Appointments – what's scheduled for the 6th month?

• U5: In the sixth month of life the U5 is due. The pediatrician checks your baby's fine motor skills and coordination. How does your baby react to sounds and being spoken to? The visit to the pediatrician is a good opportunity to clarify any outstanding questions.

• Vaccination: If you have decided on vaccination, the next booster is now due. The third six-in-one (hexavalent) vaccine boosts the primary immunization from the first two vaccinations. Side effects such as fever or diarrhea can still occur now – it's best to have a fever remedy at home.

• Baby swimming: Many swimming pools offer baby swimming; the minimum age for courses varies from 3 to 12 months. After a short familiarization period many children feel very comfortable in the warm water; at the same time splashing strengthens the muscles and the parent-child bond.

Important developmental milestones in the sixth month

• Sight: Your baby can now see in three dimensions. Objects are no longer explored so intensely with the mouth, but are looked at closely. Pretty impressive: Neck, arm and back muscles are getting stronger. Rolling onto the tummy or back is no problem for most babies now. In the prone position many infants can push themselves up on their hands.

• Communication: By making loud noises your baby gets attention. It manages to express its mood and its own will increasingly well with gestures, facial expressions and sounds. With reading aloud, singing and 'conversations' you can already playfully support language development in everyday life.

• Mobility: The prerequisites for crawling and exploring the environment are now laid. Many babies still take their time with their first crawling attempts. Some skip crawling, find other ways of getting around, or eventually start walking straight away.

• First attempts at standing: Often babies in the sixth month try to sit up by themselves or pull themselves up on objects. On outstretched arms and bent knees they rock back and forth.

• Stranger anxiety: Your child prefers being with you. For many babies, from about six months onward suspicion of unfamiliar faces and situations increases. 'Stranger anxiety' is a completely normal reaction and varies in intensity from baby to baby.

How much should my child weigh in the 6th month?

Your child has visibly grown – it measures between 66 and 68 centimeters. The face now looks less rounded and the head is no longer as large compared to the rest of the body. Your little one weighs around 7,300 to 7,900 grams in the sixth month of life.

Image credits

Modern baby scale on the table and blurred woman with child in a house © New Africa - stock.adobe.com