Your Baby’s Day 6-9 Months
By now your baby is very active and very social, with a wide range of skills and an engaging personality.
From six months, most babies will be having four milk feeds and may be ready to start solids. Solids provide your baby with the extra nutrition they need, as well as the practice in chewing.
- Start with one meal a day at six months and increase to three meals a day by nine months.
- Progress to 1/2 - 1 cup per meal.
- Offer before or after milk feed.
- Give two courses at each meal by nine months.
- Offer some finger food as well.
- By nine months food should no longer be blended, but mashed with a fork or finely chopped, so it’s coarse or lumpy. This helps develop jaw muscles in preparation for speaking.
Try giving baby a two handled cup with a spout, with cooled boiled water or half water/half juice.
- From six months, most babies sleep about 10 hours at night — but they still need two-day sleeps of between 1 1/2 - 2 hours (13 - 15 hours sleep in 24 hours).
- Make sure you have a bedtime settling routine firmly established, e.g. quiet playtime, cuddle and song.
- If baby starts waking during the night for feeds, try giving him or her more solids at each meal during the day.
Between six to nine months, baby is eager to get moving, and develops many physical skills:
- Rolling from their tummy to their back (and possibly back again).
- Discovering their feet.
- Pushing up on their hands to a lion pose, and pivoting to reach out for toys.
- Rocking on all fours, then progressing to crawling.
- Transferring objects from one hand to another.
- Hard plastic musical balls that roll along the floor.
- Large soft balls (that baby can squeeze) with bells inside.
- Coloured wooden blocks.
Tip:
Rotate baby’s toys — put some away for a few weeks then bring them out for a change.
- Give baby some unbreakable items from the kitchen cupboard to play with: e.g. wooden spoons, saucepans, plastic containers, mashers.
- Scrunched up cellophane in a net bag (from the fruit shop).
- A mirror on the floor (make sure it’s secure).
- Fill a plastic container with rice or pasta for baby to shake.
- Play “Peek-a-Boo”, where you hide your face and then surprise baby.
- Sing nursery rhymes.
“Baby walkers” (which you sit baby in) are not recommended for safety reasons. Safety is very important as your child becomes more mobile.
- 6:00am Breast/bottle feed (180-240 mL)
- 6.30am Short sleep or play
- 8:00am Breakfast e.g. mixed cereal, fruit and yoghurt, toast fingers
- 8.30am Breast/bottle feed
- 9:00am Settle and sleep
- 11:00am Water/diluted juice and a play
- 12:00 noon Lunch: e.g. pasta/rice, vegetables, cottage cheese, pieces of soft raw fruit, or cheese sticks
- 12.30pm Breast/bottle feed
- 1:00pm Play
- 1.30pm Settle and sleep
- 3.30pm Water or diluted juice and a play
- 5:00pm Dinner: e.g. chopped chicken/ fish/casserole/meat or fish patties with mashed vegetables custard and fruit
- 6:00pm Bath
- 7:00pm Breast/bottle feed
- 7.30pm Bedtime (settling routine)
- 8:00pm Sleep (10 hours)