What should a baby be able to do at 4 months?

What should a baby be able to do at 4 months? Already quite a lot. The fourth month is the time for a variety of training of the skills that he has mastered during the previous three months. The back of the baby at 4 months is still quite weak, but the child is hard pulling up on the arms to sit. What other skills does a child have at 4 months?

What can a 4-month baby?

The child is actively moving, he moves his legs and arms with all his strength, he really likes it when it is taken under the handles and raised.

A child at 4 months is not sleeping much as before - his daytime sleep is reduced to three times. He already knows how to "walk" up to two hours in a row, does not fall asleep immediately after feeding, as before. Emotions of a baby at 4 months are already quite meaningful, and not reflexive, as before. Crying or smiling, children at 4 months express their experiences, their emotions, and their reaction. They need to be closely monitored to understand what the child wants.

At 4 months, the baby's brain develops very rapidly, so he shows an increased interest in everything that surrounds him. The digestive system, nervous and respiratory now also develop very quickly.

The fourth month of a child's life: growth

Growth of the child is stable - on average about 2-3 cm per month. If you think that your child is eating poorly and just growing poorly, contact your pediatrician and gastroenterologist for advice.

Motor skills of a child at 4 months

Your child is becoming more agile. His hands now work faster to grab a toy or shake a rattle. The baby’s pens will grab everything within his reach, including kitten, mother’s hair, any colorful or shiny object hanging in front of her eyes. Therefore, it is better for mothers not to wear earrings or beads, if she does not want them to be grasped by the baby's tenacious handle.

All that your child is able to grab, he pulls into his mouth - tasting is one of the ways to explore the world. It is very important not to leave small objects lying around, because your child can choke on them.

At 4 months, the baby's head no longer staggers. Four months is a time when a child more or less confidently holds his head, even sitting, and can hold his head and chest in an upright position lying on his stomach. Some children at 4 months can roll from belly to back.

The fourth month of a child's life: sleep

By the fourth month, you and your baby can enjoy a full night of sleep. At this age, children can already sleep at night for seven or eight hours. If you add more hours of daytime sleep, then you and your child should sleep a total of 14 to 16 hours a day.

Children 4 Months: Sight

During the first three months of life, babies are not yet fully able to distinguish color contrasts, which is why your newborn prefers bright colors and black and white objects. At 4 months, your child’s vision sharpens until around 20/40. Children at this age may have more subtle color contrasts, such as the red button on the red shirt. They can also see the whole room, although they still prefer to look at people in close-up - at a distance of 25-30 cm.

The eyes of the child should move smoothly and follow objects and people throughout the room. If you notice a child’s squint or any other vision problems, do not forget to talk to your pediatrician about this.

You may also notice that your child's eyes are starting to change color. Eye color can go through a number of changes before settling on the final version at the age of about six months.

The fourth month of a child's life: food

Some pediatricians do not recommend feeding the baby with solid food for up to six months. But depending on the intensity of the height and weight of your child - big children can not eat only milk or formula. Your doctor may recommend feeding this child before six months. Before that, make sure your child has good neck muscles and can sit upright with support.

The first food of the child should be enriched with iron - for this good rice chop or buckwheat. They are used with formula milk. Do not overfeed the child with additional food until he gets used to it, otherwise you may disrupt the gastrointestinal tract. Then see how your baby reacts to spoon feeding. Children at this age can still have a strong sucking reflex. If you put a spoonful of cereal in your child's mouth and he pushes it back, you may have to wait a week or two before trying again to give him solid food.

Baby at 4 months: sounds

A child at 4 months can constantly say something. That is, to roar, to try to pronounce letters and syllables, most often "o" and "a" or consonants "m", "b" and "p". To stimulate your baby’s speech skills, talk to him as much as possible. Tell a child fairy tales, poems, sing songs to him and be sure to listen to him.

You can show your child large pictures, show toys and talk with him for a walk about what you see.

The fourth month of a child's life: communication with parents

At 4 months, the child already understands that others react to what he is doing. Parents run to the child when he screams - he understands this. When the child throws the toy, the parents lift it and put it back in the stroller or playpen. Many children enjoy this “game” and throw the toy over and over and over again, just to see how their parents pick up this bright object.

Children at this age learn to be effective communicators. They express their thoughts through cooing, pronunciation of vowels, such as “oh” and “oh”, scream and laugh. You may notice that your child can use facial expressions to express a wide range of emotions - from a radiant happy smile to surprise with an open mouth. Your 4-month-old baby also starts learning to read your emotions - your voice and facial expressions.

See also:

• What should be able to child in 1 month
• What should a baby be able to do at 3 months?
• What should a baby be able to do at 2 months?

[1],

What can a child in 4 months?

• Reacts to the appearance of a mother or a person close to him (recognize him)
• Distinguishes the voices of people close to him
• Begins to pronounce the first syllables
• Grabs a toy that lies or hangs
• Responds to own name
• Raises the head and shoulders when lying on the back
• He reacts differently to toys that he loves and those he does not like
• While feeding, can play with the breast or bottle, hold it with the handle

A baby at 4 months is a whole world with its own unique emotions and reactions. Take care of him, he is very fragile.