Your Baby Is 4 Months Old? This Is What You Should Know About Development

In the 4th month, your baby makes a strong growth and development spurt. It becomes chubbier, the muscles grow and the movements become more fluent. Surely you want to know exactly how your baby is developing when he or she is 3 to 4 months old? What examinations are due at the pediatrician?.

In this article you will learn everything you need to know about this topic/

How Does Your Baby Develop In The 4th Month?

In the 4th month, your baby puts on a lot of weight and becomes chubbier and stronger. Your baby will have doubled his or her birth weight 4 months after birth. Not only muscles and weight increase with each month, but also motor skills and coordination continue to develop.

Your Baby At 4 Months: Developing Muscles, Motor Skills And Coordination

By the time your baby is 4 months old, the muscles of the back, chest, and neck are relatively well developed. Your baby can hold his head up for a short while lying on his stomach, leaning on his hands and arms.

It usually raises its head curiously when it hears something or when something moves. It also likes to hold its head up in the sitting position. It does not wobble as it did in the preceding weeks but remains balanced. Holding the head up is still very strenuous for your baby.

Some babies are already able to turn from the stomach to the back and back in the 4th month. The first time, you can tell your baby how enthusiastic you are about his gymnastic exercises and encourage him to do more. For example, you can put a toy next to your baby that he can only reach if he rolls to the side.

With your help, the baby will always try to stand, but will still buckle because its muscles are still too weak. The whole sole of the baby’s foot should be in contact with the floor, not on tiptoe.

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Your baby can already grip well. Around the end of the 4th month, he or she will reach for objects held out to the side when lying on his or her back. Movements that require eye and hand coordination are getting better and better.

When your baby is 4 months old, he cannot sit yet. But you can already help your baby to train his muscles. The more freedom of movement you give him, the better baby’s muscles can develop.

Is A Baby 4 Months Old In The 4th Month?

It’s confusing with the month’s information on the baby’s age. If you google “baby 4 months” you will find many hits talking about 4-month-old babies. However, in the 4th month, a baby is 3 to 4 months old. A baby is not 4 months old until the end of the 4th month. So pay close attention to the times 4 months or 4th month!

Does Your Baby Need Toys In The 4th Month?

Your baby does not need any real toys in the 4th month. For example, a clean cloth is sufficient for play. Your baby will examine a new object thoroughly by looking at it, touching it, feeling it or putting it in its mouth.

The baby can now occupy himself alone for longer periods of time. He also likes to play with his fingers and toes. He also likes objects that rattle, clatter or make other sounds.

An easy-to-grasp baby rattle will give your baby a lot of joy. Your baby will also enjoy playing with an “activity center”. However, “real” toys are not really necessary at this stage. Make sure that your baby cannot hurt himself or herself or otherwise be in danger with everyday objects. Your baby could swallow parts that are too small.

What Could I Play With My Baby?

From three months, babies love:

  • Touch games and tickle games.
  • Finger games.
  • Nursery rhymes.
  • Baby rattles: Attached to clothing, they make rattling sounds or tones when moved.
  • Filled cloth bags: Fill rice, peas, foam and other materials into cloth bags and seal them tightly. Your baby will love to feel the different contents.
  • Hide and seek: Put a light cloth on your baby’s face and pull it away. While doing so, say “Peek-a-boo!”. You can also put your hands on your own face and then laugh and say “cuckoo” to show your face again.
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Baby At 4 Months – How Often Should I Feed My Baby?

For breastfeeding babies, six feedings are usually enough at 4 months, and for potty-trained babies, four feedings are often enough. Your baby is now easily distracted while feeding because there is so much to discover in his environment.

It could be other people, animals or noises. This can make feeding quite exhausting. It is best to feed in a quiet room where there are few distractions.

Baby 4 Months – When Can I Start Feeding Complementary Foods?

Many moms can’t wait to start feeding their baby solid foods for the first time. Don’t start feeding your baby complementary foods too early. According to current medical recommendations, mothers should wait until the end of the first 6 months before feeding complementary foods.

Breast milk and bottle feeding should be the main sources of nutrients for the first 6 months. Late introduction of complementary foods also has the positive effect that allergies are less likely to develop.

The Development Of Your Baby’s Language At 4 Months Of Age

By the time a baby is 4 months old, he or she is already babbling a lot. According to scientific findings, he already understands all the basic sounds of his mother tongue. Most 4- to 6-month-old babies can speak one-syllable words like “da”, “ma”, or “pa”.

However, they do not yet associate “ma“ and “pa” with their mother or father, but use the sounds without association. When you say a sound to your baby, he often tries to imitate it.

Conversely, you should also imitate your baby’s sounds so that your baby feels perceived. In this way, your baby will playfully learn to speak as a means of establishing contact. You can almost have a real “conversation“ with your baby.

How old is my baby normally when he can say mummy, daddy, bow-wow and? You will have to wait a few more months. For most babies, this takes until they are about 12 months old.

To learn why it’s important to talk to your baby a lot, go to https://www.practicalmommy.com/Warum-Sie-gleich-mit-Ihrem-Baby-sprechen-sollten.

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What Can Your Baby See 4 Months After Birth?

By the time a baby is 4 months old, he or she can already recognize gradations of color. Strong, vivid colors attract his or her special interest. You can encourage your baby’s visual perception by choosing bright colors for mobiles and posters and by looking at picture books with him that show simple figures in the primary colors red, yellow and blue. Your baby is now no longer squinting and showing stable eye movements.

Baby 4 Months – How Does He React To Others?

When a baby is 4 months old, he not only smiles brightly at his parents, but is usually very open and friendly to others around him. Now is a good time to introduce the baby to a childminder or other caregiver.

It is important to address the baby with a warm voice, then it will also smile at strangers. However, the baby already shows when it does not like someone so much. It turns away and or shows a negative facial expression. How old is my baby when it starts to be strange? Usually, babies are about 6 months old by then.

How Do You Recognize The 12-week Stage?

Around the 4th month, the so-called 12-week thrust starts. Your baby is now going through a strong growth spurt. If you get your baby used to fixed rituals at fixed times during this phase, you can give him a lot of security.

For example, you could play him a melody from the music box every night or sing him the same lullaby every time. Your baby will associate the ritual with “going to sleep” and will be able to adjust to it.

Your baby will now need larger amounts of milk, so you may need to breastfeed more often than before. Don’t worry, your breasts will automatically produce more milk as your baby drinks more. However, breastfeeding can be exhausting at this stage if your baby still wants more. When breastfeeding, you should change the sides of the breast more often.

When kicking, your baby’s movements are now less uncontrolled than they were a month earlier, and become more fluid. In this phase, many babies reach for objects and try to put them in their mouths. They often cannot yet estimate how far their hand is from an object and often miss.

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To allow your baby to move freely, let them kick naked as often as possible by placing them on a warm play blanket. In this way, the baby gets a better body perception and can live out its urge to move. In the cooler season, dress your baby in light clothing in which he can move freely. Of course, he should not freeze!

Baby’s voice also develops with each month. You will be amazed at what your baby “tells” you throughout the day. Often it is a more or less loud screeching or babbling. Also very and shrill sounds are practiced with pleasure.

Let your baby test his voice in peace and don’t try to “sedate” him. These are all important exercises for training the vocal cords as well as the lips and tongue muscles.

At The Latest In The 4th Month To The Fourth Screening Examination.

The early detection examination U4 is carried out between the 2nd month of life and the 4 1/2th months of life. It checks whether your baby is developing physically and mentally according to his or her age.

Don’t forget to bring your child’s vaccination record in addition to the child examination booklet (yellow booklet).

What Will Be Examined And Asked?

  • Thorough physical examination.
  • Hearing and vision.
  • Formation of the fontanelle.
  • Mobility.
  • Reactivity.
  • Can the baby hold its head when pulled up?
  • Does the baby look at people or objects?
  • Does the motor development correspond to the age of 2 to 4 months?
  • Does the baby maintain eye contact with close people?
  • How does he react when spoken to? Does he smile at familiar people?
  • Are there any problems with feeding or sleeping behavior?

If the following vaccinations have not been given by 4 months, your child should receive the first six vaccinations now. This is effective against tetanus (lockjaw), diphtheria, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (meningitis and laryngitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae) and hepatitis B.

Your child should also be vaccinated against pneumococcus for the first time. However, you should clarify the procedure with your respective pediatrician.

The best products for you and your baby.

Baby monitor

With a baby monitor, you can use your time flexibly, sleep peacefully at night and still know at all times that your baby is doing well.

Nursing pillow

A good breastfeeding pillow has several advantages, because it helps you not only to breastfeed, but also to fall asleep and is also suitable as a nest.

Diaper bags

A diaper bag offers you a lot of storage space, so that you have everything you need for your baby on the go - from the changing pad to the bottle.

Pucksack

A pucksack gives your baby the feeling of security, like in the womb, and thus supports a peaceful and restful sleep.

Bicycle trailer

Bicycle trailers can be used in combination with a baby seat shortly after birth. They are not only safer than child seats but also more comfortable.

Playpen

A playpen can be very practical in everyday life! Which model is suitable for your needs, you can read in my guide.

Baby bed

The first bed accompanies your child for years. Fortunately, there are beds that grow with your child. I have made for you on the search for the best baby beds.

Stroller

A stroller is a worthwhile purchase. But there are the most diverse models on the market. Find out which is the right one.

Radiant heater

Radiant heaters provide your child with the necessary warmth when changing diapers or after bathing.

Extra bed

Side beds are very practical and offer both mother and baby a lot of advantages, because for babies, especially in the first months of life, it is reassuring to be able to sleep next to their parents.

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