Baby Development: Six Month Milestones

By the time your baby reaches six months, they’ve already come a long way from their newborn days–get ready to see your baby’s new moves, grooves, and coos during this exciting time!

What to Look for During Baby’s Sixth Month

At six months, your baby is becoming more active and engaging. You’ll notice they’re more curious about the world around them, and their personality is starting to shine. Their physical growth may slow down relative to previous months, but by 6 months you should expect more exploratory, social, and audio/visual growth!

• Increased curiosity and engagement with the environment.
• Development of a more distinct personality.
• Heightened social interactions and responses, including laughter.

Movement Milestones for Six-Month-Old Babies

Movement becomes more intentional at this age. Look out for your baby rolling over from front to back and back to front, sitting up with support, and even starting to push up on their hands and knees, getting ready to crawl. These new skills are exciting steps towards greater mobility and independence.

• Rolling over from front to back and back to front.
• Sitting up with support and possibly unsupported for short periods.
• Pushing up on hands and knees, preparing for crawling.

Visual and Hearing Milestones

Your baby’s senses are becoming sharper! They can now track objects and people with their eyes more accurately. You might notice them turning their head towards sounds and recognizing familiar voices, including yours!

• Improved ability to track moving objects and people.
• Turning head towards sounds and recognizing familiar voices.
• Enhanced reaction to visual and auditory stimuli.

Smelling and Touch Milestones

Touch and smell are crucial for your baby's exploration of their environment. They’re likely to reach out and grab objects, exploring them with their hands and mouth. They may also show preferences for certain textures and react to different smells. This sensory exploration helps them learn about the world in a hands-on way.

• Reaching out and grabbing objects to explore with hands and mouth.
• Showing preferences for certain textures and reacting to different smells.
• Increased sensory exploration, helping them learn about their environment.

Developmental Milestones

Socially, your baby is becoming more interactive. Six months of age is a great time to introduce all sorts of games and activities! Expect more giggles, smiles, and maybe even the first sounds of babbling. They’re learning to express emotions and may start showing preferences for certain people. This is also a time when they begin to understand cause and effect, like shaking a rattle to make noise.

• More frequent giggles, smiles, and beginnings of babbling.
• Learning to express emotions and showing preferences for certain people.
• Understanding basic cause and effect, such as shaking a rattle to make noise.

When to Talk to Your Pediatrician About Baby’s Development at Six Months

While all babies develop at their own pace, it’s important to keep an eye on their progress. If you have any concerns about your baby’s milestones, don’t hesitate to talk to your pediatrician. They can help you address concerns about your baby such as:

• Inability to roll over, hold their head up, or push up on hands and knees.
• Lack of tracking objects, no response to sounds, or absence of babbling.
• Limited smiling, lack of interest in interaction, or unusual fussiness during feeding.