Baby development: Month Four

This month you’ll discover just how sociable your baby is. She loves other people and will smile at anyone who makes her laugh (you’ll be leaving trails of people behind swooning at her smiles when you are out and about).

Separation anxiety hasn’t developed yet, so she’ll adore playing with grandma while you have a moment to yourself. Toys you thought she’d never like suddenly become interesting to her as she explores anything bright or colorful that catches her eye. She may even object if you take a favorite toy away – a glimpse into the future at the tantrums yet to come!

Grasping

By four months your baby may attempt to grab at a rattle or some stacking bricks. Watch out, because anything she can grasp will usually end up in her mouth – play safe and keep small items such as coins and small pieces of food well out of reach in case she chokes on them.

Head control

By four months the muscles that will help her to hold up her head are getting stronger and she can probably lift it to about 90 degrees when she’s lying on her tummy. The time she spends on her tummy is very important as it also helps strengthen the muscles that will enable her to crawl. Make sure you supervise any tummy time she does have. She may be able to raise herself up on her arms as if she’s doing mini push-ups!

Sounds

Between three and six months your baby may attempt a few cooing noises and can look around and turn when she hears a new sound. She may be able to respond to ‘no’ or changes in the tone of your voice. If you give her toys that make sounds, such as rattles with bells on or soft toys that squeak, she will enjoy listening to them. She may be scared if someone has a loud voice that she does not recognize and may even begin to repeat a few sounds (the ahh–bah–boo variety).

Vision

At four months old she will be able to track smaller objects and details are becoming more obvious to her. She is starting to understand depth and height and can recognize patterns and the difference between two pictures. She will love it if you read books to her and point out what the pictures are or the noises the animals make. Read more at baby milestones: eyesight. You can read up and post comments about baby products on the market at our Kit section. This includes reviews of the latest colorful play equipment.

Teeth

On average the first tooth will appear somewhere around seven months, but some babies get it at four months and some don’t start teething till after their first birthday. Rarely, babies are born with their tooth already in situ. If your baby is dribbling excessively, putting everything in her mouth, gnawing at her cheeks or gums and seems particularly cranky, she may be teething. You may notice that her gums are red and swollen and sometimes you can see the white ridge of her first tooth cutting through. There are plenty of first teething toys to buy, as well as soothing gels to rub on your baby’s gums to ease her discomfort. See teething for more information on how to ease your baby’s teething pain.

Standing

You may notice your baby’s eagerness to stand when she’s on your lap, so let her for a moment. If she’s not interested don’t push her to stand – she will in time, when she’s ready.

Sitting?

If your baby has reasonable neck and head control and doesn’t slump forward, you can prop her up in a sitting position using cushions for support if she topples to one side. Make sure you stay with her at all times and don’t forget she can fall sideways, backwards and to the front. Your baby will love seeing the world from a different upright angle.

Laughter

There’s never a dull moment with a four-month-old baby as she laughs and giggles at practically everything. Raspberries, funny faces, tickle games and mom and dad generally acting like clowns will have her squealing with laughter (it’s amazing the things you thought you wouldn’t do…).

Thumb sucking

You may notice that as well as most things ending up in your baby’s mouth, her thumb seems to find its way in there too. If your baby doesn’t have a pacifier, she may be more inclined to suck her thumb for comfort. There’s nothing wrong with thumb sucking and most children grow out of it before they start at kindergarten or earlier, when they discover it’s getting in the way of talking! The big advantage of thumb sucking is that your baby has an instant soother attached to her hand which goes everywhere with you, needs no sterilizing and never gets lost! ??The downside is that it may push her permanent teeth out of alignment if she doesn’t lose the habit by the time these grow through – which may lead to expensive orthodontic work.

If you have any unanswered questions, use our answers page to gain wisdom from other parents or our resident experts for all those baby-related niggles which may be bothering you. Also, have a look at our Kit section, where we list our top-rated baby gear.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

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Last Modified: 25/06/2008

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