Care for premature babies at 6 months of age

This is the 5325th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Babies who are 6 months old can use a high stool/infant seat so that they can see the caregiver and improve their interaction skills. Babies of this age are very good at and want to play interactive games with their caregivers. We can talk to the baby face to face, sing songs, read picture books together, and even lie down to have the same vision as the baby and grab toys on the table together. It is not recommended to watch TV, various videos and digital media at this age. Real people will be much more effective in cultivating children's interaction.

Starting from feeding, you can gradually develop a regular daily life for your baby; getting up, eating, playing and sleeping at relatively fixed times, a regular life rhythm can be cultivated through daily care.

Regarding sleep, even if the baby's crib and caregiver are in the same room, you can begin to gradually cultivate the baby's independent sleep. We can put the child in the bed when he is still awake but drowsy and let the baby soothe himself to sleep.

Between 6 and 9 months, babies who previously slept through the night may wake up at night. Give your baby some time to calm down. If your baby continues to cry and make noises, you can stay with your baby, but try not to pick him up or let him get up to play. Don't feed him unless he is hungry.

Many parents use white noise to improve the frequent night awakening problem of this age group. White noise refers to random noise with the same energy density at all frequencies. It is usually emitted by an auditory stimulation device. It is generally believed that it can block environmental sounds, help relax and get a good sleep. Studies have shown that white noise can shorten the time to fall asleep and reduce the number of night awakenings. According to the noise exposure guidelines for hospital nurseries and neonatal intensive care units, white noise should be limited to 1 hour, with an average level of no more than 50dB, and the volume should be as low as possible. Keep it as far away from the baby as possible, and the use time should not be too long. It should be turned off after the child falls asleep.

Babies over 6 months old are more mobile, have simple language, and can express their ideas to a certain extent. Therefore, when the baby is noisy and crying, it is necessary to judge the baby's needs in time and adopt a continuous soothing strategy.

The first tooth of a baby usually erupts around 6 months. To ease the discomfort of teething, rub the baby's gums with a clean finger, use a teething toy, or use a clean towel that has been frozen for 30 minutes to grind the baby's teeth.

Pay attention to oral hygiene, clean and wipe the gums with a soft cloth/wet towel twice a day. After the teeth grow out, use a soft baby toothbrush and a small amount of fluoride toothpaste (no more than a grain of rice) to clean your baby's teeth twice a day.

Create a safe space for your baby to move around, play and explore.

New mothers start to go back to work and sometimes feel particularly tired while taking care of their babies and working. If the situation is serious or the bad mood lasts for more than a period of time, you can talk to your doctor.

Author: Shanghai Institute of Pediatrics

Pediatric Clinic

Chen Fei