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Baby at 6–9 months: weaning, sleep and milestones
Stage: 6–9 months
Sleep
2–3 naps
Feeding
Build towards 3 solid meals a day alongside milk: combine vegetables and fruit with potato, rice, pasta or bread and some meat, fish, egg or pulses. From around 8 months food no longer needs to be completely smooth — soft lumps and finger foods (soft fruit, cooked vegetable sticks) develop chewing skills. Breastfeeding? Simply carry on feeding on demand — feeds naturally become fewer as solids increase.
Formula: 3–4 feeds a day, 180–200 ml. Milk gradually provides less of the daily intake as solids take over.
Nappy size
Size 3–4, 6–12 kg.
Development at this stage
- Sits without support
- Reaches and grasps, passes objects hand to hand
- Starts crawling or shuffling
- Understands simple words like 'no'
Play & do together
- Hide a toy under a cloth and let them find it — things keep existing, the big discovery of this stage
- In and out: a basket of safe bits to empty and refill
- Clapping and waving games (pat-a-cake)
- Books with flaps and textures to feel
- A soft cushion obstacle course for the new crawler
Care & things to watch
- First teeth often come through now: brush from the first tooth, twice a day, with a smear of fluoride toothpaste (at least 1,000 ppm); for teething discomfort a chilled (not frozen) teething ring helps — the NHS advises against teething gels
- Sunny days: cover up, seek shade between 11am and 3pm and use at least SPF 30 on exposed skin
- Daily vitamin D drops continue if breastfed
- Peanut and egg should be introduced by now — not started yet? Begin gently, one at a time
- Still no honey, added salt or sugar; no cows' milk as a main drink before 1 (fine in cooking)
- Avoid small hard foods (whole nuts, raw carrot chunks); always cut grapes and cherry tomatoes lengthways — until age 4
- Cover sockets, secure stair gates and pad sharp edges
- Free NHS dental care for children: register your baby with a dentist once the first teeth appear
- More restless nights at this age can also come from teething or early separation anxiety — usually temporary, and no reason to doubt your approach
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Also handy: which nappy size fits? · how much formula per day? · the full weaning plan
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