'Carry Me, Mommy!’ 11 Milestones To Look Out For Now That Baby Is 6 Months Old

Your baby is halfway through their first year of life, and look at how much they’ve grown!

At six months, your baby is growing more active and independent, and is showing more of their personality. They’ll love talking and cooing, and playing with their favorite toys. Peekaboo will become their most favorite game!

6 month baby milestones

Aside from learning to sit upright and trying to crawl, here are the other milestones your baby will be hitting in the next few weeks.

Physical development

Roll from back to tummy

From their tummy to their back, you baby is by now a pro at rolling the other way around. Give them more tummy time to help strength their core muscles and to help them learn better coordination.

Sitting upright with assistance

By now, in addition to rolling, your baby will be able to sit up with support. They may be a little wobbly at first so do offer a little hand to help.

Ready to crawl

From the sitting position or when they’re flat on their tummies, this is a great starting point for crawling. And with your baby feeling more confident and independent, they’ll soon start moving into a crawling position and try to make their way across the floor/ mat.

Nimble fingers and focus

From using their legs and hands to try and crawl, your baby is gaining more mastery of their coordination and will be grasping toys and objects using both hands at once now. They’re also gaining more control of their nimble fingers. You’ll notice that they may point to an object, touch it with a finger, and use their thumb and other fingers to grip it.

As they ‘discover’ and ‘assess’ their toys and objects, they’ll move them from one hand to the other.

Hello, feet!

While their hands have become familiar, your baby may now be exploring their feet as well, gazing at them when they’re on their back. They may even try to put their little foot and toes in their mouth. So, get ready with tissue to wipe away the drool!

Developmental red flags

Consult your pediatrician if you notice the following:

• Is having difficulty rolling over, and is not trying to roll over
• Their body and movements seems too stiff or too floppy
• Is unable to hold their body and head upright
• Has difficult grabbing objects and putting it into their mouth 

Cognitive development

Carry me, mommy!

What do 6 month old babies understand? A lot more than we think and give them credit for.  

Your baby, by now, has made the mental connection that their cries and responses can elicit an action and reaction from their parents. For example, if they want to be soothed and lifted, they’ll cry and hold their hands up to be carried. Of course, this will be a delight for parents as their baby is building stronger communication skills.

Talking in short, simple syllables

In addition to using actions, to communicate, your baby will be able to make more defined sounds. It’s a great time to talk to them using one-syllable sounds – ‘ma,’ ‘ga,’ ‘da’ and ‘ka’.

Once they make the connection, they’ll squeal and laugh with delight, knowing that someone is understanding them.

A whole new world

Your baby is becoming more curious of the world and is exploring it more boldly. They’ll be looking around more often, taking in the sights and sounds, and will use their hands and mouth to check things out. Make sure that dirty and dangerous objects are out of reach!

Mirror, mirror on the wall

As they gain a better understanding of the world around them, they’ll also start gaining greater self-awareness. When in front of the mirror, they’ll like looking at themselves and will start interacting with their reflection.

Developmental red flags

Consult your pediatrician if you notice the following:

• Doesn’t seem to like or respond to people around them
• Does not try to verbalize
• Does not try to reach for objects and put them in their mouth
• Does not follow objects with their eyes; seems inattentive
• Does not squeal or laugh

Social and emotional development

Understands the meaning of no and yes

While learning to form syllables and say them, they’ve heard it enough times from their parents and will now understand what ‘no’ means. In addition, they’ll understand that shaking you head also means no. On the other hand, they’ll understand that nodding your head means ‘yes.’

As part of their learning, they’ll also copy the sounds and actions of ‘yes’ and ‘no.’

As they begin to understand the connection of words and actions, your baby may start to point at things as a signal that they want it.

Enjoys playing with friends and family

As they become more accustomed to people, places, and things, they’ll show delight when playing with familiar toys or will break out a smile or laugh when they see a familiar face. One of the most fun games your 6-month-old would love to play is ‘peek-a-boo.’ During playtime and talking time, you baby will generally be happy and responsive.

On the other hand, your baby will also start building an awareness for strangers, and will cry if they’re uneasy.

Developmental red flags

Consult your pediatrician if you notice the following:

• Your baby doesn’t want to play
• is not responsive to people and toys
• Doesn’t try to mimic and verbalize sounds

Don’t worry too much if your baby may seem a little delayed and have not yet hit some of these milestones. Children develop at different rates So do enjoy the journey and for any concerns, consult your doctor.

Click here for a list of developmental milestones you can expect from your growing child.