Six Month

Six month visit

Vaccine:DTaP+, Polio+, Hib+, Pneumococcus, Rotavirus

What should my six month old be doing?
All babies develop at different rates. Please do not be discouraged or worried, if your child has not achieved the following milestones by 6 months.

At this age, your child should:

Adores playing with rattles
Babbles and squeals with single syllables
May recognize own name
Smiles at other children
Intrigued by mirror images
Rolls from front to back
Sits in high chair

Is it time to childproof my home?
By six months many children can sit by themselves. Soon they will begin to crawl, cruise, and ultimately walk. Now is the time to prepare your home for your curious mobile child. Please click on “Childproofing the home” for more information. This is a checklist from a local health department which is very thorough.

Should my child begin taking water?

We suggest that infants begin taking some water from a sippy cup at 6 months of age. For breastfed babies, filtered tap water provides necessary flouride supplementation. For all babies, this is a nice age to challenge babies to use a cup. For many babies, it may take a few months before they master this skill. Finally, if you live in New Jersey, ask your Premier provider about additional fluoride supplementation.

What is the difference between acetaminophen and ibuprofen?

Both are fever reducers and have an anti-inflammatory effect. Ibruprofen is indicated for infants greater than 6 months while acetaminophen is indicated for infants greater than 2 months. They are equally effective although ibuprofen works quicker and lasts longer. Ibuprofen is dosed every 6-8 hours while acetaminophen is dosed every 4-6 hours. It is important to note that ibuprofen can lead to a gastritis if taken for long periods of time. Please take ibuprofen with food and call if using it for greater than 2 days. Please check our Medicine Dosing charts for weight appropriate doses for ibuprofen and acetaminophen.