Babies At Six Months

According to Parenting Weekly (I subscribe by email), babies of about six months are crawling or about to start...your baby may be at any of the following stages:

Your baby may start crawling any day, and those displays of frustration at not being able to move around should begin to disappear. Although most babies begin crawling around six months of age, it may still be weeks or even months before your baby is fully mobile. This is very normal and you should not worry if he is showing no signs of crawling - remember that some babies never crawl; they skip the step completely and just start walking!

Little man is already crawling, reaches up while crawling, stands (assisted- he has to hold on to something), and finally started to sit unassisted. His pediatrician joked that little man didn't read the baby manual, so didn't know he was supposed to sit first, then crawl :) He stands well on his feet (the full foot, not tippy toes), and lately has been moving his mouth while watching us talk. This made me feel a lot better, because those vocals he used to entertain us with in his early months suddenly stopped, and we worried he would be late in talking. He still does not say much, and is only starting to piece together consonants and vowels, but most babies don't start this so early anyway (usually around seven months), a relief to learn. He is also curious about new things, including toys and objects that held no interest for him before.

Your baby is bursting with energy right now and may not want to be held as much as before. In fact, your baby may squirm and arch his back in an effort to get down on the floor and start exploring. If your baby is strong enough and sits well unsupported, try giving him a ride on your shoulders. Your baby will love the new view and it will help strengthen his core muscles and develop balance. Just be sure to support your baby with both hands.

We tried this...so cute! He becomes ecstatic with laughter.

As your baby gets used to eating solid food, remember to introduce only one food at a time and wait several days before you give him a new food. If your baby has an allergic reaction this will make it easy to pinpoint which food caused it. Signs of a food allergy may include wheezing, fever, mild rash, anaphylaxis (in rare cases), vomiting, and diarrhea. If you have concerns about certain symptoms and are unsure whether it is a food allergy, contact your pediatrician just to be sure.

We are starting with barley and oatmeal cereals, mixed with water or breast milk, as per little man's pediatrician. He told us to skip rice cereal altogether. We also have to start giving little man small amounts of water in a bottle (in this heat, that sounds like a great idea- our temps lately have reached to over 90 degrees).

Sometimes, while playing, he just gets pooped: