Sitter

The Sitter stage is an exciting time of exploration for your baby as he discovers the many things around him from a new upright position. Sitting allows your baby to use his hands and view his surroundings from a different perspective. He’s gaining better control of his muscles and uses his growing strength to investigate everything around him. He’s also finding out what happens when he tries different things intentionally. For example he’ll raise his arms to see if you’ll pick him up. He’ll drop things on the floor to see if you’ll come and get them. He may also try to pick things up with one hand, rather than two, and hold them or put them into his mouth—so be very careful when choosing toys.

As you watch your baby grow, remember that babies develop on different time schedules, so don’t worry if your little one isn’t developing at the same time as other babies of the same stage.

Physical signs:

• Sits independently
• Picks up and holds small objects in his hand

During the Sitter Stage, your baby will begin making movements that look like he’s ready to crawl or walk, but that won’t come until later. You may see him push his chest off the floor and hold this position with his knees beneath him. He may like to “jump” by bending and straightening his legs whenever you hold him in a standing position. And your baby may rock on his stomach, kick his legs and “swim” with his arms and begin to roll over, first one way and then the other. He’ll start transferring objects from one hand to the other and also turn them from side to side and upside down—which he may do with his toys.

Cognitive skills

During this stage, your baby’s memory is improving. He can anticipate daily routines as well as familiar games that are repetitive. Your baby is also starting to understand more about himself and the world around him. Your baby can see several feet away, possibly more, which helps his brain to interpret what he’s seeing.

Social skills

As your baby is sitting up and watching the world around him, he is becoming more sociable and enjoys play with others. He recognizes other babies and will reach out to pat them. He’ll also try to start “conversations” instead of waiting for you to begin talking to him. You may hear him try to say a few words, such as say “ma” or “pa”, but he won’t attach meaning to the words just yet. He will know his name though and will respond to it.

Eating skills

Your baby may be ready to start solids around this time. Before you begin, look for the signs that your baby is developmentally ready.

Your baby may be ready to begin eating solids if he:

• can sit independently
• is able to pick up small objects in his hands

If after a couple of tries with a new food, he spits it out, don’t force it--wait a week or so and try again. Mealtimes should be pleasant for both of you!

What foods to introduce and when

Breastmilk or formula is still your baby’s main source of nutrition at this stage. When your baby starts eating solid foods, you might begin by adding a single grain cereal to his diet, such as GERBER® Single Grain Cereals. After that you can try meat/poultry, fruit, and vegetable purees, such as GERBER® 1ST FOODS® purees. Keep in mind that the order that you introduce different fruit and vegetable purees doesn’t matter. What is important is that you give only single ingredient foods first, and wait about 3 days between each food to make sure your baby doesn’t have an allergic response to the food (such as diarrhea, rash or vomiting).

Hunger and fullness cues

You’ll be less likely to under or overfeed your baby if you understand his hunger and fullness cues.

At the Sitter stage, you’ll know your baby is hungry when he:

• shows excitement when food is presented
• opens his mouth and leans toward the spoon

You’ll know your baby is full when he:

• turns his head away from the nipple or spoon,
• becomes distracted or notices his surroundings more.
• rejects a familiar and liked food

Try, try, try again!

Though you may be tempted to give up if your baby rejects a food, hang in there. Research shows that it may take about 10 tries of a new food before he actually likes it. By introducing your baby to a wide variety of foods now and especially during the first two years, you increase the chances of your baby trying and acceptance of new foods later in childhood.

Your baby’s growth

Your baby continues to grow rapidly and may gain about 1 to 1.25 pounds a month. The height and weight ranges provided in the charts below are representative of the majority of children at the age specified. Of course, healthy babies can also be outside this range. Remember that your child’s actual length and weight are not as important as the steady, appropriate rate of his growth. It is important to track your child’s length and weight over time as this is one of the key indicators of healthy growth and development. So keep plotting your child’s growth on a growth chart and discuss with your pediatrician at each visit, including if your child begins following a different curve on the chart or gaining weight or length slowly.

Typical length and weight for Sitter boys at 6 and 7 months

**indicates 10^th-90^th percentile range Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Typical length and weight for Sitter girls at 6 and 7 months

**indicates 10^th-90^th percentile range Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What you can do to help your baby’s development

As a parent, you can play an active role in every stage of your baby’s development. Here’s a recap of what your baby might be doing at this stage, plus some things you can do to support his healthy development along the way.

At this stage your baby may:

• Pat or stroke your face to express his appreciation for you
• Imitate sounds you make—especially animal sounds
• Roll in two directions (tummy to back, back to tummy)
• Communicate with laughs, squeals, smiles and frowns
• Make biting movements that help build jaw strength and prepare for future eating skills
• Pick up a toy with one hand an easily pass it to the other hand
• Interpret emotions from tone of voice
• Hold a spoon, although he’s not very good at using it
• Enjoy looking in the mirror
• Drink from a cup with two handles

Things you can do: