeping Development
By six months, the sleeping patterns of babies significantly improved.
Night-time sleep
Baby somewhat becomes a night owl and may sleep better throughout the night. However, they must be getting the recommended number of daytime naps, which decreases as they grow.
Milestone
Babies don’t always like to sleep as they did before, and they may require some soothing before bed, such as rocking or mild music. However, if they nap well during the day, you can expect a good night’s sleep at six months old.
Conclusion
Babies at six months reach many milestones and marvels, such as sitting without support, teething, language development, and recognizing familiar faces. They also have better sleeping patterns and start showing their interest in solid foods. Remember, every baby develops at their pace. If you have any concerns, reach out to your family pediatrician and discuss your worries.
FAQs
- What is the right age to introduce solid foods to my baby?
- When does a baby start teething at their initial stage?
- When can babies sit without any support?
- How many daily naps are required for a six months old baby?
- What is the best way to soothe a baby to sleep?
The right age for introducing solid food to your baby is six months.
A baby usually starts teething by the age of six months, but some may start teething at an early age, and some start late.
Babies usually sit without any support between the ages of six to eight months.
A six-month-old baby will need about two to three naps daily.
The best way to soothe a baby to sleep is to make them feel comfortable by keeping the room dark, warm, and using soft music or buzzing sounds.
References
- Babycentre.co.uk. (2021) ‘Your 6-month-old baby’s development – BabyCentre UK.’ Available at: https://www.babycentre.co.uk/s1002914/your-6-month-olds-development (Accessed: 13 June 2021).
- Nhs.uk. (2021) ‘Baby development milestones at 6 months – NHS.’ Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/baby/baby-development/baby-development-milestones-at-6-months/ (Accessed: 13 June 2021).
- Kidshealth.org. (2021) ‘Milestone moments: Learn the Signs. Act Early. | NCBDDD | CDC.’ Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-6mo.html (Accessed: 13 June 2021).