FCS3-136
Your baby is a half year old!
Now that your baby has reached the half year mark, she probably is spending most of her awake time sitting up, playing, babbling, looking, and touching everything. She may be driving you a little crazy because she wants to grab everything she sees. Try to be patient—she is learning about the world.
So far we have talked about how your baby grows each month. But another person has also grown—you.
You don’t have to feel funny talking to your baby just because she can’t talk back yet or because you feel others are watching and judging you. When you answer your baby’s babbling with words or noises that imitate her sounds, you are teaching your baby that sounds are one way we communicate with each other. It is an important part of learning.
Babies who are spoken to often also learn to speak more easily. This is because they imitate the sounds and facial expressions of those talking to them. The more they are spoken to, the more practice they get. Notice how your baby watches your face as you talk to her.
The next time you find yourself feeling self-conscious, remember that your baby is learning from you. You are taking advantage of the window of opportunity for her brain’s ability to develop language. Communicating with others is one of the most important things human beings do. Help your baby with this skill.
Your baby is now more able to use both hands to hold, wave, or bang objects, and he will enjoy doing that with books. He will put books into his mouth and squeeze and drop them. Soft, washable vinyl or cloth books with bright, simple pictures of familiar objects are best.
He will also enjoy the books’ pictures for short periods. He may sit on your lap while you talk to him about the pictures and will like hearing your words and rhymes. Try reciting or sing while “reading” to him. The more book reading, singing, and rhyming you do, the better. You are helping him form a love for books!
Your baby probably is eager to learn how to feed herself. She may be messy at first, but she’ll improve with practice.
Encourage her to feed herself. Use finger foods such as crackers and small pieces of bread or toast. Let your 6-month-old help you handle the spoon. Sit behind her so she can hold the spoon or your hands and learn movements to use later when she feeds herself.
Also let your baby try drinking small amounts of iron-fortified formula or water from a cup. Offer it each time you feed solid foods. As she becomes skillful at drinking, increase the amount. This is the most natural and comfortable way for baby to gradually wean herself from the bottle.
Your baby will be messy when she is first learning to feed herself. Try not to become overly concerned about neatness at this time. Be prepared with a bib or apron to protect her clothing. A large piece of plastic or newspaper under your baby’s chair will make cleanup easier. Your baby will learn about food and eating from the social setting during meals. Your attitude and acceptance of nutritious foods will help your baby develop a healthy relationship with food.
Candy, sugar, pre-sweetened cereals, sweet desserts (including baby desserts), fruit-flavored drinks, and soda pop have little food value. These sweet foods should not be fed to your baby; they spoil her appetite for more nourishing foods. They also are harmful to her teeth.
Check the expiration date before purchasing any baby food. Many food products have a date stamped on them. A Use By date is the last date recommended for the use of the food while at peak quality. After that date, the quality begins to go down. A Best If Used By or Before date is for best product quality. It is not related to safety. Sometimes the term Freshness is used to mean the same thing.
These recipes are in one- or two- serving sizes. They may be doubled or tripled if you store food in a freezer that maintains a constant temperature of about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Date and label containers. Keep frozen baby foods no longer than one month.
Do not add sugar.
Remove skin and seeds. Puree ingredients in a baby-food mill or blender until smooth. Serve or freeze.
Use apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots (not dried), or prunes.
Remove skin (except apricot and prune skins) and seeds. Press through sieve, or place ingredients in baby-food mill or blender. Puree until smooth. Serve or freeze.
Hint: Apples such as Jonathans and Winesaps are better for cooking than Delicious varieties.
Do not add salt, sugar, or fat.
Cook fresh vegetables or use frozen or home-canned vegetables without salt or seasonings, reading ingredients on label to be sure they don’t contain them. Press vegetable chunks through sieve or baby-food mill. Thin with cooking liquid or formula to eating consistency or place cooked vegetable and liquid in blender; puree until smooth. Serve or freeze.
Note: After the vegetables have been fed individually several times, good combinations to try include potatoes and carrots, potatoes and green beans, and carrots and peas.
Protect yourself from future back problems. When you pick up your baby, don’t bend over from the waist. Instead, bend your knees and kneel or squat, keeping your back as straight as possible. Hold onto your baby and straighten up from the squat position. Make your knees, not your back, do the work.
Use the same knee bends or squats, with your back straight, when you want to pick up something from the floor. This helps prevent back strain.
Remember to watch your posture. When standing or sitting, hold your back straight and pull in your stomach. Good posture protects your back from future aches and pains.
This game encourages your baby to use objects as tools for getting what he wants.
All babies are different and grow at their own pace. Don’t worry if your baby isn’t doing exactly the same things as other babies of the same age.
When raising their children, many parents either do what their own parents did or do just the opposite. What do you copy from your parents? What do you do that is different? Have you thought about why you copy some things and reject others?
Even though your baby is only 6 months old, she is learning from your example. That is why it is so important to think about the examples and patterns you set, even at this early age. Once set, patterns of family life are hard to change.
Some patterns that influence your child’s life are:
You are the most important influence in your child’s life.
My baby wakes up almost every night and cries until I go to him. Then he wants to play instead of sleep! What can I do?
Some babies have a hard time sleeping at night. They spend the entire day exploring and playing and then at night, even though they are exhausted, they have trouble settling down. They wake up during the night and want to play.
Parents have to gently but firmly let their babies know that it is bedtime, not playtime. When your baby wakes up in the night, go to him. Pick him up, cuddle him, talk to him, change his diaper, and then lay him down to sleep. Tell him firmly that it is bedtime and that he must try to go to sleep.
You also can try spending some quiet time with him before bedtime. Read from a favorite book, play a quiet game together, or hold him closely and sing to him before putting him down for the night.
Birch, Leann (1999). Development of food preferences. Annual Review of Nutrition 19: 41-62.
Birckmayer, Jennifer, Kathryn Mabb, Bonnie Jo Westendorf, and Jerridith Wilson (1996). Teens as parents of babies and toddlers: A resource guide for educators. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Cooperative Extension Service.
Brazelton, T. Berry, M.D. (1992). Touchpoints: Your child’s emotional and behavioral development. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.
Gnatuk, Carole A. and Sam Quick (2000). Keys to great parenting: Teach Self-Control, Key No. 6. Lexington, Kentucky: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.
Greenspan, Stanley, M.D. (1999). Building healthy minds. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Perseus Books.
Herr, Judy and Terri Swim (1999). Creative resources for infants and toddlers. Albany, New York: Delmar.
Lerner, Claire and Amy Laura Dombro (2000). Learning and growing together: Understanding and supporting your child’s development. Washington, D.C.: Zero to Three. Phone: 1-800-899-4301.
Pruett, Kyle D. (2000). Fatherneed: Why father care is as essential as mother care for your child. Washington, D.C.: Zero to Three. Phone: 1-800-899-4301.
Schickedanz, Judith A. (1999). Much more than the ABC’s: The early stages of reading and writing. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Shelov, Steven P., M.D., M.S., F.A.A.P. (editor in chief) (1998). Your baby’s first year. New York: Bantam Books/American Academy of Pediatrics.
Shore, Rima (1997). Rethinking the brain. New York: Families and Work Institute.
Snow, Charles W. (1998). Infant development (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Carole A. Gnatuk, Ed.D., Extension Child Development Specialist
Sam Quick, Ph.D., Extension Human Development and Family Relations Specialist
Sandra Bastin, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., Extension Food and Nutrition Specialist
From a publication originally written by Dorothea Cudaback, D.S.W., and colleagues at the University of California Cooperative Extension. Professionals at the University of Kentucky who have assisted in the preparation of the Parent Express series:
Sandra Bastin, Ph.D., R.D., L.D.; Donna Clore, M.S.; Ruth Ann Crum, M.S.; Darlene Forester, Ph.D., R.D.; Starr Gantz, R.D.; Carole Gnatuk, Ed.D.; Peter Hesseldenz, M.A.; Janet Kurzynske, Ph.D., R.D. Suzanne McGough, M.S., R.D.; Larry Piercy, Ph.D.; Sam Quick, Ph.D.; Michael Rupured, M.S.; Diane Strangis, M.S.; Janet Tietyen, Ph.D., R.D., L.D.
Parent Express guides you through parenting of children through age 36 months. For other publications in the 27-part series, contact your county Cooperative Extension Service office.