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Baby at 4–6 months: getting ready for solids

Stage: 4–6 months

Sleep

3 naps; stretches of 6–8 hours at night become possible

Feeding

The AAP advises starting solids around 6 months. Look for the readiness signs (sitting with support and steady head control, interest in food, swallowing rather than pushing food back out) before you start. Milk remains the main source of nutrition throughout this stage.

Formula: 4–5 feeds a day, 5–7 oz (160–200 ml). Most babies don't need more than about 7 oz per bottle or roughly 32 oz a day.

Diaper size

Size 2–3, 12–28 lb (5–13 kg).

Development at this stage

• Rolls from tummy to back
• Explores hands and feet, brings everything to the mouth
• Recognizes familiar faces and responds to own name
• Starts strings of babble (bababa, dadada)

Play & do together

• Peekaboo! From now on your baby gets the game more and more
• Let them feel different textures: soft, smooth, bumpy
• Place toys just out of reach — reaching and rolling is play and practice in one
• Share a baby book and name the pictures — talk, read, sing from the very start

Care & things to watch

• Daily vitamin D (400 IU) continues if breastfed
• Sun: keep babies under 6 months out of direct sunlight (shade, clothing, sun hat); from 6 months use SPF 30+ sunscreen on exposed skin
• Introduce peanut and egg early — around 6 months, with solids — to reduce the risk of food allergy (NIAID guidelines). Use smooth peanut butter thinned with water or breast milk (never whole nuts) and well-cooked egg, one new food at a time. Babies with severe eczema or an egg allergy should start peanut at 4–6 months after consulting the pediatrician — testing may be advised first
• No honey before age 1 (infant botulism risk); no added salt or sugar; no juice before age 1 (AAP)
• Bathing 2–3 times a week; a bath can become a calming part of the bedtime routine
• 6-month vaccinations: DTaP, pneumococcal and hepatitis B (3rd doses; Hib and rotavirus depending on brand). From 6 months a yearly flu vaccine is recommended — ask your pediatrician about COVID-19 vaccination too
• Babyproof the house ahead of mobility: this stage moves fast
• Around this age sleep architecture matures, so nights can temporarily look more restless (waking between sleep cycles) — a normal development that usually settles within weeks

Other ages: 0–6 weeks · 6–12 weeks · 3–4 months · 6–9 months · 9–12 months · 12–18 months · 18–24 months · 2–3 years · 3–4 years · 4–5 years

Also handy: what diaper size fits? · how much formula per day? · the full starting-solids plan

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