Regimen of a 4 month old breastfed baby

A 4-month-old baby's worldview and needs are already changing significantly. Accordingly, the regime changes. The basis of nutrition is still breastfeeding. But the diet already includes a wide variety of fruit juices. For the first time vegetable juices are introduced.

At 4 months of age, the child is already lying well on his tummy, holding his head, leaning on his elbows and forearms. He actively cognizes the world, rejoices at the appearance of loved ones, smiles and begins to laugh. Laughter becomes louder, especially when the baby sees mom or dad, when they play with him. Well oriented in the external environment: reacts to bright colors, finds the source of sound with his eyes, turns his head in his direction. Separate sounds and babbling appear in speech. Can well grasp, feel small toys. When feeding supports the mother's breast with his hands (so that it was convenient for him to eat). The range of motor activity is enriched, sensory experience becomes broader.

The child needs gymnastics (active, passive), physical therapy, massage, walks in the fresh air, socialization. Many at this time begin to practice infant swimming, fitovanna. But it is still better to start water procedures from 6 months, since the microflora completely finishes its formation only by 6 months of life.

Work with the child should begin. It should cover developmental areas such as:

1. Cognitive development (the child should be shown new objects, phenomena, told about what is happening in the world around him/her, go for walks to new places, enrich the child's experience in every possible way. This includes looking at pictures, watching programs).
2. Speech development (talking with parents, stories, listening to audio stories, stories).
3. Art and aesthetic development (looking at pictures, transfers, looking at things, constructions, exhibitions).
4. Physical development (active and passive movements, physical therapy, massage, infant swimming, reflex steps with gliding).
5. Reading fiction (reading various children's books, illustrated materials. Children at this time like various fold-out books, panoramas, decorations, books with eyes. Also children like reading bedtime books - lullabies, riddles, stories with imitation, rhymes and lullabies).
6. Constructive-model activity (looking at pictures, collecting cubes, pyramids, coloring coloring books with mom, stickers, finger exercises with sentences).
7. Interaction with adults (walks, socializing, spending free time together. It is important to sit the child at the dinner table during lunch, celebrations. He should feel himself a full member of the family).

At the age of 4 months, the baby begins to develop grasping. At first he grasps reflexively, unconsciously. But gradually his movements become more conscious, controlled. At first, the child inadvertently touches the toy, after which he gropes toys. Sweat, he begins to grab objects consciously. Gradually such grasps become more coordinated and purposeful. Sounding and brightly colored toys are interesting. If there are no such attempts to grab a toy, it can be easily stimulated by putting it in the hand.

Grasping is an important stage of further motor and sensorimotor development, and it should be taught to the child in time. Usually after a child has learned to grasp objects, he/she begins to learn to crawl and stand up. These are interrelated stages. At about 4-4.5 months, the baby should already lean well on outstretched legs. The reflex of support should be triggered. So, if the baby under the legs to put any support, or hands, he will push away. When this reflex appears, you can briefly put the child on his feet, while holding under the arms. It is important not to build the child. But to give him the opportunity to feel the support, to stand up. Also at this time, the child is already making attempts to turn over from the stomach to the back. As a rule, they are initially unsuccessful, but by the end of 4 months, the child is already successfully turning over. You can help him by taking his hand and slowly turning him over.

Daily schedule

The child wakes up in the morning as usual, stretches, communicates with parents. You can leave a favorite toy nearby for the night, then in the morning the baby, waking up, will play with it for a while. If you turn on the music, the baby will dance. After that we move on to the morning procedures: changing diapers, wiping with wipes, cleaning ears, nose, eyes. In the morning is a light massage, gymnastics. Then feeding, after which time is allotted for independent games, contemplation of the child.

After lunch there should be a walk, then you can do gymnastics (physical therapy) with your child. Massage is done. Then the child should sleep. In the evening with the child should play, socialize. It is also necessary to include classes aimed at the development of the child. Their duration should not exceed 15 minutes, so as not to overwork the child. In this case, 15 minutes before the lesson should not be any contact with the one who conducts the lesson. And 15 minutes after the lesson there should be no contact with this person. The child should comprehend the information, be by himself. In the evening it is also recommended to spend time together and sleep (not later than 22-23 hours).

Bait

From 4 months, another complementary food is introduced - vegetable juices. It is not recommended to buy juices, you need to prepare them yourself. The first juice given is tomato juice. Tomato is grated on a grater, and then squeeze out the juice. It is more convenient to give from a dropper or syringe. At the first reception you can give 1-2 ml of juice, after which the amount gradually increases. In the 4th month of life, the child should try as many vegetable juices as possible.

Ration menu

The main food is breast milk. It is also necessary to give a small amount of fruit juices daily. At 4 months vegetable juices are introduced. During the entire 4th month, the child should receive a wide variety of vegetable juices. It is not necessary to force the child to drink the juice that he does not like. He should try everything, but drink only what he likes. Thus, by 5 months the main base of juices, the use of which the child prefers. These are the ones that should form the basis of the diet. The child's menu should include the following juices: tomato juice, cucumber juice, pepper juice, and others that can be squeezed and given fresh.

Chair

The baby's stools are slightly different from those in the first 3 months of life. It should be regular, daily. Usually a child goes to the toilet 3-4 times a day. The color is yellow, mashed. Depending on the complementary food that the child receives, the color can vary within different shades of yellow. The odor is sour, milky.

Sleep

A child still needs a lot of sleep. In sleep, the child grows, processes the information received during the day. New perceptions and emotions are formed. On average, a child should sleep 16-18 hours a day. Especially important is the night sleep. It is better to sleep in the dark, because the darkness contributes to the normalization of the function of the epiphysis (as well as its full formation and maturation). From this depends on the entire hormonal background, the immune status of the child, its endurance, resistance to infections, the intensity of growth and development. Sleep requires a comfortable bed, ventilated room (fresh air), own bedding. In summer, the child can sleep outside, in the shade.