6 month baby development | Parenting In the Loop

Baby Development at 6 Months

Can you believe that 6 months has gone by since your baby was born? In some ways of course in other ways the changes in him can make you wonder were did the time go since he was just in a swaddle?

Baby development is slowly happening each and every day right in front of you. It is not dramatic but it is subtle and so much fun to see these new abilities and changes.

At six months he is becoming more physically active and more social. What have you noticed?

Here are some highlights of baby development at 6 months of age.

Rolling over and rolling around when you are trying to change his diaper and not staying put any longer when you lay him on his play mat on the floor. His muscles are developing and he is holding his head up better and perhaps he is even sitting up.
Now that he looking around more he is also becoming more social. He will even flirt with you and crave your attention as he also begins to develop stranger anxiety. His crave for your attention is making him engage in behaviors and crying that he knows will alert you to him. It is now time to give him some positive feedback when he does positive things which just about always at this point because the time will come when some of his attention getting behaviors will not be so cute and endearing.
Foods- When you begin to give your baby some solid foods on the recommendation of your doctor don’t be surprised when his stools change and become more stinky depending upon what he is eating. If he does get constipated try to give him some baby strained fruit and veggies to help him out as firm stools can be really uncomfortable for him.

My little grandson seems to be right on target with his baby development, he is wowing us with his little baby nuances and new abilities. Although he does not yet sit up fully on his own his head is well controlled and his is exploring his environment every chance he gets. Safety has become more important with regard to his new love of rolling around whenever and wherever possible.

He also has tasted some yummy foods. Organic foods are preferred by mom and dad but it is not easy to always find them in the baby food aisle a their local grocer. So grandma gave baby and parents a present a baby food processor, the Baby Brezza Food Maker, which should thrill everyone with it simplicity of use and clean-up with the bonus of preparing really healthy delicious food and one that was not available when this grandma was a young mom. I also order baby food online, delivered right to their door.

I can’t wait to see what happens during the next month of my little grandson’s life!

Source: Your 6-month-old’s development: Week 1 | BabyCenter

Baby Sign Language – 7 Positive Reasons to Teach Sign

Six months has just gone by and baby’s understanding of spoken language along with her motor skills develop much faster than talking and speaking words.

Baby is waving and pointing around 9 months to 1 year. So it seems to be the optimum time to teach signing to baby as a way for him to express herself. It may actually cutdown on TANTRUMS from frustration.

If anything can minimize frustration both yours and baby’s, to me, it is worth it. Hungry (putting your fingers to your lips) is a great first word to begin teaching. Full is another word that is helpful rather than little one throwing her bottle or dish to the floor. Cleaning up the floor is no fun!

Baby Sign Language to the rescue!

Source: Your 6-month-old’s development: Week 2 |

BabyCenter

Early Communication– signing can begin as early and 9 months and first words at 12 months. (Sara Bingham of WeeHands and “The Baby Signing Book”)
Larger vocabularies
Few tantrums- because now your little one can make some of his needs and wants known, less crying and less whining.
Increased confidence – watch his facial expressions when he makes himself known.
Greater interest in books-reading and signing simple books makes it a more enjoyable experience for your child. Think “Itsy Bitsy, Spider”.
They are smarter – “According to research at UC Davis, babies who sign have a 12-point higher IQ than those who don’t. Experts surmise that signing stimulates the language centers in the brain”.
Better mom baby bonding with baby sign language – this is my favorite, what could be more motivating? “In one study by the University of Hertfordshire, mothers who signed with their babies were more tuned into all of their baby’s nonverbal cues — signed or not — and also more likely to see their baby as having a mind of their own rather than just a lump of Silly Putty for a brain. All of which is bound to bring you and baby even closer and make your already-solid-as-oak relationship ever stronger”.