Your baby, 4 months 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and older

At this point, your baby can recognize familiar faces. He can distinguish his mom from his dad and knows who they are. Many babies have favorite toys and you may have found a book or song that your baby seems to like the best. By now, he probably likes to play with toys on a mat or blanket on the foor. Exersaucers are good choices for baby to play in. Steer clear of baby walkers. They are dangerous and should not be used.

It is important to respond quickly and calmly to your crying baby. When you respond quickly, your baby will develop a sense of security and develop trust in you. You will have to do less to soothe a distressed baby if you respond quickly. Many people are under the impression that they will spoil their baby if they respond to every whimper and whine. This is not true. You can spoil a child, but not a baby. A baby of this age can not be disciplined and is not able to understand your commands. Continue to be loving and gentle to foster a good relationship.

Your baby can most likely roll from side to side and possibly from her tummy to her back. Be careful not to leave her unattended-she may roll off and get seriously injured. Babies should be placed on their tummies to develop strength and muscles needed for sitting, crawling and walking. Encourage your baby to roll over and help her sit up with support. It is much more interesting to sit up and look at things vs. laying down and staring at the ceiling. At this age, your baby is probably grasping objects and putting them straight into his mouth. Make sure all of his toys are safe and clean.

Your baby may begin to get upset if you take a toy away or stop playing with her. She coos, babbles, smiles and laughs when you interact with her. She may be able to click her tongue and cough by now. Playing with your baby is important for development. Continue to read, sing, play and play games with your little learner. Talk to your baby in regular words-do not use baby talk because it does not sound clear to your baby and may confuse him. Praise your baby for jobs well done! Introduce your baby to new sights, smells, sounds and textures often. This is how he will learn the most about this new exciting world around him!

Around four months of age, your doctor may give the go ahead on solid foods. You will know if your baby is ready. He should sit well with support and be able to hold his head steady. If she is still pushing the food out of her mouth with her tongue, she may not be quite ready to start solids. Start with cereal and then try fruits and vegetables. When using a highchair, make sure that it is safe. Your high chair should not have any broken pieces and should be sturdy. Always use the seat belt and lock the tray on snuggly. Make sure you watch your baby closely while he is in the highchair. Do not feed your baby directly from the jar, unless you are certain he will eat all of it. Just because your baby is consuming solids does not mean she doesn't still need formula or breatmilk-she does!!

Developmental Milestones 4 Months Old

Physical

• Your baby's stomach has grown larger, so he does not need to feed as often
• Rolls over
• When laid on stomach, your baby will lift his stomach and shoulders high offf the ground
• Your baby's tongue-thrust reflex is fading, and your baby may be ready to start solid foods now
• Can reach out and grab objects-he still may miss his mark on the first try
• You will notice alot of drool-some babies start teething around this time

Intellectual

• Feedings can get difficult as your baby likes to see what is going on at mealtime
• Your baby is easily distractable
• Once the baby grasps ahold of an object, he will put it straight to his mouth
• Your baby likes a vairety of toys and objects-give her different toys with different responses
• Babies begin to understand cause and effect
• Begins to understand all basic sounds of language
• Begins to develop the ability to make vocal sounds-`ma-ma` `da-da`-although he does not connect sound to parent
• Color differences are clearer and your baby probably prefers bright primary colors
• Can laugh out loud and squeal in delight

Emotional

• Likes to be interacted with-play with your baby as often as possible
• Some babies like to play alone at this time
• May participate in back and forth imitation games-imitate your child's faces and sounds
• Your baby will respond to your voice and gestures by kicking legs or waving arms
• Baby will show you when she is no longer interested

Age Appropriate Toys

• Bright colored books
• Posters
• Activity gyms and play mats
• Musical toys
• Lighted toys
• Mirrors
• Teething rings
• Plastic toys to chew on
• Toys to grasp
• Brightly colored soft blocks
• Stuffed toys

Comments:

Comments 1-25 of about 21750 for month 4
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hannah7860 - 6.9 hours ago
@ajoke- my due date was 24th sep but went ova due aweek, had him on 30th at 9.47am :-) DRE- I agree with lily try him with a diffrent cereal or add to baby cereal some home made pureed fruit like pear apple banana etc all good. Then 3 4days l8r u could introduce 1 veg for 2days then make him taste another then maybe some mashed banana pureed fruit, then slowly builed it up to giving him twice aday, by the time he is 5.5 to 6month he should be eating 3times aday. Am also counting from date to date its beta dat way :-)

lilyxox19 - 11.7 hours ago
So I made the mistake of showing my son that his exersaucer can bounce. So now he always wants me to bounce him in it (his feet don't touch the ground yet for him to do it himself). As soon as I stop bouncing him in it, he starts crying. And he doesn't like to be softly bounced either. He wants me to bounce it so hard that he has to hold on for dear life and his head bobbles around everywhere. This kid is weird! If I don't bounce it that hard he will cry. He loves being played with so roughly! He loves it when he is on his back and we rock him side to side really fast. He will even shake his head side. Or he likes me using his feet to hit things. My dh told me to stop because he thought I was being too rough, but then Taylor started to laugh his head off so he was, um nevermind I guess. Its crazy. I see many scrapped knees in my future.

lilyxox19 - 11.8 hours ago
@dre It will take lo a few times before deciding if they like it or not. My son would spit it out every single time until I made it thick like applesauce. As for when to introduce another food, your suppose to wait 3-4 days in between food. After the 3-4 days you don't have to keep your lo on rice cereal. You can try her on oatmeal cereal or barley cereal. She does need to have a cereal in her diet but it doesn't have to be rice cereal.

shopngirl@gmail.com - 12.6 hours ago
Arsenic found in organic baby food, cereal bars http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/16/10425025-arsenic-found-in-organic-baby-food-cereal-bars

dre28 - 14 hours ago
On a whim i started my LO on rice cereal yesterday (she seems so interested in food that I decided to give it a try)...her faces were priceless---she didn't seem to enjoy it at all! ha ha. How long do i keep her on rice cereal before I move on to something else (veggies first right?) what are some good veggies to start with? and do i continue with the rice cereal with the veggies?? help! i'm so confused :)

dre28 - 14.1 hours ago
hannah--i had the same question about dates a few weeks back---i have been going by weeks all this time but now makes sense to use the date...my LO is 21 weeks tomorrow but was born on the 23rd so won't 'officially' be 5 months until next week :)

ajoke - 14.9 hours ago
hannah7860..yep sept 30 ant 728pm...my due date was 10/08 but happy to have a september birthday.

-debster- - 18.6 hours ago
Hello, ladies! My little Alice is sleeping a lot better now.. About 5hrs at once which is a big improvement. She was born on the 28th Sept so isn't far from being 5mths! Her hair is growing thicker now.. She's blond! So far, her eyes have stayed blue too. She's showing a great interest in and reaching for my food now so this week I'll try giving her some mashed veg - she's still EBF at the moment. She rolls from front to back fluidly but it takes her a great few tries to get onto her tummy! Alice is standing up whenever she can and can get on all fours but her tummy still touches the ground so she's stuck! I hope you and your little ones are healthy and well? I'll try and get on here more often - we went away for 2mths over the holidays. Take care x x

hannah7860 - 21.6 hours ago
Ajoke- is your lo a september baby aswell? B-) im also going according to month now, so I gues he be 5month on the 30th Oh there aint no 30th lol ok 29 wil do hahaha,

mzdallas06 - Wednesday, 15 Feb
Yes ladies, my babygirl stares so hard when I eat that it actually makes me feel like I'm neglecting her! Then when I'm done eating she has real tears- OMG, Its so sad LOL!

lilyxox19 - Wednesday, 15 Feb
@mzdallas I'm glad to hear that your lo is going longer than every 2 hrs. Hopefully it will continue to get better. We are hitting a few bumps in the road with our LO sleeping. He is waking up 2-3hrs after falling asleep. He will cry for 5mins then fall back to sleep then sleep all the way till 4-5am to eat. Not sure why he is waking up after a couple of hours. I hate hearing him scream but at least he falls back to sleep very quickly. @naomi That's so funny hat your LO freaks out when you eat and not share. Taylor does the same thing. Well he doesn't freak out, but he watches me eat so intently. It makes me feel like I'm teasing him. I feel bad so I've been trying to eat when he is napping.

naomifaith - Wednesday, 15 Feb
i am so happy to read that some of you are giving your babies veggies and stuff already!! i get a lot of crap for feeding Kami food (not all the time but she really likes mashed potatoes and the cheese off mac and cheese lol). nothing gives her belly problems and she freaks out if i am eating (or drinking) and don't share with her :) guess that's why she weighs 22 lbs now hahaha. i know people that still don't give their babies water because they are not 6 months yet.

mzdallas06 - Wednesday, 15 Feb
My LO is quite chubby as well. Her appt is next Friday. But she can't fit any of her 0-3 month clothes & she's in size 3 pampers! She has been on veggies since abt 3 wks ago. So far we've done squash,mixed fruit & green beans. She loves them all. Our sleeping still isn't Perfect but its getting better. She'll go from abt 9-1am then stay up till 2 then from 2-5. Like i said its not perfect but its doable. I feel AWFUL. This morning sickness is kicking my ass ALL DAY LONG. I'm not tired, I'm EXHAUSTED. Its literally all I. Can do to care for my 9 yro & LO. I cried like a baby when Whitney Houston died- like i freaking knew her or something. Im a lazy hormonal mess :(

ajoke - Wednesday, 15 Feb
hannah7860..my lil girl was born on the 30th as well=) I go by months..it's just easier

schmittsfirst - Wednesday, 15 Feb
I don't count weeks anymore either, my lo was born october 15th, and is 4 months old today! :) We have a dr appt tomorrow, not looking forward to him getting his shots. :( But i'm excited because i think we are going to start veggies this weekend. can't wait!

cpineapple2 - Wednesday, 15 Feb
I go by the day he was born. I don't even count weeks any more.

hannah7860 - Wednesday, 15 Feb
I have a question- my lo will be 20weeks on friday (which is 5month) rite? But he was born on the 30th of sep, so should It be that I should count how many month he is according to the date he was born? Or weeks? Am confused, I feel so silly asking, tho not all month has 30days

keegansmommie - Tuesday, 14 Feb
hahah my little one is getting about 3 or 4 tbs of cereal and then about 1/3 of the thing of gerber veggies. hes a porker i told the DR that i was worried that i would over feed him and asked if i should only be giving him a tsp or two at a time she said make about a TBS and see if he eats it if he doesnt make smaller amoutn but he is a pig and wanted more so we gave it to him. he also growls and freaks out when i dont feed him fast enough. its so cute.

ajoke - Tuesday, 14 Feb
Holy chunky monkey...Olivia weighed 17# yesterday..thats what bib brother weighed at 9 months!! Aiden weighed 26# More details in upcoming blog....Dr. said no need to start food yet since rolly polly is definatley getting enough from momma milk, but when we do it is okay to start with veggies but maybe add some ceral for the iron since that is lacking in breast milk.

lilyxox19 - Monday, 13 Feb
lol ok nevermind. that theory goes right out the window. guess my little guy just doesn't like to eat much at one time. But he loves eating his cereal! lol. He will attack the spoon. As I start to bring it up to his mouth he will lunge forward and half the time miss and it gets on his cheek. Also if I don't feed it to him fast enough he will a) either start trying to eat the tray or b) keep slamming his hand down on the tray--he does this almost all the time. Oh and he makes growling noises as he eats lol. I have upped how much I give him. We just started oatmeal cereal so he gets 3 tsp of oatmeal in the morning and 3 tsp of rice cereal at night. Both are then followed by a bottle.

keegansmommie - Monday, 13 Feb
OMG Lily- My LO is a HOG compared to yours. we just started Solids and so now his schedule is 6am-8oz bottle. 11am he gets cereal and a veggie and the rest of his 8oz bottle. at 4 he gets a 5 oz bottle and then at 630 he gets cereal and a veggie and then at about 1030-11pm he gets his last 8 oz bottle. hes a very good eater.

ajoke - Monday, 13 Feb
congrats naomi!!

ajoke - Monday, 13 Feb
redding2009 i have not started olivia on cereal yet either she is pudgy enough just with the boob. we go to the ped today and going to talk to her about soild and starting on veggies instead of cereal...i will let you know what i find out.

naomifaith - Sunday, 12 Feb
thanks dre! i only knew this time because i was late so i feel fine :) hoping this one will be a boy then i will be done!! now that i think about it i am wondering that the hell i got myself into lol

dre28 - Sunday, 12 Feb
welcome back and CONGRATS naomi! I know this was something you wanted to that's so exciting! hope you're feeling good this time around :)

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