First year development timeline: month 4

It’s the fourth month of your baby’s lifeand she is developing and growing just as much as she was in the previous three months. So what exactly can you expect this month?

Aren’t you loving those cute baby toes?
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Sensory development: Your baby’s senses are definitely improving. When you enter a room your baby is going to know it is you, she knows not only what you look like, but also how you smell and sound. More importantly, your baby is getting curious so she will be using all of her senses to explore her world, especially her taste and touch senses. For this reason, you need to be very careful. Keep all sharp objects and choking hazards far out your baby’s reach.

Motor skills: Your baby’s coordination is getting even better as all of her muscles and joints are getting stronger. Keep playing those games with her.

Mobility: Your baby’s rolling skills are probably improving, some babies may even be able to completely roll over. These rolls can be a bit scary for some babies so encourage her by comforting her and cheering her on when she does one.

Cognitive development: Your baby’s brain is still rapidly developing and this means your baby is responding to almost every stimuli in her environment, so she’s getting active. Don’t forget to speak to your baby, several studies have found this will increase her IQ, as well her language development, which is important for your baby’s communication skills too.

Communication skills:Your baby is probably rocking her gorgeous smile for everyone, it is likely her favourite way of greeting people. Though some babies are shy, but that’s a personality trait.

You should still be breastfeeding this month
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Sleep patterns: Your baby’s sleep and wake cycles are steadily getting longer making it easier for you to sleep. However, we doubt you can sleep through the whole night yet.

Dietary developments: You should still be feeding your baby with breastmilk or formula, which means the consistency, colour and frequency of her bowel movements should be the same as they were during her first month.

Guess what? Your baby will probably laugh for the first time this month. Chances are it won’t be the result of one of dad’s corny jokes!

Month 4 Tip: Can you speak more than one language? Expose your baby to all of the languages you can speak, it will help her to become multilingual from an early age.