You have reached the halfway point of your baby’s first year. You have witnessed many new developments along this challenging journey. As your baby rapidly progresses towards becoming an individual, it’s now time to introduce solid foods with the 6th month.
Vaccines
This month, your baby will receive the third dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine, the third dose of the Pneumococcal vaccine, the third dose of the five-in-one vaccine (DTaP-IPV-Hib), and the first dose of the Polio vaccine. The Polio vaccine is given orally, while other vaccines are injected into the muscle. Polio is a virus that negatively affects the body’s nervous system, causing temporary or permanent paralysis. It is also known as infantile paralysis. It can usually be transmitted orally through infected feces, unhygienic food items, and contaminated water. It occurs with symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, vomiting, and fatigue. There is no treatment; vaccination is necessary for prevention. The incidence in adults is very low.
Physical Development
Your baby can now start consuming solid foods. Solid food should never be given to fill the stomach, but to let the baby taste different foods. According to your doctor’s quantity recommendations, you can start with seasonally appropriate vegetable (potato, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini) and fruit (pear, banana, apple, peach) purees, and foods like pudding. You should follow the 3-day rule after giving new foods. For example, after feeding your baby carrot puree, you should not give any other new food for 3 days to determine if it causes an allergy. Since babies who start with sweet foods are often seen to struggle with eating other foods like vegetables, it would be good to start with foods that are as non-sweet as possible. Until they reach 1 year of age, babies should never be given egg white, honey, or cow’s milk. Along with solid foods, don’t forget to give your baby water occasionally throughout the day.
Babies’ growth rate, height and weight gain slow down a bit after the 6th month. If your baby was born with colored eyes, you may see their eye color change during these months. An unchanging eye color usually indicates that it will remain that way for life. Your baby can now see even the smallest details of objects and examine the details of people’s faces. They especially love to pull and play with women’s jewelry like earrings and necklaces. They enjoy bouncing when you hold them under their arms. As your baby’s neck and arm muscles develop, they will start rolling on the floor. Your diaper changing times won’t be as easy as before. You should never leave your baby who has started rolling alone on high places like couches or beds. Rolling from high places is one of the most common home accidents for children. It’s important to dress your active babies in comfortable clothes and not restrict their movements. As many babies start teething during this period, it will be helpful to give them objects that can help with teething.
Cognitive Development
Your baby’s motor skills have developed to the next level. They can wave “bye-bye” when seeing someone off. It’s difficult to predict which hand they will use until they are 2-3 years old. Whichever hand they use, you shouldn’t force them to use the other hand. This could negatively affect your baby’s motor development and may lead to difficulties in hand skills and writing later on. In toy selection, choosing toys made of different textures, wooden blocks, and cloth books would be the right choice. During this period, your baby, whose fine motor skills are developing, starts to grasp small objects using their thumb and index finger. This allows them to start eating on their own.
Emotional and Social Development
They enjoy attracting the attention of strangers and feeling their interest. If you have a baby who is wary of strangers, you should approach them to other people without frightening them. Your baby will enjoy water games during this period. Allow them to stay in the bath a bit longer, and let them watch colored toys thrown into the water. You need to take safety precautions at home now, as you’ll have an increasingly active baby. You should cover accessible electrical outlets and lock cabinets containing chemical substances.
Language Development
Tell your baby the names of objects around you, colors, numbers, and repeat them often. The best way to learn is through frequent repetition. Your baby stores what you say in their mind and will use them when the time comes. You can get a book about animals and imitate the sounds animals make. Your baby will love this game. Now it will be possible for you to understand their desires not only through crying but also through their movements and the sounds they make.
→ You can also read our article on 7-Month-Old Baby Development.
