Time passes so quickly when you`re having fun. Your little one is six months old and it`s time for it half birthday celebration. This is the best time to form a strong bond with your little one. So enjoy the special moments with your family. Photograph these precious moments that will serve as treasures for years to come. Happy parenting!

Baby Development

Your baby takes between 450-700 grams this month. “How much should a 6-month-old baby weigh?” Although the answer to the question is around 7-8 kg on average, let`s say that every healthy baby can develop at different heights and weights. By the end of the sixth month, most babies have doubled their birth weight. At 6 months of age, the baby`s height and head diameter also grows by 1.25 cm per month.

You will find that it can sit completely alone, play with toys and pass it on to others. At 24 weeks, your little one is ready to start solid food with breast milk or formula. You may be wondering if your little one is predominantly left- or right-handed, but it`s too early to tell at this stage, you`ll have to wait until it’s 2-3 years old.

Milestones

1. Its skin and complexion will now be much clearer than when it was born.

1. Your baby should be able to recognize your touch, voice and feelings. It will start making funny expressions, appear happy and excited, sometimes confused and angry. It will recognize the people around it, especially if you live in a large family.

1. As its bones and muscles get stronger, it can now sit and roll on its own!

1. While it is developing both mentally and physically, you may witness that it wakes up at more regular times at night. If you it hasn’t been sleep-trained, you should support it by putting it to sleep right away by breastfeeding or soothing it in your own way. Otherwise, its sleep will be interrupted and long night awakenings may turn into a habit.

1. Your baby`s gums should already begin to harden.

1. You will notice that it puts its bare feet in its mouth and tries to suck and chew them. Let it enjoy the experience as it begins to control its lower body movements.

1. It can sit up with its hands while lying prone.

1. Can catch small objects with finger or thumb.

1. Can say words such as father, mama, grandfather by combining repetitive syllables.

1. Can pass an object from one hand to the other. It may try to pick up the toy that is out of its reach.

1. Can look after the toy it dropped or threw for a while.

1. When prone, it may turn on its back for a moment. It likes to roll over.

1. Can play games with people it knows by making smiles.

1. Can understand what the tone of its voice means.

1. Can turn its head independently in all directions.

1. Wants the toy it dropped or threw back to it.

1. Likes playing with your face and pulling hair.

1. Recognizes important words such as mother, father and bottle, even if it is not speaking yet.

1. Can sit with or without support.

1. Can now reach out and pick up objects.

1. May begin to crawl or may be in crawling efforts.

1. Can lay on the feet when you want to hold it by the hands and lift it.

1. Examines things for a long time and tries to recognize them.

1. Loves to play with its hands and feet.

1. Its grasping ability has developed enough to grasp the bottle with its hand.

1. Vivid colors such as red and orange attract its attention.

1. May react when you take its toy from its hand.

1. Can reach out you to hold it in your arms.

1. Tries to find out where it is by searching for falling objects, so it likes to throw objects in its hands.

Detecting Development Delays

Every baby is unique and grows at its own pace. In most cases, the baby`s growth and development is slow but normal. So, you don`t have to worry if your 24-week-old baby hasn`t reached the general physical milestone.

If your baby was born prematurely before 37. week of gestation, it may take a little longer to do the same things other babies do. Premature babies are given a double date: the chronological age, which is the date of birth of the baby, and the corrected age, which means the actual date of birth of the baby. That`s why you should measure your baby`s development by adjusted age, not by chronological history.

Nutrition

Most babies are ready to switch to solid food at this age. If your baby has started to sit up with support and is able to hold its head steady, it will likely be able to use its tongue to move its food to the back of its mouth to swallow. It`s time to introduce light and easy-to-digest foods alongside breast milk or formula. You should see additional foods as supplements to breast milk. The primary source of nutrition will continue to be breast milk or formula for a longer period of time. Fruits such as apples and pears; vegetables such as carrots, potatoes; Homemade yogurt is a good starting option. Also, remember that there are certain foods that you should avoid completely until your baby is the right age. Topics such as the 3-day rule, healthy cooking methods, food allergy, BLW (Baby Led Weaning) method, highchair and choosing a glass-plate-spoon-fork contain the essential information that you will hear the most and that you need to learn in this period.

Get ready for that million-dollar expression on your baby`s face every time you introduce a new food. It will use its tongue, lips, and gums in different ways when eating solid foods. Also, be patient when it starts chewing and swallowing food in its mouth, as it can be a bit messy at first. If you don`t want your beautiful clothes to be stained, you can use an oversized apron that also covers the neck and hands. If you don`t mind getting stained, removing the apron will also make it feel more free.

Transition Tips from Bottle to Cup

If your baby is sitting, it is ready to shift into the cup. In addition, your baby`s movements with the glass can help you learn about 6-month-old baby behaviors and see the development in your little one.

1. Take care to buy a glass that does not flow when shaken or tilted.

1. Also, because the baby loves to hear things make a noise, it may fly its glass or bottle. So buy an unbreakable product to avoid the risk of being thrown away or accidentally dropped from its hands.

1. At first, get a waterproof or well-absorbent bib, as more will flow down from your baby`s chin than it should go down from its throat.

1. Your baby may try to grab the glass while in your hand. Because that`s its job. Let it try, maybe your baby will be able to hold it sooner, what do you say?

1. If your baby still doesn`t want the glass after trying a few times, try changing the product first, and if it doesn`t want the new product, delay switching to the glass for a week or two and try again.

Sleep

In the sixth month, the baby has a sleep pattern that can exceed 14 hours, 12 hours at night. With this aspect, 6-month-old baby sleep enters a routine that will make your life easier. Ideally, from the 6th to the 9th month, the baby sleep pattern is generally as follows;

Number of daytime naps is 3, Daytime naps are 1-2 hours, Time to stay awake between two naps is 2-3 hours, Nighttime sleeping time is 20.00-22.00, Nighttime sleep time is 9-12 hours, Total daily sleep time is 12-14 hours.

As your little one will start solid foods, there will be a change in the diet. This change can disrupt sleep patterns.

As your baby`s brain development and the teething stage continue, it may have trouble in sleeping peacefully through the night. May wake up frequently at night. Despite all this, it is recommended that you continue its sleep routine patiently.

Tips for Early Waking Up Babies

Babies often wake up early, which is healthy anyway. However, if it wakes up at 5:00, you are right to seek a solution at that point. Try to put your baby to sleep, who wakes up before 6:00, do not leave the room until 6:00 even if it does not sleep, do not start activities and feeding, after a while it may stop waking up early. Despite everything, if it does not improve and your baby wakes up pleasantly, you will need to adjust your body clock. Here are some tips:

1. Maybe you are putting your baby to bed too early. You can start putting your baby to bed 10 minutes late every night, starting tonight. You can do it every night until this is 1 or 2 hours total. (Baby bedtime should not exceed 21:00.)

1. Don`t let daylight in. If the daylight fills the room or if the night lights of the place you are sitting are directly affecting your baby`s eyes, you should ensure that the room is dark.

1. If its window overlooks the area with heavy morning traffic, change its room if you can, otherwise you should try to find a sound blocking formula.

1. If it is more than ideal, you can reduce daytime sleepiness. You can shorten each of the day naps a little or remove one. Not enough to make it feel exhausted at the end of the day, of course.

1. If it is not crying, do not run to it at the first sound. You can even start with 5 minutes and extend the time to go to it each time.

1. If it is used to 5:30 as feeding/breakfast time, it may be waking up for this reason. Then you should wait a little for breakfast and gradually move the breakfast time forward.

Care Tips

1. Try not to be overprotective and limit your exposure to a specific place or area. Let it explore the surroundings. The blocked child becomes grumpy. Let it explore everything, as long as it`s not dangerous for your baby. If it has a potentially dangerous request, never allow it, no matter how much it cries. For example, the baby`s place in the car is the baby car seat. Never hold it in your arms even if it cries. It cannot be compared with crying and damage in a possible accident. Also, if you give it chance once, it will repeat its request, making its crying more intense each time.

1. Pay attention to what you will feed your baby, create a balanced nutrition diet program. Never introduce harmful snacks, especially in the first 2 years of its life. Do not forget that your baby does not need any of these, it will not miss what it does not know, it will be merciless not to give them these harmful things, but to give them. You don`t want to give harmful things with your hands (chocolate, candy, chips, crackers, ice cream, etc.)

1. Your baby may develop sleep resistance due to the great physical and mental developments it has experienced this month. If you continue his routine, it will understand that it only needs to sleep at bedtime. It should be your standard to give every time its due. Sleep at bedtime, feed at feeding time, play at playtime.

1. Don`t be too radical about cleaning around your baby and don`t stop it from taking every toy or other item into its mouth because it is exploring with its mouths. You can let it discover anything that is unlikely to harm it. Dusting all the time, extreme meticulousness is one of the important reasons for raising children with weak immune systems.

1. Your baby may be teething its first tooth this month and you might consider celebrating that tooth. That`s why the event we can recommend to you is the tooth wheat celebration!

1. It is perfectly normal for the stool to change color, become smelly, and be dark in color because the baby is now getting additional food.

1. Chasing after a baby takes a lot of energy, so make sure you`re well fed and take care of yourself.

Bath Tips

Now that your baby is grown, it can be difficult to contain it in its own bathtub. If you take the necessary precautions, a large tub or shower cabin can be as wonderful as a wonderland for your baby. Just pay attention to the following steps:

1. You should wait until your baby can sit up unassisted.

1. Try baby seats with rubber suction cups that stick tightly to the bottom of the tub.

1. Don`t put your little one in the tub right after a meal or when it is hungry.

1. To prevent your baby from getting cold, do not take off its clothes until it fills the tub a little and reaches the required temperature. The room temperature should be 24-26 degrees.

1. Make sure that all the materials you will use for your baby are prepared in advance. If you forgot something, instead of leaving your baby alone in the tub, you can immediately wrap it in a towel and get what you forgot. Also, keep anything that could belong to you and your partner out of your baby`s reach.

1. Keep toys that it will like in the tub. So you let it have fun too.

1. Never leave your baby alone in the bathroom.

Tests and Vaccines

This month there are hepatitis B, combination and OPA vaccines. In addition, if you have had the rotavirus vaccine, you need to have the third dose. If you have had the rotavirus vaccine, also called diarrhea vaccine, from the Rotarix brand, there is no third dose. It is useful to have a doctor check-up at 6 months for height, weight, head measurement, additional food recommendations and other developmental progress.

Vaccine Tips

How can I make getting vaccinated less traumatic for my baby?

Ask if you can hold your baby in your lap instead of laying it on the examination table. Stay calm and distract it by talking to it in an engaging, soothing voice. Your baby will understand your tone of voice and body language. Offer your baby a post-vaccination bottle, breast or pacifier to soothe crying with sucking. There is some research showing that breastfeeding a baby during vaccination, if possible, causes less crying and distress.

My baby is now big and healthy - does he really need vaccines?

The vaccines your baby has received so far do not provide full protection. Many vaccines are given in a series over time to provide full immunity. Vaccines protect against many diseases that once killed or maimed thousands of children. The risks of not being vaccinated far outweigh the relatively minor risks of a vaccine; These risks include moodiness, fever, redness in the area, and crying. More serious reactions such as seizures and allergic reactions are very rare. Monitor your baby carefully after vaccination and report anything more serious than minor reactions to the doctor.

Plays and Activities

Your baby will try to bring its legs to its mouth to suck and chew. It will be a fun game for a few weeks. It will also prepare its legs and hips for crawling. It will also help it transition from lying down to a sitting position. You can turn it into an activity by doing various exercises.

Your baby will also love games with nursery rhymes, chat, singing and all kinds of sounds. You can make animal sounds and show it pictures to make it laugh and teach at the same time. It can also start imitating you with this fun game.

Finger puppets are another option. Babies really like finger puppets and you can see its active participation in this game.

You can create little games again by asking who is this from time to time by hanging photos of mom, dad, etc. around your baby.

Your baby will love finding lost objects during this period. You can make little surprises for it by creating such games, hiding its toys under a cover, and then removing the cover. This will make it laugh.

When to Apply to The Doctor?

Consult a doctor if you experience unusual behavior changes in your baby such as uncontrollable crying, high fever, lack of interest in playing. It may have diarrhea or constipation due to changes in its diet. These signs may or may not be related to teething or something completely normal, consulting a doctor is recommended.

Constipation Tips

There is no such thing as a "normal" number of bowel movements your baby should have in a day. When and how often your baby will poop depends on a number of factors, including when and what it eats, its activity level, and how fast its body digests food. Your baby may be constipated if:

1. Its stools are hard and dry or contain blood.

1. Three or more days have passed since the last bowel movement (This period may take 7-10 days for babies who receive only breast milk).

1. Constantly shows discomfort and difficulty while trying to poop.

What causes constipation?

Constipation is very rare if your baby is exclusively breastfed. Talk to your baby`s doctor if its stool is hard, dry, or painful: Combined with other symptoms like vomiting or a swollen stomach, it could indicate a more serious condition, such as a blocked bowel.

If your baby is only taking formula, the brand it drinks may not match it. Ask your doctor for the brand recommendation. If you added cereals, potatoes, etc. to your baby`s diet, they could be to blame. Regardless of all this, the only reason may be the transition to solid food.

How can I help my baby?

1. Move your baby`s legs with a gentle pedaling motion while lying on its back.

1. Gently massage under its navel. If you feel a hard area, apply steady pressure for a few minutes.

1. If it is breastfed, breastfeeding more may resolve constipation.

1. If you find that it is having a hard time pooping, place it in a warm water bath to relax its muscles.

1. The suppository should be considered as a last resort. Because some studies have shown that these interventions negatively affect babies emotionally and physically.

1. The suggestions we will convey now will assist you in the complementary food process in the coming weeks (assuming all foods have been tested with the 3-day rule); you can add pear, boiled or soaked prunes or dried apricot juice to your baby`s nutrition list. You can try using oats or barley instead of rice.

1. It is good to add greens, green leafy vegetables and use olive oil in vegetable soup.

1. It is good to reduce the amount of potatoes and rice and not to use potatoes and rice in the same soup. Summer squash soup or meal can be good for constipation.

1. If meat has been started, reducing meat until constipation is resolved, for example 2-3 days a week, may relieve the baby.

1. Adjusting the amounts can relax the baby. For example; When starting meat, it is necessary to give a maximum of 30 g for a baby portion. If rice is added to its meal, it should not exceed 1 dessert spoon.

1. Pear, olive oil, green leafy vegetables, summer squash, dried and fresh fruit compote are good for constipation.

1. You can drink it water after each feeding.

1. You can try giving your baby a teaspoon of olive oil.

Diarrhea Tips in Transition to Supplementary Food

The following recommendations are for nutritional diarrhea only during the transition to supplementary food. If symptoms such as fever and pain accompany, consult a doctor.

1. It is necessary to remove lactose from the menu of babies with diarrhea during diarrhea. Namely, cheese and dairy products. However, small portions of yoghurt can be continued.

1. It is necessary to remove the greens from the soup, to use vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, and not to use vegetables such as summer squash, spinach, chard until the diarrhea subsides.

1. Rice and boiled rice water is good for baby with diarrhea.

1. Potatoes are good. The amount of potatoes in the baby`s food can be increased. When potatoes, rice and carrots are used together, it squeezes the poop and this is good for diarrhea.

1. Yogurt, a natural probiotic, is good. Yoghurt soup is good.

1. Yoghurt soup prepared with yoghurt, mint and rice and without oil can be given to the baby with diarrhea.

1. Apple contains pectin. It is good for both stomach and diarrhea.

1. Cooked quince puree can be given to a baby with diarrhea.