This is truly one of my favorite ages of the first year. The 6-9 month baby schedule is fun because it’s similar to 3-6 in terms of how many naps, so you’ve already developed a rhythm that can just be continued, which is the essence of a working routine. And your baby becomes more mobile and social- it’s a lot of fun to see them turn more and more into a little person.
There are lots of new milestones! Whenever there is a major milestone, you start seeing a new side of your baby. These months are all about starting to sit up and them showing you even more of their personality. Sitting up is a new vantage point, so they play more and start to throw and manipulate objects.
Then of course is crawling, or pre-crawling, or army crawl- however they start getting themselves across the room. My first crawled at 9 months, and my second close to 11 months. All babies have their own timelines, and all major milestones have a pretty big window that is “normal”. So don’t worry too much about the “exact” times these things should happen!
In this post, you’ll find key elements of a 6-9 month baby schedule, as well as toys and activities that are perfect for this age. Following, there is a sample schedule that will give you a “typical” structure that you can follow or modify to fit your life and personality (Free to download at the end!).
It’s important to make a routine, they have many benefits for mom and baby, but it’s also key to make a schedule that you can follow and aligns with who you are as a mom.
Key Elements of a 6-9 Month Baby Schedule
- 15-16 hours of sleep with 12 hours at night. 3 Naps- going down around 9-10am, 1-2pm, 4-5pm
- 24-32 ounces of breastmilk or formula (4-5 feedings).
- Eating solid baby food more regularly, 3 meals and 2 snacks (supplement to milk, not primary source of nutrients)
- Movement milestones- sitting up, crawling or pre-crawling (pushing back and forth, pulling body with just hands), pulls up to standing
- Bangs things together, puts objects into container, stacks objects, cause and effect
- Language- responds to simple requests, recognizes names of other family members or pets, pays attention to speech even more, babbling more- instances of first word or two could be now- but more common towards 12 months.
- Continues to become more attentive and expressive, responding to the world around.
- Teach them to wave bye, give high fives, give kisses, shake head “no” and “yes”.
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Toys for 6-9 Month Old Babies
- Stackable block towers
- Cause and effect toys- like ball roll slides
- Bath toys– sitting up in the bath means play time!
- Activity cube
- Soft blocks
- Discovery books
- Tall wooden activity cube– encourages standing
- Learning walker (AAP does not recommend walkers, but we loved it and both our boys walked on their own on time. Make sure you baby proof more, because they can get around pretty fast on the thing. 🙂 )
Activities for 6-9 Month Babies
- Talk to your baby- describe everything around them and what you are doing. Helps develop language!
- Read everyday if possible, or as often as you can
- Play with blocks and soft toys to develop hand-eye coordination
- Play peekaboo and pattycake
- Sitting up practice- help support back, surround with pillows until comfortable
- Pre-crawling classes
- Music classes
- Play dates for socialization
I’ve said this before, but we love baby classes and the excuse to get out of the house. We use Pearachute. The app helps us find everything going on in the city on that particular day, and we can drop in to music one day and art the next.
*If you are in Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington DC or San Francisco, you can try your first 4 credit month of Pearachute for free! 🙂 Just click on the link or go to: https://www.pearachutekids.com/referred?coupon_code=REF-31UMAY
Sample Baby Schedule
7- 7:30am | Wake Up- Nurse/Bottle
7:30-8:40am | Active Time. Tummy time to learn to sit up and crawl. Play peekaboo and pattycake, play with blocks to learn stacking- taking things in and out of containers.
8:40am | Start nap soothing routine- Example: Dark room, snuggling, sucking on pacifier or fingers or nursing, rocking in chair or glider, soft singing then white noise machine.
9am | Morning Nap
10:30am | Wake Up- Nurse/Bottle
10:30- 11am | Feed Solids
11- 12:40pm | Go to a music class or park or have a play date for socialization. Or listen to music at home and play. Work on sitting up and crawling.
12:40pm | Start nap soothing routine- same one every time.
1pm | Afternoon Nap
2:30-3pm | Feed Solids
3-4pm | Active Time. Same as above. Go outside at least once a day for fresh air.
4-5:30pm | Soothing and quick afternoon nap. Nursing/bottle when wake up.
5:30-6:30pm | Play in pack n play or contained area while you cook dinner.
6:30pm | Feed solids and nurse/bottle (or include the bottle/nursing for end of bedtime routine)
7pm | Start bedtime routine. Include same soothing routine for naps but add extra to signify night sleep: like a bath, calming music, lotion massage, pajamas and read stories.
7:30pm | Put down drowsy, but not completely asleep to help baby develop self-soothing practices.
*You may still be doing night feedings. Keep them calm and relaxing to help your baby ease back to sleep easily.
Remember- this is a guideline. Not every day is perfect and that’s okay. Make a routine that works with your personality, your family and life. Sign up below to hang this schedule on your fridge! Until next time for the 9-12 month schedule!
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Use this schedule to help plan your perfect routine!
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