Physical Development

Have you got a flopper, a creeper, or a roller? By now, many babies are getting into precrawling mode. Your little one's first inefficient wiggles may be evolving into acrobatic rolls that carry her across the room with surprising speed. Or she may be crouching on hands and knees, then flopping forward with her limbs flying in every direction (and a priceless look of surprise on her face). She might even be creeping, pushing with her feet and steering with her arms but keeping her tummy on the ground.

Whether she flops or creeps, she may start out going backward when she means to move forward. The muscles that enable backward movement develop sooner than those that push her forward, though the resulting backward movement tends to be slower. She'll soon figure out how to head forward, though, and start building up her speed. She may even progress to crawling on hands and knees at as early as 6 months, although 7 to 9 months is more typical.

Social Development

Around this time, your little one may develop a fascination with the game of peekaboo. The simplest variation calls for you to cover your face, ask, "Where's Mommy?" and then reveal yourself. But there are others: Try covering toys and letting her uncover them, or put a cloth diaper over her eyes and call, "Where's baby?" She'll quickly learn to pull the diaper off her face, chortling at your amazed response. She may even start putting diapers or towels on her own head, then coughing to get your attention so you'll start looking for her.

Although it sounds simple, the ability to grasp the concept of peekaboo signals several important developments. First, your baby has developed short-term memory and is able to recall the image of people she loves. Second, she is secure enough to try a short separation, and will anticipate the joy of reuniting with you. Finally, her sense of humor is developing--she's played a trick on you, and she finds your surprise highly amusing. Laugh along with her, and repeat the game as often as she likes. As one experienced mom said, "To a 6-month-old, repetition is the soul of wit."

Intellectual Development

In addition to making your baby laugh, repetition is one of the key building blocks of early learning. By practicing simple movements again and again, she'll gain new skills and build an image of herself as a capable and autonomous person. She'll also learn to associate visual perception with physical objects, learning about size, shape, weight, texture, and much more through repeated explorations with hands, feet, mouth, and body. Encourage these experiments even when they drive you crazy (for instance, when she bangs her toy on the floor for the thousandth time), and you'll be rewarded with a confident, competent child.

Note: The information above offers general guidelines, but all babies develop differently, and few hit their milestones precisely when the conventional wisdom says they should. If your child was born prematurely, you may want to use your due date as a baseline for following baby's development.