BABY DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES (PART 2): FROM 5-MONTH-OLD TO 6-MONTH-OLD
In This Article:
5-Month-Old Baby: Feeding and Sleeping, Baby Development Milestones
6-Month-Old Baby: Feeding and Sleeping, Baby Development Milestones
5-Month-Old Baby Development
At 5-month-old, you will notice that in baby’s mouth is not only his hands but also his legs. Not less interesting is exploring of her own hair and ears. They say that by the baby’s reactions at the age of five months you can find out his character when he gets older. Some babies are very friendly even with the unknown people and some deny contact with people outside of their usual surrounding. You may notice that the baby experiences discomfort in her mouth. It could be a sign of her first tooth coming out. You can help your baby with special plastic toys that gently rub the gums. Rubber toys filled with water are also available in stores. They can be frozen and when baby uses them to sooth the pain.
WEIGHT
The average weight of a 5-month-old baby boy is 16 lbs 9 oz or 7.5 kg and for baby girls 15 lbs 3 oz or 6.9 kg. Probably he gained about a pound the last month, but don’t panic if he isn’t exactly within these frames. As long as he follows a natural, gradual and healthy rate of growth, then he should be just fine.
LENGTH
On average a 5-month-old baby boy will be 26 in or 65.9 cm and for baby girl 25 1/4 in or 64 cm
5-Month-Old Baby Sleep
Well done to you and your baby! You’ve made it through the toughest period of sleepless nights. Your baby now recognises day and night, and by now she should have an established sleep pattern. A five-month-old baby is healthy to sleep around 15 hours. About 10 hours during the night and three cat naps during the day is what most babies do. Be prepared for 1 to 3 nighttime wake ups. If that happens to be over three times a night, then that might be an indicator of a sleep problem. At this age, the time between the day naps is still on the short side, simply because many babies can't stay up for a long time. Don’t forget that every baby has its own individuality and personality. Some of them are long sleepers and some short sleepers.
Nadav Traeger, M.D, who is the director of the pediatric sleep medicine at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital says: “Once that internal clock kicks in, you will notice your baby has a preference for when she wants to go to bed”.
So it is essential at this age your baby has a well established nighttime routine!
Before we wrap up this section we will try to answer a few common questions that mommies and daddies like you have:
My 5-Month-Old Won’t Sleep. Why? As we found out after thorough research, one of the main reasons why your 5-month-old doesn’t sleep at night is because she is overtired or overstimulated. What does that mean? Well, remember when we said three naps during the day? If nap training during the day doesn’t go well and your baby can’t have at least 90 minutes per nap that can overtire and overstimulate her. So stick to those day naps!
Is sleep training really necessary?
For many parents sleep training is not really necessary, and one of the reasons is that trying to sleep train your baby or letting her cry it out has an adverse effect over her body and neurology system. On the contrary, some studies show that sleep training hasn’t got a negative effect and is somehow beneficial for you as a parent as well. This question is a massive topic with no particular answer so maybe research more or go with the flow!
5-Month-Old Baby Feeding
The first and most important question in regards to feeding is:
How Much 5-Month-Old Eat?
Probably notice that it takes your baby less time to finish his “meal”. That doesn’t mean that she eats less, it is the fact that she learns to do it more efficiently. In the coming months, the feeding process will start taking less and less time. The quantity of milk your baby consumes is approximately 5-7 ounces if you feed her with formula. It all depends on the size and weight of your baby, so feed on demand as much as she likes.
“Is my baby eating enough?” is another question we see quite often. To answer that, we’ll put it that way. First and foremost regular check-ups with your paediatrician will ensure you keep track of her weight and size because one of the obvious reasons for why your baby doesn’t gain weight is underfeeding.
In a home environment, you can find out if your baby eats enough by the wet and dirty nappies you change every day. On average six wet and four dirty nappies is normal. If you find orange crystals in a wet nappy that could be a sign of dehydration or not getting enough fluids. Probably isn’t something serious but contact your doctor to clarify that.
How much solid food for 5-month-old? Doctors may recommend you to introduce solid foods to your baby’s diet around that age. Doing this should be a slow process, adding one type of solid food, waiting a few days and then introduce the next one. That will also help you discover if your baby has any food allergies.
How Much Water Should a 5-Month-Old Baby Drink?
Doctors don’t recommend to give baby water before the 6th month as she receives plenty of fluids with your breast milk or formula. The reason is the water intake can make her feel full and prevent her from feeding as much as she should.
BABY SIGHT
When 5-month-old, the baby's vision is still developing. At this stage, it is developed enough that the eyes can work together to create a three-dimensional view of the world. That is related with the depth of field. Your bundle of joy will be able to tell which object is close and which farther away from her. An interesting fact is that while crawling your baby develops the eye-hand-foot-body coordination which helps further to improve her vision. But if your baby doesn’t spend a lot of time crawling, her sight may not develop as good as the babies that crawl a lot.
Good ways to help your baby to improve her vision even faster is taking her walks outside, reading books with colourful pages or even changing the toys she’s looking at every day.
BABY TASTE
At this stage babies still, prefer sweet foods but don’t give up trying to give her different foods. After a few attempts, she might start to enjoy it.
BABY TOUCH
Is touch important for babies? Simple answer, yes it is! Through touch, your baby explores the world. She learns that kisses and cuddles mean safe and secure and cool breeze on her cheeks teaches her about the environment. Letting her explore her surroundings, like touching books and toys with different textures or see if she likes more the soft touch of her blanket or the texture of the carpet. Keep her safe and let her explore.
BABY SMELL
At 5-month of age, your baby’s smell is very well developed. He can recognise the smell of the different foods you give him, and now you may notice that he has a particular preference towards some food and doesn’t like others.
BABY HEARING
At 5-month-old your baby’s hearing is still developing. Now she will be able to recognise parts of speech and also pick up how the sentences form. The way babies understand the meaning of sounds is through the tone of the voice. Soothing tones make her calm down, and more agitated tones mean something is wrong. You can expect from this age your baby to start responding to “no” and respond to her name too. As your baby is cooing and gabbling, now she is trying to repeat sounds which is the early stages of her trying to speak. Encourage that in everyday conversations with her, repeating simple words.
5-MONTH-OLD BABY MILESTONES
A five-month-old child has accumulated a lot of skills from the moment of his birth. She can now:
Swing from her back to her belly and vice versa.
Reaching with her palms, she confidently holds his head in a vertical position and looks away.
She can sit with support for a while.
An important sign of normal nervous system development is the ability to distinguish familiar faces from strangers. In general, babies become more cautious when a stranger comes to them.
The baby only seeks communication with parents. He raises his hands to his mother, smiles, pronounces different combinations of letters.
When you refuse to communicate with your baby, she starts to whimper.
She willingly plays with objects - pulls them to herself, throws them, clings to them, licks them.
Playing during meals.
Some babies suck their toes.
The five-month-old baby is interested in watching faces on pictures.
Most children start developing the first teeth.
6-Month-Old Baby Development
You have surely felt that the baby has become heavier. The load on the hands is more significant than in the previous months. Usually, at the end of the sixth month, the baby weighs twice as much as it is after birth.
This development period is accompanied by exploring the gravity. Almost every object that gets in baby’s hands is dropped on the floor. The little experimenter is very pleased with this process. He also watches his mother, who always responds and raises the object from the ground.
This change is related to the development of the baby. It begins to realise that the objects in his hands are not part of his body, but completely separate. Along with physical development, the emotional world of the little one continues to grow. Tremendous influence has his benevolent communication with adults.
A 6-month-old baby will not always be pleased with the time you dedicate to him for conversations. He will try to attract your attention with a variety of sounds. If the mother is ready to respond to that, the baby will become lively.
A definite sign that the baby is more than satisfied is his joyful screams.
In the sixth month, the little man begins to show a growing interest in the human face. He will try to touch the face of Mom and Dad on every occasion - to catch their nose, the ear, to put a finger in their mouths, to touch their teeth.
The 6-month-old baby clearly distinguishes the acquaintances from strangers.
WEIGHT
The average weight of a 6-month-old baby boy is 17 lbs 8 oz or 7.9 kg and for baby girls 16 lbs 2 oz or 7.3 kg. Probably he gained about a pound the last month, but don’t panic if he isn’t exactly within these frames. As long as he follows a natural, gradual and healthy rate of growth, then he should be just fine.
LENGTH
On average a 6-month-old baby boy will be 26 in 1/2oz or 67.6 cm and for baby girl 25 3/4 in or 65.7 cm
6-Month-Old Baby Sleep
How Much Should a 6-Month-Old sleep?
At the age of six months, many babies sleep from 11 ½ to 15 hours and can sleep for a longer period without waking.
Between 6 and 9 months, many babies start to sleep only twice during the day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This does not mean you have to worry if your baby continues to sleep three times a day. If you try to stick to the same time every day your baby goes to sleep that will help him maintain his schedule.
If your baby still doesn’t have a sleep routine to fit into your everyday life, it's a good time to introduce him to some habit of sleeping. Joining a new sleep regime involves several methods that will help your baby sleep more easily, sleep longer periods without waking up at night, and stick to more precise bedtime and getting up.
Dream at night
If your baby is already sleeping nine or ten hours at night, that means he knows how to fall asleep again if he suddenly wakes up.
If your baby is not sleeping for at least five or six hours without interruption, don’t be discouraged - you are not the only one. Many babies continue to wake up if they are hungry during the night even after the sixth month, although they are ready and you can stop doing it. The thing is that at this age, the reason that babies are awake is not always because they are hungry.
We all wake up several times over certain periods of time. As adults, we know we have to fall asleep again, sometimes it happens so fast that we do not even remember in the morning. If your baby has not yet mastered this skill, it will wake up and cry during the night even when he is not hungry.
Again for awakening
Even babies who have slept well all of a sudden may start to have difficulty falling asleep. Why? Sleep disorders often go hand in hand with some of the major stages of general and motor development.
In the 6 to 9 month period, the baby learns to sit or even make small walks on the bed. You should not be surprised that he wants to learn new skills just before bedtime or is so excited that he wakes up several times a night and tries to sit down.
How to sleep-train 6-month-old?
Several tips are appropriate for this age. Having a bedtime routine is good. The routine helps the baby to calm down and get ready for sleep, and at this age, he will start participating in your routine for the first time. Whether your routine includes the evening bath, playing a relaxed game, dressing up, reading a fairy tale or singing a song, make sure you always do everything in the same order. Babies love order which is easy to follow.
Stick to the same schedule
You and baby will benefit from the daily regime with clear hours of bedtime and getting up. This does not mean that the baby should eat precisely at 12:15 every day, but it means you have to stick to the same sequence of daily activities at about the same time. If the baby sleeps, eats, plays, and prepares for a bed at the same time each day, it will be much easier and quicker to fall asleep at night
Encourage your baby to fall asleep by himself
To sleep well during the day and night, the baby should learn to self-regulate his sleep. Try to put him to sleep before he's already asleep. If he cries, you're on the move. Wait at least five minutes before you realise he's agitated, and not just that he's nervous before he can relax and fall asleep.
Put him to bed early
If your baby falls asleep after 20:30 and suddenly begins to wake up at night, try to put him down for about half an hour earlier. Surprisingly, you may find that he sleeps much more quietly at night.
Teach him to lie down when he wakes up
Babies who learn to sit or stand can try to exercise these new skills at night in bed. Your baby may learn to stand on his feet and not knowing what to do next. You have to teach him to lie down again after he gets up. In some cases, it may take a week or two until the baby learns what to do after getting up in bed. It is not necessary to exercise this in his cot. Think of a simple game - put him to sit down and then lie down. Do the same if he can now get up and help him sit first and then encourage him to lie down.
Before we wrap up this section we will try to answer a few common questions that mommies and daddies like you have:
My 6-Month-Old Won’t Sleep Through The Night. Why?
The main reason for that is the six-month sleep regression. It is again related to the day naps. As your baby is starting to have only two long naps during the day, they also become more difficult to achieve. Once he was able to fall asleep in the car or the stroller without a problem, but now it takes zero motion to do that. The good news is that this is entirely normal and is a sign that your baby is developing properly. Best way to try and avoid that is by maintaining the best possible, consistent sleep routine.
6-Month-Old Baby FeedingHow Much Should 6-Month-Old Eat? Breastfed babies: How Much Breastmilk at 6 months?
The researches show that babies fed only with breastmilk usually eat between 19 and 30 oz per day or 570-900ml per day. Your baby should never eat more than 32 ounces of milk in a 24-hour period
Formula-fed babies: How much formula for 6-month-old?
If your baby still doesn’t eat solid foods, a rule of thumb is to give him 2.5 ounces per pound of body weight each day. For example, if your baby weight is 5lb, you will provide him with about 12.5 ounces of formula in a 24-hour period.
How often should 6 months old eat?
You can feed your baby every 4 to 5 hours with approximately 6 to 8 ounces or 180 to 230ml of breastmilk per feeding.
How much solid food for 6-month-old? Your main priority should be breastfeeding your baby, then formula and solid foods. When it comes to solids around that age, you can give your baby up to 8 ounces between 2 to 3 meals per day.
How Much Water for 6-Month-Old Baby?
As now the baby is 6-month-old and he learns to use a cup, you can introduce him to water. Give him a few sips a couple of times a day but not more than 2 ounces per 24 hours. This could also be beneficial for preventing constipation.
BABY SIGHT
Most babies at this age are starting to crawl, which helps to improve eye-body coordination further. They learn to measure distances and set visual goals, such as when they see something interesting, to crawl towards it to take it.
This sudden tangible freedom in the movements of the baby allows him to experience new challenges as well as to improve his visual perception capabilities while comparing his own size with the dimensions of the surrounding objects and realising the differences in size and shape. At six months of age, babies have gained significant and precise control over their eyes. The only thing some experts warn about is that in babies who learn to walk sooner rather than later there is a danger that baby will not learn to use both eyes at the same time (binocular vision). This also applies to babies who crawl for too long, therefore kept looking at an object from a close distance for too long. 6-month-old babies can now recognise the difference between the yellow and blue colour.
BABY TASTE
You can expect your baby to love some newly introduced solid foods and to hate others. That’s normal, as by now your baby is accustomed to the sweet taste of breastmilk. Some experts suggest trying at least 7,8 times introducing the same solid food before you rule it out as one that the baby really doesn’t like. At this stage babies still, prefer sweet foods but don’t give up trying to give her different foods. After a few attempts, she might start to enjoy it.
BABY TOUCH
Feel free to introduce your baby to new toys that make sounds, which he can interact with. His sense of touch is still improving, and at this age, he will be able to grasp objects and move them from hand to hand.
BABY SMELL
Your 6-month-old baby’s sense of smell will continue to develop by the age of 6 and will be closely related with the foods he likes or not.
BABY HEARING
At 6-month-old your baby’s hearing is still developing. He can now determine the direction of the coming sound and quickly turn his head. He can also hear quieter sounds that were impossible for him to hear before.
6-MONTH OLD BABY MILESTONES
Developing games
Communicate actively with the baby. Show him pictures of his relatives and name their names. This game will provoke interest and excitement. Name his name. This positively affects his emotional development.
At the end of this month
A six-month-old baby is very active, manifests his character and excites at every new encounter with the world around him. Here's what it can do at the end of his 6th month:
Stand alone for a while.
To crawl, dragging - so it can reach a lying toy at a distance of 10-20 cm
Stand on four legs and roll forward and backwards. This is an important indicator and demonstrates that the baby is ready for full creep.
Tilts and rotates in different directions.
He drinks from a cup with your assistance.
Playing with food.
With interest, he explores and breaks the objects around him.
Raises fallen objects, transfers a toy from one hand to another or from one box to another.
In the sixth month, simple relationships are formed - if he releases the object, it will fall; if you press a button, music will be turned on.
The baby becomes more and more emotional - you can see how his mood changes. It is possible to scream when he is unhappy, to laugh heavily when you play with him.
He claps his hands.
Carefully listens to the conversations of adults and trying to reproduce some of the sounds and syllables.
