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Baby month 5 for dads: reaching, rolling and solids prep

Month 5 sits between the 4 and 6 month milestones: more reaching, more laughing, and many babies starting to roll. It is not time for solids yet, but it is time to get ready. Learn the real readiness signs, and do not let night waking rush you.

How to read this

Month 5 means the baby is between 4 and 5 months old. Everything below is a typical range, not a test: babies get there at different times. If your baby was born early, ask your health visitor or pediatrician how to count. Anything that worries you goes to your GP, health visitor or pediatrician, or NHS 111 / 911 when it is urgent.

▸What is typical for the baby this month

Development: between the 4 and 6 month checklists

There is no CDC checklist for 5 months; the next one is 6 months. By 6 months most babies know familiar people, laugh, take turns making sounds with you, reach to grab a toy they want, and roll from tummy to back. Some babies start these in month 5; others later. [CDC]

Playing is how babies learn. Encourage reaching for, pushing and pulling toys, and keep tummy time going daily. [NHS Best Start in Life]

Teething can start

Most babies start teething at around 6 months, but some start before 4 months and some after 12 months. Signs can include a sore red gum, a slightly raised temperature below 38C, one flushed cheek, more dribbling, chewing on things and being more fretful. [NHS]

If anything about your baby worries you, get medical advice: in the UK call NHS 111 or contact the GP; in the US call the pediatrician. [NHS]

Feeding: the real readiness signs

The NHS lists 3 signs that, together and from around 6 months, show a baby is ready: they can stay sitting and hold their head steady, look at food, pick it up and put it in their mouth, and swallow food rather than push it back out. [NHS]

Chewing fists, waking more at night and wanting extra milk are normal behaviours that parents often mistake for readiness. Starting solids will not make a baby more likely to sleep through the night. [NHS]

▸Your jobs this month

  1. Read the readiness signs together and agree not to start early because of a bad week of nights.
  2. Buy the kit before month 6: a high chair with a harness, soft spoons, bibs, a small bowl and an open or free-flow cup.
  3. Clear and childproof a floor space for rolling and reaching.
  4. Own one part of the bedtime routine every night: bath, change, story, lights down.
  5. If either of you is going back to work soon, write the childcare and drop-off plan now, not the week before.

▸Her recovery, your head, and the two of you

If she is going back to work, the weeks before can be heavy. Ask what she wants the first week to look like and take the logistics off her plate.

Postnatal depression signs the NHS lists include low mood, finding it hard to enjoy anything, feeling hopeless or unable to cope, feeling guilty or like a bad parent, constant worry, irritability, trouble sleeping even when there is a chance to rest, trouble concentrating, difficulty bonding with the baby, and thoughts of suicide or of harming herself or the baby. Symptoms can start any time up to a year after the birth. [NHS]

It is not only her. NHS Best Start in Life says up to 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men develop a mental health problem such as depression or anxiety in pregnancy or the first year after the birth, and the NHS says fathers and partners can also get depression after a baby. [NHS Best Start in Life · NHS]

Where to get help

UK: talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor. In England, adults can also refer themselves to NHS talking therapies. PANDAS runs support groups, a text line and a callback service, and Samaritans answer on 116 123. In an emergency call 999. [NHS · PANDAS]

US: talk to her OB or your own doctor. The Postpartum Support International HelpLine is 1-800-944-4773 (call or text; it takes a message and a trained volunteer gets back to you), and PSI runs a support group for dads. For a crisis, call or text 988, any time. In an emergency call 911. [PSI · PSI · 988]

▸Money and paperwork around now

UK: Shared Parental Leave blocks need at least 8 weeks of written notice each, and must be used in the baby's first year. If you plan a block for month 7, give notice this month. [GOV.UK]

UK: if either of you has adjusted net income over £60,000, the High Income Child Benefit Charge applies. You can still claim and opt out of payments to keep the National Insurance credits. [GOV.UK]

Get every first-year deadline as a date → · Vaccination schedule (UK and US) →

▸Common questions

My 5 month old wakes more at night. Does that mean he needs solids?

Not by itself. The NHS says waking more, chewing fists and wanting more milk are normal and often mistaken for readiness, and starting solids does not make babies sleep through. Look for the 3 readiness signs from around 6 months.

Is my baby teething at 5 months?

Possibly. The NHS says most babies start at around 6 months, but some start before 4 months. The NHS says teething can cause a slightly raised temperature below 38C. For a higher temperature, or anything that worries you, get advice from NHS 111, the GP or your pediatrician.

▸The whole first year

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Not medical advice

This is general information for expectant fathers, not clinical guidance. Anything about symptoms, pain, or bleeding goes to your midwife, doctor, or emergency service, not to an app.

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▸Sources

Checked against these pages. Where guidance differs by country, follow your own GP, health visitor or pediatrician.