Six- to Nine-Month Milestones

Erin BurtJul 27, 2018

I feel like 6 months is finally when you’re starting to emerge from your fourth trimester haze and, at the same time, your baby is starting to gain a lot of alertness and their ability to interact with the world is increasing daily. They’re so fun, and learning so many new things!

Physical skills
Your baby is becoming a professional sitter! They’re becoming stable and you’re feeling more comfortable with not being stressed that they’ll fall over all the time. In this time period your baby will probably start getting into a crawling position, rocking back and forth, and may even begin crawling as well. Your baby may also pull up and walk while you hold their hands.

Communication skills
Baby is responding to his or her name, and babbling a lot and learning a few words too. Your little one should begin to imitate your sounds and make raspberries too. Your baby is also enjoying eye contact and should enjoy a rousing game of peek-a-boo!

Motor Skills
During this period your little one should begin to transfer objects from one hand to another, and start scooping items up. They’ll be loving picking up and dropping objects during these months as well. Their pick up game is strong, so you’re going to need a grapple! They’ll be more interested in exploring their world, and their toys, by grabbing things, banging, shaking and moving them around.

When to talk to your doctor
You’ll want to talk to your doctor at about 9 months if your baby isn’t doing most of these things like sitting up on their own, grabbing and holding objects, smiling or laughing out loud, looking at you when you call their name, and making different sounds. The thing to remember is that babies develop in their own time, so even if you’ve got a little one who isn’t doing all of these things, your doctor will discuss with you their development and let you know when it’s time to get concerned if your baby is taking their time developing in one area or another.