6 Months to 9 Months

Feeding

Please re-read our guide to introducing solid foods.
Continue to feed your baby on demand, rather than a schedule.
Encourage lots of textures and tastes.
If they seem to hate a food you try, continue to offer it daily. They don’t hate it, they just don’t know it yet.
There is no science on how or when to advance from pureed foods to thicker textures. Follow your baby’s cues, and advance when your baby shows interest.
Always watch closely during feeding to prevent choking, especially when transitioning away from purees.

Provide a well-rounded diet with all the food groups.
Encourage high iron-containing pureed foods in the diet to prevent iron deficiency.
If your baby is taking less than 32 ounces of formula per day, continue the vitamin D supplement every day.
If your baby is taking more than 32 ounces of formula per day, you should not give vitamin D on that day.

Free water should not be given before 6 months of life because the kidneys are not fully developed. This is also why ibuprofen is not safe before 6 months.
Starting at 6 months of life, offer 4-6 ounces per day of fluoride-containing water. This helps develop strong teeth, which are growing under the gums even if you can’t see them yet.
The tap water in Austin is safe and a good source of fluoride.
If you use a water filter, check with the manufacturer to make sure it does not remove fluoride.
Give the water in a sippy cup.
The sippy cup should not have a soft plastic/rubber spout. Rather, choose sippy cups with a straw, 360-degree spouts, or hard plastic spouts.
- Soft plastic/rubber spouts cause the same problem as continuing bottles after 12 months of life (dental caries).

6 months of life is the best time to childproof your home.
Please read our childproofing guide to learn how to prevent serious injuries in the home.
Safety around water in

You will know your baby is teething when you run your finger across the upper or lower gums and feel sharp teeth poking through.
This happens between 6-15 months of life.
Please read our guide on teething for all the details.

Once your child’s first tooth appears, start brushing!
- Dental decay in baby teeth can negatively affect permanent teeth and lead to future dental problems.
Apply a grain-of-rice-sized amount of fluoride-based toothpaste to a soft toothbrush.
- Press the toothpaste into the bristles to prevent your child from sucking the toothpaste right off of the brush.
Most toothpaste specifically labeled for “babies” does not contain fluoride.
- Please make sure you buy toothpaste that does contain fluoride, even if labeled for “children.”
Brush teeth once in the morning and once before bed.
It is normal for your child to resist having their teeth brushed. The following strategies may be helpful:
- Allow your child to brush their teeth first then follow up by brushing their teeth for them.
- Make up a silly song about brushing teeth.
- Some children resist brushing less if brushing teeth while their siblings or parents are doing so as well.
- If these methods fail, don’t be afraid to bring in another caregiver to restrain your child while you brush their teeth.
  - Sometimes it needs to be a two-person operation!
The best thing you can do to keep your child’s teeth healthy at 12 months is to remove bottles (see discussion above).
Thumb-sucking and pacifier use are fine.
- These may cause the teeth to jut forward, requiring braces when your child gets their adult teeth.
  - If you're ok with that, so are we!
Plan your child’s first visit to the dentist at 2 years of age.

Gross Motor Skills

If your baby is not sitting without support at 6 months, focus on tummy time, all the time. Tummy time muscles are the same muscles used to sit independently, crawl, and pull-to-stand.
Once your baby is sitting independently, allow him to explore in a safe environment, and the other gross motor skills will follow.
Find a safe way for your baby to pull up to a standing position, and encourage him to do so.
Avoid equipment such as bumbo chairs, bouncers, swings, rockers etc. These do not teach your baby developmental skills, and may actually inhibit them.

Fine Motor Skills

Language Skills

Talk to your baby all the time. She should hear as many words as possible from the people she cares about.
If you use a lot of nicknames for your baby, focus on calling her by name, or at least sticking to one nickname. By 9 months of life, we like to know your baby is responding to her name.

If your baby is sleeping well, don't change a thing!
If your baby stops sleeping well, please see our guide to sleep in the first year of life for detailed recommendations.