Advice and resources : 6-9 month old baby advice

Overview

Welcome to our pages containing support and information on the health and development of your 6-9 month old baby.

Your health visiting team are here to support you throughout this stage of your family's life, and beyond. You can text us in confidence if you have a child up to the age of 5.

Just send a text to 07312 263283 and we’ll text you back to chat.

Healthy eating

This film contains information on feeding your 6-9 month old baby, covering infant feeding, how and when to start introducing solids, what foods to offer and what foods to avoid, and advice about money.

Useful websites and resources

Healthy eating, breastfeeding and starting solids

• You'll find lots of advice across this website on breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and healthy eating
• NHS Start For Life - information on weaning (opens in new window)
• Bliss- information on weaning your premature baby (opens in new window)
• If you suspect or know that your child has an allergy, weaning can be more challenging. Get help from Allergy UK (opens in new window)
• Ensuring everyone eats well while breastfeeding and introducing solids can feel overwhelming, get some guidance from First Steps Nutrition (opens in new window)

Financial support

• If you're struggling financially, find support from Citezans Advice (opens in new window)
• If you have a child under 4, you could be entitled to help to buy healthy food and milk from the Healthy Start scheme. Find out more here (opens in new window)
• Get help with food and other essentials from Bracknell Forest Council (opens in new window)
• Get help with the cost of living from West Berkshire Council (opens in new window)
• Get help with food costs from Reading Borough Council (opens in new window)

Development

The video below is all about the development of your 6-9 month old baby, how you can support them in their development, and what to expect from your 9-12 month review from the health visiting service. Remember, every baby is different and develops at their own pace.

Reading resources

Every baby aged 0-12 months in England and Wales each year is offered a free Bookstart Baby book packfrom BookTrust (opens in new window)

Your local library provides many services such as book loans, CD rental and internet access. Find your nearest library here (opens in new window)

General development

Every baby develops at their own page, but you can visit our pages on typical development so you can find out what you might expect

Unicef has some great information on your baby's developmental milestones during their first two years (opens in new window)

Language development

Children usually take similar steps in building up their vocabulary, our site has some developmental guidelines 

Visit the Start for Life website to read about your baby learning to talk between 6-12 months (opens in new window)

Speech and Language UK have lots of resources to help you understand what to look out for and how to help your child with their speech and language (opens in new window)

Tiny Happy People has a collection of activities that you can do with your child (opens in new window)

Oral health

We've created this film below so you can find out all about looking after your baby's teeth.

Useful resources

Find an NHS dentist here (opens in new window)

Information from the NHS on how to look after your baby's teeth (opens in new window)

Managing illness

You know your child best - trust your instincts if you feel that something is wrong. This film contains information on looking after the health of you baby, and how to know where to go for advice if your baby is unwell, including a short film from NHS Dr Ranj Singh talking about sepsis.

Useful resources

Find an accident and emergency service (opens in new window)

Find an urgent treatment centre (opens in new window) 

Home safety

Each year thousands of under-5s are admitted to hospital after an accident, and these often happen at home. In this film our Health Visiting service talk all about about home safety.

Useful resources

Visit our child safety pages.

St John Ambulance have a resource to teach parents and carers how to stop a baby from choking (opens in new window)

SafeTea is a resource dedicated to ensuring safety around hot drinks (opens in new window)

ROPSA has lots of information on keeping children safe from accidents (opens in new window)

British Red Cross has some great first aid training apps (opens in new window)

Every parent should look at the Lullaby Trust's invaluable information on safe sleep for babies (opens in new window)

Be prepared should the unthinkable happen, visit St John Ambulance to learn how to do CPR on a baby under one (opens in new window)

The Child Accident Prevention Trust has lots of indespensible safety advice (opens in new window) 

Emotional wellbeing

It's vital to support your own as well as your baby's mental and emotional wellbeing. This film shows you where you can go for support should you need it. 

Useful resources

It's normal to feel emotional as you adjust to life as a parent, but if you're experiencing severe mental health difficulties or you're at risk of becoming very unwell postpartum, our Perinatal Mental Health team can support you

Family hubs provide activities for under 5s and support and information for their families. They host services from a range of professionals depending on local need and parental choice. Find your local one in Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire, Wokingham and Reading (links open in new window)

Unicef has a mini online masterclass dedicated to building your baby's mental health (opens in new window)