Having a six-month-old is tricky. They’re at the age that they can sit up, but they’re also not quite ready to get moving (no matter how much they want to) and that means they flit between boredom and being ecstatically interested in everything.
It’s also the time that your baby is just growing out of everything you own that you bought for them as a baby, like car seats and buggy cots. The transition from newborn to, well, slightly bigger newborn can be a tough time. There’s a lot of change but you can get a few things to make your life a bit easier...and it doesn’t need to cost the earth!
Homemade sensory
Sensory toys can be expensive and with the significant restrictions on sensory classes, it’s a good idea to keep your little one busy with a bit of cheap, homemade sensory. Start simple with a bottle full of rice and if you’re feeling adventurous, throw caution to the wind and go wild. A piece of plyboard with different textures costs pennies and a bought equivalent costs a fortune. The hours of fun it brings are endless!
The other thing with making your own sensory toys is that you can mix things up as your child grows. So much better than having to buy things and then put them away after a few months.
Reuse your feeding pillow
Sitting up is a risky business at the start. Using your feeding pillow or a rolled-up duvet, you can make a safety barrier for your baby. Our little boy is obsessed with sitting and then flopping and even when he’s on his mat, having something to break his fall has been really handy!
Bubbles
The joys a pot of bubbles can bring is endless. They still mesmerise me as an adult! Bubbles are brilliant for hand-eye coordination and they’re brilliant for training the muscles in the neck to look upwards. The best thing is that you can remake the mixture really easily!
A high chair
A sitting aid is so helpful for when you’re cooking or getting things sorted. If you don’t want the baby flopping around or you don’t want to just hold them, having a chair option saves a lot of time and effort.
It’s incredible how quickly babies associate objects with food though! Make sure you don’t feed your little one everyone they’re in the seat or they’ll start associating it with food and you’ll get growled at like we do.
A decent teether
Teeth are incredibly destructive to sleep and the general wellbeing of parents! A good teether gives your little one something to alleviate one of the most frustrating times a baby faces. I always find teethers are the wrong shape, so look for one that your baby can fit in their mouth easily and get a bit of traction on.
A disco light bulb
For about £2.99 you can get a replacement bulb for your room light that’s multicoloured. It provides literally hours of entertainment for a 6-month-old. It’s like a sensory heaven. I guess it’s the simple things that work the best! Don’t forget to take it out though...to clarify these lightbulbs are hugely frustrating when you need actual light to look for something.
