5-6 Months
Help me be healthy
At this checkup:
- weighed and measured.
- watched to see what I do
- when sounds are made.
- listened to when I talk.
- given any immunizations and have any blood tests I have missed.
- Remember to take my health journal with me.
Play with me. It helps me learn.
- Read to me. Point to the pictures as you tell me about them.
- Put a small ball on my high chair tray and teach me how to blow on the ball to make it move.
- Help me understand my body parts by pointing to them and naming them. I won't be able to say them for a while.
- Play hide and seek with me. Ask me "Where is ________ (name a person)?"I will try to look for him/her.
- Look at magazines and picture books with me. Point to a picture and name it. Say, "See the cat," and "Look at the flower." Ask me sometimes, "What is that?" Wait a few seconds before you tell me. Soon I will be able to give you an answer.
- Build towers with blocks or toys.
- Play "so big!" Show me how to lift my arms over my head and say "So big."
- Give me a chance to smell some safe things, such as food, flowers, and spices. Tell me about how they smell.
- Help me learn why some things are not safe. If I go to the stove or heater, say "hot" and move me away. If I reach for a shoe and you know it will go in my mouth, say "Tastes bad" and move me away.
- Help me to begin to drink from a cup. This will take time. I like to chew on the foam. If I chew off a piece of foam, I could choke.
Help me be safe.
Now that I can pull myself up, there are new safety dangers:
- When cooking, turn pot handles to the center of the stove. Don't leave spoons or anything hanging over the edge of the stove.
- Check knobs on the television and stereo to see if they can come off.
- Look for carts, chairs, or tables with wheels and floor lamps and bookshelves that could be pulled over. When I pull or push on these, they could fall over on me.
- Move the crib mattress to the lowest position so I can't fall or climb out.
- Keep things picked up so I don't fall over anything or swallow something I should not.
- Use corner protectors on sharp edges of furniture.
- Keep the bathroom door closed so I don't play in the toilet bowl.
- Use safety plugs in outlets that I have access to.
- Check my toys. Look to see that they are not broken and they don't have any sharp edges or pieces that can hurt me. If I have stuffed animals and dolls with button eyes or noses, check to be sure that they cannot come off.
- I can easily choke. Don't feed me hard foods or foods that crumble easily, such as graham crackers. Use an empty toilet paper tube to determine if toys are big enough for me. If they fit in the tube, I might choke on them.
- Put things out of reach that you do not want me to swallow or put in my mouth. Pills, cleaners, makeup, or plants are dangerous. If you think I have swallowed something, first call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-848-6946. Have syrup of ipecac and activated charcoal in the medicine cabinet so if they tell you to use it, you have it.
- Take away anything that dangles. I will pull on a tablecloth or dresser scarf. Keep my crib away from drapery and venetian blind cords.
Starting me on meats.
At 8 months, I can have meats prepared for babies. Add the baby food meats to my meals of cereal, vegetables and fruit.
Remember: No cow's milk until I am one year old.
Shoes or no shoes?
I don't really need shoes to help me learn how to walk. When I do learn how to walk, shoes or sneakers will protect my feet. I may be stubborn sometimes. This is part of growing up.
Watch for me to:
- sit for a few seconds without any help.
- feed myself a cracker, cereal, or food I can eat with my fingers -- I'm pretty messy.
- say the sounds of ma, ga, da, di, ba, and make other sounds.
- pick up small things using my whole hand in a raking motion.
- listen to people talking and try to make the same sounds.
- hold a small block in one hand and pass it to the other hand.
- look for something that I have dropped.
- hold onto something and stand for about 5 seconds.
You may notice that I also:
- get upset if you leave me, even if it's for a short time. I will be relieved when you return.
- begin to drink juice from a cup.
- know which toys are mine. I don't like it when my toys are taken away.
- may be afraid of things that were O.K. before. I might be afraid of my bath, a sitter, the dark.