Month 5
Key points
- Health organisations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), recommend continuing with breastfeeding (or infant formula) as your baby’s source of food until about six months of age.
- Spending quality time interacting with your baby helps support their cognitive and social development.
- Eating a diet that includes food sources of lutein can support the levels of the antioxidant in breast milk, which supports eye health.
Five months is an exciting milestone in your baby’s development! At this age, your little one is growing stronger, more interactive and more curious about the world around them. Their personality may be starting to shine through as they engage with you through more giggles, coos and even attempts at babbling. They may be able to reach and grab objects, showing increasing hand-eye coordination. While breast milk or infant formula remains the main source of nutrition, you may be starting to think about what’s next: introducing solids.
At five months, your baby’s sleep patterns may be becoming more consistent, with longer stretches at night and more predictable naps during the day. While you’re still juggling sleepless nights, the joy of witnessing your baby’s new skills can make it all feel worthwhile.
Scroll down to learn more about your baby’s developmental milestones at five months, the importance of nutrients like lutein for eye health and tips on supporting their growing social skills.
Nutrition at Five Months Old
At five months old, their usual milk (breast, formula or mixed feeding) continues to provide all the essential fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements your baby needs, adapting to ensure they stay hydrated and receive the right nutrients.
It won’t be long before you introduce solid foods into your baby’s diet and you might notice that they are already taking an interest in what you eat – reaching out for your plate or watching you intently as you eat. You might be tempted to offer them a taste but it’s important to understand why it’s recommended not to start solid foods until around six months of age.
Feeding Your Five-Month-Old Baby
The World Health Organization, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and Australian Infant Feeding Guidelines all recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and then for breastfeeding to continue alongside family foods for two years or beyond. As this advice has changed over time, you might get conflicting suggestions from family and friends. If you are at all unsure about what’s best for your baby, check in with your healthcare professional.
Signs that show your baby is getting ready for solids include when they:
- Start to reach for your food and show interest in what’s happening around them;
- Can sit upright with support and can hold their head upright and steady;
- Open their mouth in readiness for a spoon;
- Show signs of losing the ‘poke-the-tongue-out’ reflex, which indicates their readiness to move food from the front to the back of their tongue and then swallow;
- Show signs that they are still hungry after milk feeds and are looking for more; and,
- Are more active – rolling or even beginning to crawl – which increases their energy requirements.
Let’s Talk About Lutein and Why It’s Important for Your Baby’s Eye Health
Over the course of five months, your baby’s vision changes from seeing only close-up (20–25 centimetres or about the distance of a parent’s face when nursing) to being able to distinguish shapes and colours as well as having a level of depth perception.
An important compound for eye health is lutein, an antioxidant and the major type of carotenoid present in breast milk. Lutein acts as a shield to help protect the eyes from oxidative damage. In its role to protect the eyes, lutein is used up and as such is continually needed in the diet.
Food sources of lutein
The body can’t make lutein itself, so it’s important to eat foods that contain this antioxidant. For breastfeeding mothers, food sources including dark leafy green vegetables, egg yolks, citrus fruit, avocado and broccoli can affect the amount of lutein in breast milk.
Weight and Height of Five-Month-Old Baby
It can be hard to believe that your baby is five months old and has grown so much in a matter of 20 or so weeks! At five months, your baby girl may be about 64 cm tall and weigh around 6.9 kilos; if you have a son, he may be about 65.9 cm in height and weigh in at around 7.5 kg. Remember, these are just guides, and factors such as birth weight and parents’ stature and genetics can have an impact.
Did you know…? Breast milk doesn’t decline in nutritional content the longer you feed: the composition continues to vary depending on your individual baby’s nutritional needs and fluid requirements.
Baby’s Mental & Visual Milestones at Five Months
The first year of your baby’s life is a period of enormous growth, and at just five months old they may start to understand cause and effect, which can be a lot of fun. If they drop a toy and you pick it up, you might find that this game is repeated over and over as they test what happens. When they shake a rattle and it makes a noise, or when they kick and wriggle in their cot, they can feel the mattress move… these are other ways that your baby learns that they can make an impact on something.
At this age, your baby’s eyes may be working together as they look around and track objects. It’s also interesting to note that, at this point, they aren’t yet seeing in full colour – something that is fully developed around six months of age.
You may also notice that your baby:
- starts to understand simple games like peekaboo, and object permanence (the block hidden under the cup doesn’t disappear when out of sight)
- spends more time examining objects
- may be able to pay attention to a very small object
- move their head and eyes when they notice activity, such as a ball rolling or a pet walking by
Motor Development at Five Months Old
With an increased interest in the world around them, your baby may reach for objects that appeal to them and they may kick their legs and move their arms, rocking on their tummy, trying to move towards their goal – a colourful toy, a family member or the light shining through a window, for example. At five months old, your baby may also
- Enjoy longer periods of tummy time as they get stronger in the head, neck and trunk
- Kick their legs and ‘swim’ their arms in preparation for rolling over and crawling
- Roll from their tummy to their back – or the other way around
- Grab their toes and pull them toward their mouth
As your baby gets stronger during tummy time and lifts their chest up, you might want to prop them – or hold them – into a well-supported sitting position. Your baby will appreciate the different views, plus sitting becomes an increasingly important skill as you move towards introducing solid foods at six months.
Social Development of Your Five-Month-Old
Your baby is learning to be a social being, taking an interest in their surroundings and the people around them. They pick up lots of cues from you and you may notice that, as well as enjoying simple games like peekaboo, they are:
- happy to play and interact with others – they coo and gurgle when talked to, or in response to toys
- very affectionate with and excited at seeing their parents
- babbles, imitates sounds, laughs or squeals
10 Ways to Support Your Baby’s Social Development
- Repeat sounds, smile and laugh when your baby makes sounds;
- Talk to your baby during feeding, dressing, nappy changes and bath time;
- Spend time on the floor playing with them every day;
- Dance and sing together (they don’t know or care if you can do either well);
- Introduce your baby to other children and parents;
- Place safe toys near your baby to encourage reaching and grasping;
- Show your baby bright picture books and interesting objects (remember, everything is new to them);
- Show your baby their reflection in a mirror and make silly faces and expressions;
- Read books and stories, and point out pictures; and,
- Hold your baby for cuddles when they are awake.
Don’t Forget!
It’s important to remember that every baby develops at their own rate. Regular checkups with your health nurse or GP will be able to ensure your baby is on track – but always get in touch with them sooner if you have any concerns. For extra resources, you can also head to Karitane or Tresillian online.
What’s Next?
Read on to learn about your baby at six months old, including development milestones and introducing solid foods.
We are here to support you on your journey
Making decisions around infant feeding can be challenging and we hope we can help you through this journey.
We want to make sure you are informed and supported.
Before and during breastfeeding, it is important to maintain a healthy and balanced diet and it is recommended to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of age, as it provides ideal nutrition and promotes a healthy start in life.
We understand breastfeeding is not always possible, and when necessary, infant formula is the most suitable alternative to breastfeeding. Introducing partial bottle-feeding may interfere with breastfeeding your infant and it can be hard to reverse. Other considerations include the social and financial implications of feeding infant formula. We want to make sure your baby is as safe as possible, so please refer to the preparation and storage instructions for safe use of infant formula and be aware that any unnecessary or improper use of infant formula may cause health hazards for your baby.
Your choice, our support, always. With love.
If you require further information, consult your healthcare professional or learn more about the benefits of breast milk.
