Your Baby Is 6 Months Old And With It Comes The First Semi-solid Meal!
This is a milestone: your baby is 6 months old and is starting to have many new experiences. One of them is to start partially with solid food because now it is getting its teeth. And after a few tries, your child will eventually get up too.
This is an unforgettable time! Your baby is 6 months and this is the beginning of an incredible developmental phase.
Your baby is 6 months and is changing!
Change can be scary for new mothers. But with a little advice, we realize after a short time that there is no reason for it.
During the sixth month of life you will notice the following changes:
weight and height
The range of healthy weights for babies of this age is quite wide. So don’t worry if your little one is above or below average.
By 6 months, most babies weigh between 6 and 8 pounds and are around 63 to 70 cm long.
Movements
One of the most exciting developments is happening because your baby realizes that he is agile. He’ll start picking up toys and hand-to-hand or throwing them around.
It is also possible that your child is already trying to get up on their own and hold onto furniture to keep their balance.
nutrition
In this phase, many parents look forward to supplementing their child’s diet. It is a pleasure to see the expression on the child’s face when they taste something for the first time.
But before you give your child any semi-solid food, you should consult with your pediatrician to make sure it is the right time.
Once you have the green light, the flavors start. Your baby will enjoy experiencing new tastes, textures and sensations in the mouth. All of this keeps his senses busy.
And what’s the best way to introduce new foods? We recommend fruit purees and mashed vegetables. This is an ideal supplement to breast milk.
Your baby is 6 months old – now the first teeth are coming
Teething begins around this time. For some babies this is very uncomfortable. The first teeth to come out are the lower incisors. They sit in the middle of the lower jaw.
Now you have to be patient with your baby. This development spurt can be very painful and exhausting.
You’ll notice right away when your baby is teething. Then it will drool more than usual and will put everything in its mouth to scratch the gums with.
You can be very irritable at this stage and also have a slight fever.
What to feed your 6 month old baby
Without a doubt, it makes sense to read a little bit about healthy and appropriate nutrition for your little one. Be aware that this time is about slowly introducing your child to different foods.
Give your baby some solid food to complement breastfeeding or bottle feeding.
- Start with fruits, such as a mashed banana, applesauce, peach, or pureed pear.
- Then you can move on to vegetables. Pureed carrots or pumpkin are ideal for this.
- If your baby is eating it, legumes like lentil puree would be very good.
- You can also feed cereals, for example rice, barley or oats.
- A bit of unsweetened yogurt is also possible.
- When you’re cooking, add a few drops of oil. Oil contains valuable fats that contribute to the development of the nervous system.
- If you would like to experiment with other foods, we advise you to speak to your pediatrician first.
Your baby is 6 months old – further valuable tips:
To ensure that your baby’s sixth month of life is a wonderful time, here are a few more recommendations for you:
- Your little one will make sudden, surprising movements at times . Don’t be alarmed if this happens. Just make sure that nothing dangerous is within its reach. Aside from that, feel free to discover it and let it experiment.
- Soon you will see your baby crawling. Try not to get loud when that happens, even with joy or delight. This can scare your baby and prevent them from trying again.
- Until your child is one year old, you shouldn’t add sugar or salt to their food. Sugar causes obesity, tooth decay, and many other health problems. Babies are used to the bland taste of milk and do not yet have a sense of taste for salt.
- You should also leave out honey until your expert tells you it’s safe to add it. Honey can contain botox, which affects the nervous system in some patients.
- You should monitor your child’s bowel activity during this phase. New foods can sometimes lead to constipation.
- Your child should have suitable utensils for eating or feeding. This will prevent dishes from being broken and also reduce the risk of injury.
- Don’t make your child eat. Be patient. Your child will be totally dirty, play with their food and spit some of it out again. Children this age don’t eat properly and quickly, so give them time to learn.
And above all: enjoy the time with your baby. Before you know it, it will be big and much more independent!
