Favorite Things for the Nursery for Six Months and Beyond

At six months, your baby wants to know more about his world, and it is great fun to watch him explore and learn about how everything works. He will begin to sit on his own, crawl, creep and walk before you know it.  This is great time to go to thrift stores, consignment shops, etc. to find slightly used toys and clothes because your baby is going to outgrow them fast.   If you’ve finished nursing, it is wise to have a larger pool of people to help with child care and respite for yourself.  Make sure you leave babysitters with a “Good-to-Go Bag” with all of their favorite toys, foods, blankets, etc. (Refer to My Baby Compass, Birth to Two to know what to put in a “Good-to-Go Bag”).  This is also good time to introduce sign language to help with communication.  Pairing a sign with a word gives your baby a visual cue in addition to the sound of the word to increase his ability to understand language.  Here are some items to have in your nursery to boost child development during this time in your baby’s life:

• Baby sign language classes, books, videos and even iPhone apps
• Larger diapers, Kirklands (size 3) from Costco
• Comfortable shoes, such as Robeez by Stride Rite, See Kai Run, and Pediped
• Clothes you can layer for when baby is in the car or outside
• Toy walkers and activity centers
• Toys to challenge baby such as stacking blocks, balls, pop up toys and toys that require baby to interact with them to make sound or cause movement
• Continue to introduce new solid foods (refer to past blogs about recommended foods) and check out www.weelicious.com for food ideas

In addition to these at-home activities, I encourage you to find out if your local library hosts a “story hour” for baby and toddlers.  You can also research music, swimming and play group classes for you and your toddler, but remember to not overschedule your toddler.   Babies can experience stress just like adults if overstimulated or overwhelmed.

Refer to My Baby Compass, Birth to Two for more ideas about toys and activates that would be most beneficial for your baby to increase his learning skills.

– Kathy Gruhn, MA CCC-SLP, author of My Baby Compass series