Mercy Network
Mercy Family Clinic
Pediatric and Adolescent
Six Months
Your six month old likely enjoys interacting with people, especially you. She smiles and laughs easily. Your interaction with her at these times gives her a sense of trust. She develops an awareness of her ability to control her world.
Development and Behavior
Your baby is increasingly able to recognize others. She may resist staying with anyone other than you. Do not try to trick the child by sneaking away to keep her from crying. Peek-a-boo is a fun game at this age and gives your child a chance to practice your comings and goings. When you have to leave, reassure her that you will return. Practice leaving her with someone else for short periods (5 minutes), before it is necessary to leave her for a more extended time. She will gradually get the idea that you will return.
Stimulate language development by talking to and responding to your baby’s sounds. Talk to her during dressing, bathing, feeding, playing, walking, and driving. Read aloud to the child.
During the second half of the first year, your baby will become independently mobile. She will learn to get to a sitting position and to sit alone without support. She will crawl and pull herself up to a standing position.
Injury and Illness Prevention
- Get down on the floor and check for hazards at baby’s eye level.
- Use an infant car seat that is properly secured at all times.
- Test the water temperature with your wrist to make sure it is not hot before bathing the baby.
- Do not leave her alone in a tub of water or on high places such as changing tables, beds, sofas, or chairs.
- Empty buckets, tubs, or small pools immediately after use.
- Keep the home and car nonsmoking zones.
- Avoid overexposure to the sun.
- Do not leave heavy objects or containers of hot liquid on tables with tablecloths that the baby may pull down.
- Place plastic plugs in electrical sockets.
- Keep toys with small parts or other small or sharp objects out of reach.
- Keep all poisonous substances,plants medicines, cleaning agents, health and beauty aids, and paints and paint solvents locked in a safe place.
- Never store poisonous substances in empty jars or soda bottles.
- Obtain a one-ounce bottle of Syrup of Ipecac to be kept in the home and used as directed by the poison control center or a health professional.
- Do not give the infant plastic bags, latex balloons, or small objects such as marbles.
- Install safety devices on drawers and cabinets where the infant may play.
- Install gates at the top and bottom of stairs, and place safety devices on windows.
- Lower the crib mattress.
- Avoid dangling electrical and drapery cords.
- Keep pet food and dishes out of reach. Do not permit the baby to approach the dog while the dog is eating.
- Do not use an infant walker at any age.
- Learn first aid and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Sleep Patterns
Reluctance to go to sleep and night waking are common problems. It is important for you to help your child develop the internal controls needed to fall asleep and to stay asleep.
Try to establish different responsiveness to the baby during the daytime and nighttime.Carry and hold your baby frequently during the day. Reduce the volume of feedings and the amount of attention given to the baby at night. When your baby awakens and cries during the night she often can be comforted with soothing behaviors and words instead of feeding. Your contact with her in the middle of the night should be brief and quieting in order that she learns to go back to sleep on her own.
By six months your baby may be anxious about separation from you. A stuffed animal, doll, blanket or other security object gives added comfort to the child when going to sleep and when she awakens during the night. Consistently pleasant and predictable bedtime routines and rituals help promote good sleep habits. Children who spend time with their parents before going to bed feel more secure.
The infant’s environment should be the same upon falling asleep as it will be when she awakens during the night. For this reason, babies should not be given bottles to take to bed with them. Bedtime bottles or pacifiers can become part of an infant’s sleep associations, which will be difficult for her to recreate in order to return to sleep during the night.
Nutrition
- Continue to breastfeed or use iron-fortified formula for the first year of the infant’s life.
- Introduce solid foods. Use a spoon to give the infant an iron-fortified, single-grain cereal such as rice. If there is no adverse reaction, add a new pureed food to the diet each week, starting with fruits and vegetables and then meats. Let the infant indicate when and how much she wants to eat.
- Avoid giving the infant foods that may be aspirated or cause choking (e.g., peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs or sausages, carrot sticks, celery sticks, whole grapes, raisins, corn, whole beans, hard candy, large pieces of raw vegetables or fruit, tough meat).
- Always supervise the infant while she is eating.
- Serve solid food two or three times per day.
- Begin to offer a cup for water or juice.
- Limit juice to four to six ounces per day.
- For exclusively breastfed babies begin to give iron and fluoride supplements. Continue to give the breastfeeding infant 400 IU’s of vitamin D daily.
- Do not give the infant honey or Karo syrup until after her first birthday