Month four – Mr & Miss Personality
It is common find mothers comparing their babies trying to figure out whether their development, behaviours, feeding and sleeping patterns are similar. Many get anxious whenever their babies don’t respond well to their growth milestones. Although it is perfectly normal for a baby not to be at par with another of a similar age, most mothers worry that their baby is not normal.
The truth is that there is no set timetable to which your baby should adhere to when it comes to their development. Each baby is unique in their own right and meet milestones at their own pace; be it physical or motor, sensory or cognitive skills.
At month four
At four-months, observe your baby’s emerging personality keenly. They either start to show signs of independence or dependence, temperament or calmness. Sometimes they even get angry and irritable. Most of the time, your child begins to settle in by showing interest in the happenings and the environment around them. This is a good time to introduce them to colourful toys to keep them entertained.
Like most mothers, you may enjoy this phase of childhood development because; your baby’s work becomes more fun and less tedious. Cuddling, holding, talking or even singing to the baby is said to help stimulate your child’s brain development. Here are some of the basic things to look for in your child’s growth milestones at four months;
Development
Studies show that a baby’s development normally proceeds in a head to foot direction. And this transition is normally witnessed when the baby is four months. At this time, your child should be at a point where they are able to hold their head high. With time, he/she also gets to start lifting the upper body, supporting him/herself with their hands while lying on their stomach. Your baby may also;
Play with their hands or better still, reach out for toys or any items in their vicinity, creating a sense of independence.
Begin to learn cause and affect as they shake a rattle to produce certain noises. Studies also show that at this stage, your baby begins to understand the role of language. You will find them imitating you when you make certain sounds or even just say things like ‘ma-ma-ma.’ Encourage them by repeating back.
Put every object they hold straight into their mouth. Sometimes before they do this, they may look at whatever object they have a grip on keenly; possibly study it for a moment.
You may also notice a lot of dribbling because the baby has not learnt to swallow saliva.
Your baby may show a clear preference for parents. They will recognize your voice and acknowledge it, respond to your presence or facial expressions by way of kicking, waving arms, smiling, laughing or squealing.
Feeding
You will realise that feeding times become sort of complicated at this age. This may be attributed to the fact that, as your baby becomes aware and responds to their environmental factors, they tend to get so absorbed in their own world making it rather difficult for them settle down and concentrate on eating.
Sleeping
Your baby’s sleeping patterns should be established by month four. It is advisable to keep to your established bedtime routine. To achieve this,* try to encourage your baby to do it without any influences like rocking or holding them in your hands to make them sleep. You can put your infant to bed while they are still awake to help them learn to fall asleep on their own. Obviously your baby may whine or squirm when you do this, but try as much as possible to ignore him/her or provide them with bed toys that could help sooth them to sleep. Soon they will realize that they are not able to manipulate you by their attitude , and just roll back and sleep. Most of them will sleep throughout the night.
Your child also learns to roll over from back to his/her front and vice versa at this age. For this reason, ensure they are sleeping in a secure and well protected crib to avoid any accidents.
You may also want to look out for the following growth milestones in your baby;
• Ability to hold up the head at 90 degrees while lying on their stomach
• Capability to bear weight on both legs. Able to pay attention to small objects held in front of his/her face
• Potential to sit without support
• Tend to get irritable when you upset them.
• Pass objects from one hand to the other.
• Anticipate feeding when they see a bottle
To encourage your child’s development, experts recommend that you place the baby in front of the mirror or provide him with bright coloured toys to play with and hold most of the time. However, you can also try to identify what suits your baby.
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