Children's routine at 6 months: daily routine, nutrition schedule, sleep and wakefulness

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

At six months, a child is completely different from a newborn baby. In the first six months of life, he more than doubles his weight, learns to roll over, tries to crawl and tries to sit. The day of the baby becomes more diverse. He begins to be actively interested in others, learns to express his emotions, develops new skills. In order for a child to develop normally, he needs a special regimen. Children at 6 months should be provided with good sleep, walks, hygiene procedures, proper nutrition, as well as massage, educational games and exercises.

Food

So what do you need to know about this? The main food for a baby in six months should be breast milk. He can receive it according to the schedule or on demand. But it should be borne in mind that the nutritional value of this product cannot satisfy the needs of the baby at this stage of life. Therefore, you should gradually begin to feed the child with new products. For artificial people, complementary foods can be decided with a pediatriciantry entering a couple of months earlier. The regimen of a child at 6 months of breastfeeding, as well as artificial ones, should include 5-6 meals per day. It is optimal if 4 hours pass between meals. If the baby receives milk on demand, then the number of feedings can be increased.

With a good rate of weight gain and no negative reaction to a new food, you can completely replace one feeding with mother's milk for complementary foods. For complementary foods, food in the form of purees or juices is best, as well as special baby cereals, curds and kefirs. These products should be chosen under the strict supervision of a doctor, taking into account the individual details of the child.

What can I give to eat?

What should be the diet of a child at 6 months? Let's dwell on this in more detail. Until the end of the 7th month, cereals, juices, vegetable and fruit purees should be included in the diet. Porridges can be both with milk and without it. At the age of six months, buckwheat, corn, oatmeal, rice groats are best absorbed. It is better not to include ingredients with the addition of rice in the diet if the child is prone to constipation. The same goes for banana puree. You can add pear or peach puree to the porridge, as well as grated apples. If the child tolerates dairy products well, it is worth trying to pour 3-5 ml of fresh cream into the dish.

As for fruits and vegetables, it is better to start with apple, potato, pear puree. After a few weeks, the child can begin to give pumpkin, carrots, bell peppers, prunes, bananas, apricots. Experts recommend adding a little vegetable oil to the vegetable puree. If, before reaching the age of six months, the child has already received complementary foods in the form of vegetable and fruit purees, then you can offer crumbs products from veal, beef and chicken. At the same time, meat can be given as a separate dish, or mixed with vegetables and cereals. The last yolk is introduced into the baby's diet at 6 months. A quarter of the yolk is enough per day.

Sleep

A newborn baby is awake in the total amount of no more than a quarter of the day. As they grow, the time of activity by 6 months increases to 8-9 hours. The daily routine of a child at 6 months should take at least 10 hours for a night's sleep. The child may wake up at night 1-2 times to eat. This is especially true for those children who are breastfed. Artificers are advised to eat cottage cheese or porridge at night. These foods keep you feeling full for a long time. After that, the child can sleep for 9 hours without a break.

Daytime rest

What do you need to know about this? The day regimen of a 6-month-old baby must necessarily include daytime sleep. Children of this age, depending on the degree of physical activity, excitability and temperament, can sleep 2-3 times for one and a half to two hours. Pediatricians recommend putting your baby to bed at the same time every day, performing the same actions before going to bed in a certain order. This will help parents avoid various problems when falling asleep to the child.

Should alsokeep in mind that periodically the sleep and wakefulness patterns may change. For example, if earlier he slept three times during the day, then two will eventually be enough. If the duration of the third sleep is reduced to 40 minutes, the child is reluctant to go to bed and can stay awake for three hours without whims and overwork, then he is ready to switch to a two-time sleep. Therefore, a child's schedule at 6 months will vary greatly depending on certain factors.

Wake periods

Children at 6 months of age differ from younger children in long periods of activity. At this age, the baby wants to spend time more briskly, so you should definitely include outdoor walks, games, gymnastics and massage in the daily routine.

Toys

Let's take a closer look at this. At this age, children especially like to play while sitting in the playpen, on a high chair or on a developmental rug. They are able to spend quite a lot of time doing this activity. The main condition is that the toys that you offer the baby must be safe and designed for his age. In addition, they tend to contribute to its development. At six months, children play well with bright objects made of different materials. Rubber balls, fabric cubes, plastic pyramids and various interactive toys are best suited.

It is better not to play active games that can excite the baby later than an hour and a half before bedtime. Emotional and physical overexcitation canprevent the baby from falling asleep peacefully.

Outdoor activities

The regime of a child at 6 months on artificial and breastfeeding must necessarily include walks. In the warm season, you can walk twice a day for 2.5 hours. At the same time, try to pay attention to the child to the objects around him, show him the birds, cats, dogs. Also, let the baby touch the leaves and smell the flowers. In the cold season, if the weather permits, try to go outside at least once a day. Ventilate the apartment more often.

Physical exercise

So, what are they for? The regime of children of 6 months must necessarily include simple exercises and massage. This will contribute to the proper development of the child, strengthening muscles, improving coordination. Before embarking on such activities, be sure to consult a pediatrician. It will help you choose the best set of exercises. It is best to do gymnastics for the first time under the supervision of a specialist. He will check the correctness of the exercises.

Daily routine

The mode of a child at 6 months on breast or artificial feeding should be selected individually, based on the characteristics of family life. The main condition is that the routine should be comfortable for the baby and satisfy all his needs. Below is the schedule for a six month old baby with three naps a day:

• 7:00 - awakening, washing;
• 7:10 - 7:30 - meal;
• 7:30 - 9:00 - games and exercises;
• 9:00 -11:00 - first dream;
• 11:00 - feeding;
• 11:00 - 13:00 - outdoor walks;
• 13:00 - 15:00 - second dream;
• 15:00 - feeding;
• 15:00 - 17:00 - outdoor walks;
• 17:00 - 19:00 - third dream;
• 19:00 - feeding;
• 19:00 - 20:30 - communication with parents, calm games;
• 20:30 - evening hygiene procedures;
• 21:00 - night sleep;
• 23:00 - snack.

If it is enough for a child to sleep twice a day, then it is best to allocate time intervals from 10 to 12:30 and from 16 to 18:30 for sleep. Rest at night can be longer. The sleep pattern of a baby at 6 months is of great importance. It will ensure proper development, good he alth and normal appetite.

Hygiene procedures

This aspect should be given special attention. The daily routine of a child at 6 months necessarily includes hygiene procedures. These include morning toilet, washing after each bowel movement, and evening bathing.

The complex of hygiene procedures should include washing, caring for the ears, eyes, mouth cavity. This stage is important not only for maintaining the he alth of the child, but also for the formation of good habits. It is necessary to clean the oral cavity of the crumbs even before the first teeth erupt. This will help prevent the development of pathogenic microorganisms. For this purpose, it is best to use special fingertip-shaped wipes soaked in a cleansing compound. Using these wipeswill help prevent the development of stomatitis, caries, and children's thrush. They are completely safe, so you can use them for sanitizing the oral cavity from the first days of life.

After each diaper change, the baby must be washed. It is best to do this under a warm shower. You can also get by with a simple sanitary napkin. After washing, leave the baby naked for a while. Air baths are the best prevention of diaper rash.

Evening swim

Children's regimen of 6 months must necessarily include an evening bathing ritual. It is best to spend it an hour before bedtime. The optimal value of water temperature for water procedures is 37 degrees. You can also use special herbal decoctions and bathing products. Considering that at this age the child is already sitting well, the procedure is interesting and fun.

Recommendations from pediatricians

What should be emphasized first? It is not necessary to strictly follow the daily routine of a six-month-old child. If necessary, you can make certain adjustments to it. The main thing is to create a comfortable environment for your child and yourself. After all, who better than mothers to know the features of all physiological processes and changes in the behavior of the baby. For example, if up to six months a child could stay awake for two hours, then as they grow older, this time may increase. Over time, the baby begins to sleep less and play more. This should also be taken into account when drawing up the daily routine.

As for sleep at night, thenat the age under discussion, the child can already sleep up to 7 hours without waking up. The regimen of a 6-month-old formula-fed child may generally include 9 hours of sleep a night. Such children usually eat porridge for dinner, which allows them to sleep for a long time without interruptions for night feeding. At the same time, parents have the opportunity to sleep.

Most 6-month-old babies still need three daily rests. However, for active children, just two rest periods during the day may be enough. If you see that the child is in excellent he alth, and he does not show signs of fatigue, then you should not forcefully lay him down. If adults insist on their own, the baby may well declare his disagreement, starting to cry and act up.

The main sign of your child's he althy sleep is easy falling asleep without additional stimulation and motion sickness. From the age of six months, you can gradually accustom the child to sleep in his own bed.

Conclusion

In this review, we examined in detail what the daily routine of a six-month-old child should be. The regimen should be selected strictly individually, taking into account the characteristics of the baby. So, for example, artificial animals are quite capable of sleeping peacefully all night without waking up for feeding. Breastfed babies generally wake up a couple of times during the night to refresh themselves. The total number of meals per day should be 5-6 times. Since babies can be gradually introduced to complementary foods at this age, special attention should be paid to menu selection.

Daytime sleep depends on the activity and temperament of the child. Usually the baby needs three times a day's rest, but there are kids who need to sleep twice a day. Games, walks, physical exercises and hygiene procedures should occupy a special place in the daily routine.