Sitting by himself opens a whole new world view
Development
Babies will be able to understand waving, kissing and recognise names and basic words such as yes and no. Talk slowly so they can register what words mean and imitate them. They are also able to copy facial expressions and roll over and back again. Eye colour can also change when babies turn six months.
If they can keep their head level when in a sitting position and sit by themselves with minimal support they are usually able to sit in a high chair, which is timely considering this is usually a good time to begin weaning. They should be able to hold a bottle.
Your baby might have realised that he can use rolling as a way to transport himself, or he may skip it altogether and move on to sitting, lunging, and crawling all of which enable him to actively explore his environment so don’t delay child proofing your home, keep a hand on your baby during nappy changes and never leave him unattended on any other elevated surface.
At this age your baby also not only tolerates attention from others, he'll often initiate it. He is also aware that certain types of attention draw your attention and he will act accordingly, to try provoke a reaction from you.
Medical
Eczema can appear during this time, often as a result of the new foods your baby is having. Eczema is a skin condition that presents as a red, scaly rash and often identifies an allergic reaction. The onset of eczema starts between two and six months and can continue for several years. Babies who have parents with a history of it or asthma or hayfever are most susceptible to it. It is extremely itchy but children must not scratch because this can result in infection and should wear mittens to stop them from being able to do this.
Changes in bowel movements are also common as babies begin to eat many different types of foods.
If a child is allergic or intolerant of a certain food can display symptoms such as reflux, rashes and hives, bloating and wind, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, constipation,a sore throat or runny nose and watery eyes. Other things such as wheezing and breathing difficulties are much more serious and can indicate anaphylaxis, which is a hypersensitive allergic reaction that can lead to death if left untreated.
At six months your baby will also need their third round of immunisations for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, haemophilus influenza b, Hep B, Pnuemococcal conjugate.
Sleep
At six months the average number of hours a baby will sleep during the day is four and the average number of hours at night is ten. Most babies still need to get an important part of their sleep quota during the day. Babies of this age sleep because they are tired and cannot sleep if they are not and cannot stay awake if they are. It is important that they learn to fall to sleep on their own, which they are able to do at this age. Techniques such as controlled crying and gradual withdrawal may work at this time, although incidents such as travel, teething or illness can alter circumstances. It is better to wait until these situations have passed before trying these methods.
Babies who sleep uninterrupted can still be prone to waking very early in the morning and there are ways to discourage this, including keeping the bedroom sealed so that sunlight can’t wake him ahead of time and by keeping him up later during the day. Also if you wait a half hour to feed your baby breakfast after he wakes up, he will adjust to the new time and should cease rising early because of hunger pangs.
