Your baby's development: 4-6 months

By six months, your baby will have roughly doubled their birth weight and you’ll soon be starting to think about moving from an all milk diet to solid foods – hard to believe how fast they’ve grown isn’t it? Weaning is a big change for them and for you too, but we’re here to help you understand how to spot the signs that your baby is ready and learn how to start weaning. You can also get a copy of our free five step weaning plan so you can see exactly what balance of foods your little one needs to grow into a confident and adventurous baby. We’re always at the end of the phone too if you want to chat through any weaning questions.

Learn how to spot the signs, introduce those first mouthfuls and which tastes your baby will love (hopefully!).

Once your baby reaches 4 – 6 months, you’ll be starting to think about preparing for weaning (The Department of Health recommend starting weaning at around 6 months). 
Milk will make up the majority of your baby's diet for some time yet, but as they become more active solid foods will become an increasingly important part of their healthy, balanced diet.

To understand if your baby is ready for solid foods, check out our tips for signs that they’re ready for weaning

When you do start to wean, smooth purées, roughly the consistency of double cream, in gentle flavours are perfect for introducing your baby to solid food. Baby rice is an ideal first weaning food because you can make it with their usual milk for a familiar taste. This makes the transition easier and your baby will be more accepting of the unfamiliar feeling. To begin with, only try your baby with a teaspoonful or two a day to ease them in gently. Then build this up gradually with more feeds a day. A good tip is to try giving your baby carrots - they have a natural sweetness which babies love, helping them learn to enjoy vegetables right from the start. 

Stronger muscles make way for exciting new skills like pushing up, sitting, reaching and grasping.

From grabbing at dangling objects, to holding their milk bottle with both hands, at 4 – 6 months your baby will start to discover how to use their hands and fingers. From now on, your baby’s natural grasp reflex will gradually turn into more controlled hand and finger movements. They’ll also explore objects by grasping and shaking them with their hands rather than using the tried and tested ‘sucking’ approach.

If you are using a bottle for feeding, you can use this time to help with your baby’s development too. Let them grasp their bottle with both hands – it’ll give your baby a little more hands-on experience.

Holding a sealed plastic container filled with rice or pasta will help them practice using their hand and finger muscles, and the new exciting noise will surprise and entertain them.

Bath time becomes more fun as your baby learns that when they move their body they can make things happen – like little splashes of water. Remember to keep extra towels handy!

Your baby is learning to copy your sounds! Learn why baby talk can help and listen out for that first little laugh.

4 – 6 months is a magical time as your baby begins to find their real voice. New sounds will pop out all the time as your baby coos and babbles. Although you’ll probably start to hear a few little ‘ma’ and ‘pa’ words, it may be a while before your baby knows to call you ‘mama’ by name. At the moment, it’s still just a fun noise for them to make!

Perhaps the best sound you’ll hear for the first time is a real laugh or giggle. Try gently tickling your baby so you can enjoy the little laughs together. You might feel a bit silly, but chatting to your baby at this stage can help with their speech development.

As your baby grows, the muscles in their hands develop and become stronger, enabling them to lift and hold objects. And because their brains are developing too, they learn from experience and work out that it’s great fun to be able to grab hold of the things they want. 

At this age, your baby’s hands act like little learning tools – constantly prodding, poking and touching everything around them. They love banging things together and moving objects from one hand to the other, using left and right hands equally.

Perhaps the best sound you’ll hear for the first time is a real laugh or giggle. Try gently tickling your baby so you can enjoy the little laughs together. You might feel a bit silly, but chatting to your baby at this stage can help with their speech development.

By around 7 months most babies are getting to grips with picking things up, including toys, food and anything else within reach, so watch out for your car keys and phone. It’s no wonder most mums start baby-proofing their home at this stage. 

Whatever your baby picks up will most likely end up in their mouth as they explore the feel, smell and taste of it. That’s why this is a great time to introduce healthy finger foods such as cooled, steamed vegetables, cubes of cheese and soft fruit chunks.

At around 9 months your baby’s fingers will be doing everything. They’ll be able to point, pick, roll balls and put shapes together. They’ll also start using their hands to express their own unique character with happy clapping and excited waving.

Everyday activities can be used as games to develop your baby’s hand coordination. Here are some suggestions to give those little hands some practice:

• When handing your baby a toy, hold it just out of reach to encourage them to grab it.
• Finger foods are great for little hands. Try setting out some different shaped and textured foods for your baby to touch, squish and hopefully eat as well.
• Let them hold a spoon or a toothbrush – they’ll soon start copying how you use it.
• Encourage filling, tipping and pouring by giving your baby a plastic container or a box, and some blocks or small toys that can be jumbled inside and tipped out again.
• There are also lots of specially designed toys to help coordination, such as shape sorters, textured blocks, puzzles, board books and beads on a string.

With all this amazing development going on, your baby needs a healthy balanced diet. Protein and fat will give them energy and help their muscles grow, while iron-rich foods and omega-3 fats are important for their ever-increasing brain power.

Our feeding experts have lots of advice about including healthy foods in your baby’s weaning diet and are always happy to share. If you’ve got a question, give us a call.