Baby's Care and Development
Your six to eight month old

How active your baby has become! He is learning about shapes and textures. Your six to eight month old is curious and exploring, and needs you to watch him carefully.

Feeding Your Baby

At six to eight months, breast milk or infant formula continue to be your baby's main source of nutrients. As your baby begins to eat solid foods, he will nurse less or take less formula. Breast-fed babies nurse about every four hours during the day. Formula-fed babies need 28 to 38 ounces of formula a day. Click here for tips on feeding and signs of fullness.

Caring for Your Baby

Bathing

• Never leave your baby alone
• Cover the water control knobs so your baby can't touch them

Skin Care

• Diaper rashes are more common in this age group. The best way to avoid diaper rash is to change your baby's diapers often. If your baby does develop a rash, here are some steps doctors recommend to heal the rash.

Mouth and Dental Care

Babies put almost everything in their mouths

• Keep your baby's hands and toys clean
• Prevent baby bottle tooth decay. Put your baby to bed with only water in her bottle.

Sleeping

• Your baby probably has 3 periods of sleep: morning nap, afternoon nap and bedtime
• Your baby should be sleeping 12 to 14 hours a day, most of it at night
• If your baby flips himself from sleeping on his back to his stomach, it's okay to leave him that way. For more information on safe sleep practices, visit Baby's Safe Sleep.

Health Care

• Your baby will need another check-up and shots (immunizations) during this time. If your baby does not have health insurance, visit the Child Health Insurance portion of this Web site for more information on North Carolina's publicly-funded health insurance programs.
• Remember to take your baby's health record with you so your doctor or nurse can record your baby's weight, length and any immunizations given.
• Ask any questions you may have.

Your Baby's Development

There are lots of activities you can do with your baby to help your baby grow and develop. See How We Grow - Baby's First Year can give you specific ways you can help your baby learn to trust, feel comfortable, communicate and become aware of how his or her body moves. (If you can't open the link above or it downloads too slowly, try the plain text version.)

Your Baby's Safety

Your six to eight month old is now on-the-move and can quickly get into trouble. Be sure to visit the Safety Tips page for things to watch out for and steps you can take to keep your baby safe.

Other Links

North Carolina

NC Family Health Resource Line Information and Support Within Your Reach

Find out more about , NC Family Health Resource Line or call Monday - Friday 8 A.M. - 6 P.M. closed holidays Services in English and Spanish

WIC Program Breastfeeding and Support WIC strives to increase the incidence and duration of breastfeeding among women enrolled in the Program.

Carolinas Poison Center - 1-800-222-1222

National

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Last updated: June 2009