Baby Development at 6 Months Old

Babies of this age…

  • Can sit up well when supported, and may be able to sit up unsupported (surrounded by cushions) for a short time
  • Are quickly developing more control when handling toys and may be able to pass objects from one hand to the other
  • May be able to roll over from front to back or back to front - be careful when they’re on the changing mat!
  • Start to become wary of strangers
  • Love banging objects together to make a noise
  • Turn their heads round to look for quiet sounds or voices

Keeping your little one entertained

  • At this age, an activity centre with lots of different flaps, levers, noises and music will probably fascinate your baby.
  • Simple toys and household objects are also great learning experiences – try some stacking beakers, a wooden spoon and a saucepan to bang, or a plastic box with plastic spoons in it.

Time for weaning

If your baby is good at sitting up and can pick up a bit of food (or another object) and get it to his or her mouth, it's probably time to give weaning a go!

Try offering your baby a tiny bit of smooth puree on a weaning spoon or the tip of a clean finger. If it comes back out the way it went in, your baby's not quite ready – wash up and try again another day. But if your little one happily noshes it down and wants more, you're good to go! Head on over to our weaning section for lots of practical tips on making weaning a big success for both of you.

Once babies have got the idea of solid foods, it’s very good for them to try lots of different tastes. Luckily, HiPP Organic makes this really easy to do! From 6 months you can choose from our whole HiPP Organic Stage 1 range.

Milk intake reduces

If you are breastfeeding, you may notice that your baby is gradually starting to take less milk as he or she moves on to more solid food.

If you're bottle-feeding, as a rule of thumb babies who are eating three solid meals a day will also need about 500-600ml of their usual milk per day. HiPP Organic Follow-on Milk is an excellent choice at this stage - not just because it’s organic, but also because it’s specially formulated for babies from 6 months and is enriched with iron, calcium and vitamins.

Disturbed sleep?

This is an exciting time for your baby, what with teething, getting used to solid foods and learning more about the world every day – but all this adventure can have an effect on sleep. Your little one may be finding it harder to settle, waking during the night or waking early – whatever the case, it can be frustrating and upsetting for both of you!

That's why we put together a unique Sleep Chart, designed to help identify your baby’s sleeping pattern and any potential problem areas. Download our handy sleep chart.

We all know a warm milky drink is particularly soothing at bedtime, so we created HiPP Organic Good Night Milk, a satisfying blend of organic cereals with organic Follow-on milk, to be an ideal complement to your baby’s bedtime routine. Find out more about it here.