When your baby is 5–7 months old they will have a health and development check with the Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse. Find out here about things to think about before the visit.
Remember to take your baby’s My Health Book with you to the visit.
What happens at the visit?
At the 5–7 months visit, the nurse will:
- ask about breastfeeding
- measure your baby’s length, weight and head size and check their hips
- check that your baby can see and hear well
- check your baby’s teeth and gums
- check your baby’s development
- ask if your baby has been immunised
- talk to you about how you are, how you are getting on and being a parent – including breastfeeding and moving on to solid food, being safe, smoking in the house, family violence, etc.
Your baby’s development
The nurse will ask questions about your baby’s learning, development and behaviour. This may include questions about how your baby:
- makes speech sounds
- understands what you say
- uses their hands and fingers to do things
- uses their arms and legs
- gets along with others
- is learning to do things for themselves.
The nurse will also ask if you or your whānau have any concerns about your baby. If there are problems, finding them early and supporting you to deal with them can make a big difference to you and your baby.
Before the visit
Before your baby’s check, read through the 5–7 months check pages in the My Health Book. Think about how well your baby can see and hear.
Can your baby see well?
Do they:
- follow a slow-moving, bright-coloured object with their eyes?
- reach out for toys and other things?
- hold toys firmly and look closely at them?
Can your baby hear well?
Do they:
- turn towards a sound or someone speaking?
- cry when there is a sudden noise?
- like music?
- make lots of different babbling sounds?
- sometimes copy sounds you make?
Talk to your nurse or your doctor if you think your child is not seeing or hearing well.
Things to talk about at the visit
The visit is a good time to talk with the nurse about your baby and being a parent. You could talk about:
- starting your baby on solid food (at around 6 months)
- sleep – safe sleeping for your baby; sleeping patterns
- what your baby’s behaviour means (eg, crying)
- ways to play, have fun and be active with your baby
- teething and tooth-brushing
- enrolling your baby with the Community Oral Health Service
- immunisation
- knowing when your baby is sick and what to do about it
- being smokefree
- keeping your baby safe – at home and while out and about
- car seats and car safety
- your feelings about being a parent and where to get help if you need it
- whānau relationships
- returning to work
- choices for daycare, preschool and kōhanga reo, and enrolling in time.
Related websites
Early learning – Ministry of Education
Information about finding, choosing and starting out at a daycare, preschool or kōhanga reo.
