Muhammad Ammar Danish

6 TO 12 MONTHS

Sometimes during this period, your baby will probably begin to explore the world of solid food. Once this happens, he'll be increasingly influenced by taste, texture, and his own personal preferences.

The average rate of growth for a baby between four and seven months old is about 600gm to 750gm. You should begin to see your baby's growth pattern emerging - with small changes during periods of rapid growth. There is no strict rule of thumb about how much a baby should weigh at this stage, but by eight months he'll probably weigh about 2.5 times what he weighed at birth.

THE SENSES

Get ready for the months of movement! Your baby is now rolling over, starting to sit up, grabbing toys and other interesting objects, and possibly even crawling. While the majority of his energy during this period is spent developing his motor skills, he is also honing his senses, understanding and anticipating more and more of what he sees, hears, and feels in the world around him.

You'll see him staring in concentration at a toy he's turning over in his hands or intently studying his own face in a mirror. By the end of this period, he'll be able to focus far beyond the few metres he's capable of at four months.

In keeping with his ability to move around, he'll be able to track even rapid motion with his eyes. He'll follow the course of a ball you roll past him and will keep his eyes on the quick movements of an older sibling playing nearby. He's also practising his newly acquired hand-eye coordination, so watch as he stares for a while at an object, then slowly reaches out to get it.

THE SENSES: HEARING

Now, he's beginning to pick out the components of your speech. He can hear and understand the different sounds you make and the way words form sentences.

By his seventh month, your baby should recognise and respond to his own name. He'll also make more attempts to imitate sounds and spend more of his time babbling. Make no mistake, these are your baby's early attempts at speaking and should be encouraged as much as possible. Repeat sounds you hear him making back to him. Introduce him to simple words that apply to his everyday life. Have 'conversations' with him, waiting for a pause in his babble to 'answer' him.

THE SENSES: TASTE AND SMELL

Your doctor may suggest the addition of solid foods to your baby's diet sometime during this period. If this is the case, you'll want to select his foods carefully, introducing one new food at a time. Not only does this help you pinpoint any food allergies that may occur, but it also helps you discover which tastes your baby likes best.

MOVEMENT AND COORDINATION

By now, your baby is becoming better at holding his head and chest up when lying on his stomach. This is helping to prepare his head, neck and trunk muscles for sitting and eventually, standing upright. During this stage, he'll begin pushing his head and chest further by straightening his arms and arching his back. He may also begin moving his legs and rocking on his stomach. In this way, he's getting ready to do some rolling over and crawling.

By seven months, he will probably be rolling over in both directions. Never leave your baby unattended. His newfound movements could cause him to fall from a bed or couch unless you are there with him. Even if he never rolled over before, there's always a first time. Babies like to surprise you that way.

Your baby is using his hands more and more to get what he wants. He is learning how to transfer objects from one hand to the other, how to turn them round and round for inspection, and how to use his hands like a `rake' to bring things into his grasp.

Give him lots of toys and safe household objects to pick up, shake and (of course) throw. Be careful with small objects. Babies will place just about anything they can into their mouths for further inspection, so you must be on constant lookout for choking hazards.

COMMUNICATION

Your baby's range of sounds and facial expressions continues to grow, and he'll probably spend lots of his time babbling, squealing, smiling, and laughing - which may leave less time for crying. He's also imitating more of the sounds that he hears, which are his first attempts at speaking!

LEARNING AND PLAY

Are you beginning to think that your 4 to 7 month-old knows his name? You're probably right! His memory and attention span are increasing, and he's learning all sorts of things; even at this tender age.

Repetition is the name of the game for learning and play. Be prepared to play games, sing songs, and repeat actions over and over - you may be bored, but your baby is excited and stimulated!

Babies generally begin to grasp the principle of cause-and-effect during this stage; he learns that his actions cause reactions, that he has the ability to make things happen. He will explore this concept by doing things - dropping an object, kicking his crib, yelling - over and over again. Although this may be frustrating, it is the way your baby is learning the effects his actions may have. He is not throwing his pacifier on the floor over and over in order to upset you. He is doing it in order to see if it appears before him again.

Now that your baby is beginning to realise that his actions have an effect on you, he will enjoy playing copycat games where you mimic what he says. He may also make the discovery that whenever he cries he grabs your attention. This is mostly a good thing, but he will also use it on occasion when he is bored or frustrated. Rather than punish him for this, give him extra attention once he stops crying or fussing.

Reading to your baby gives him a chance to observe the way you talk and mimic the sounds you make. If the book has bright pictures, all the better. Be sure to show them to your baby and describe them. Books that will withstand some mouthing and chewing are best.

With your baby's more sophisticated motor skills, he is probably ready for toys that he can activate himself. Toys that make sounds when shaken are good, as are toys that teach cause-and-effect, such as pop-up toys. Puppets and other toys with finger holds will allow your baby to practice hand control. Be sure to read toy packages, and stick to the age guidelines suggested by the manufacturers.

SLEEP

During these months, your baby will learn to roll over and position himself for sleep in his own way. Towards the end of this period, he may be able to keep himself awake or be kept awake by his surroundings, so this is the time to instil good sleep habits by sticking to a bedtime routine.

At this age, you will probably want your baby to start falling asleep on his own, if he doesn't already. This may mean performing your nighttime routine and putting him into his crib while he's still awake. If he cries, let him be for a few minutes. He may settle down and go to sleep. If the crying continues, go back in and soothe him for a moment, without picking him up. This may go on a few times until your baby figures out that crying is not getting him anywhere.

Article take from Anakku.com