What to Expect from your 3-6 month old

     As your child gets older, the more development he/she has and the more fun they are. They are getting more active and doing a lot more things.  By the age of three months your child should be holding and supporting their head by themselves when they are lying on their stomach. They are able to lift their head and use their chest up to hold it up. They can entertain themselves as they are able to shake toys and bring them to their mouths and dangle them in front of themselves. All children develop at their own rate, but it’s really important to notice that if your three month old  can’t support their own head, cant gasp objects, can’t focus on moving objects, doesn’t react to things such as loud noises and they don’t have much happiness. If they have any of these issues, it’s important to talk to your doctor about this.

     The older they get the more exciting time for your child development. It’s when you are waiting for the day when she/he rolls over for the first time and can sit up by themselves. Also, your child should be able to bounce when you are holding them on your lap. They are getting to a special point in their life and now they know your voice, and starting to be able to talk and make conversations with you. It’s really important that when they are gibbering that you talk back to them so their communication skills will improve. Also, it’s really important that you read with your child at least once a day. This is a really good feeling because you will actually hear more voices out of your child. The only way this will happen is if are involved with your child. You have to interact with them and smile, laugh, cuddle etc. with him/her. They are getting to the stage when you can start pointing out colors and objects to them, so they can begin the learning process.

     By the age of six months, your child is growing and is in need of more food besides the milk they are drinking. It’s a good idea if they are still hungry and need to eat more, to start them on baby food. As I have experienced working in a daycare and having cousins around; some of the favorite baby foods are; bananas, sweet potatoes, apples peaches (almost all of the fruits because they are sweet). It’s a good idea to begin with vegetable so they acquire the taste before you begin giving them fruit. Every child is different and has their own unique taste buds and like different things. You can tell you child reaction if they like it or not. Some reactions they will have if they like the baby food is that they get all excited and wiggle their toes, they smile while they are eating and gulps it down really fast and keep wanting more. The other side is that they don’t like it very much. Some of those reactions may be that they spit it out and don’t want anymore. Babies are more sensitive to bitter food and don’t care for them as much as the sweet foods.

     You’ll see a lot of changes in your infant between 3-6 months. It gets more and more exciting and they grow older because they are getting a personality and beginning to be more active. Enjoy this special time with them.