Baby Month Four:
13, 14, 15, 16 Weeks Old
This month your baby is really learning how to communicate with you and others in his world. A welcome sound in your home will be your baby’s voice and laughter. This month he will start to try to communicate with you in many ways. He will be fascinated with things around him. Watch what you leave laying around. If your baby can reach it, it will be put in his mouth. His sleeping pattern will increase in hours of sleep at a stretch. Your baby will have his first conversations with you this month. And you will learn how to communicate in his baby language.
Eyesight
Your baby will pay attention to more items. He will focus on smaller objects and colored toys will be his attention. He will be more alert and recognize his parents and other members of the family. His smiles will be spontaneous with each recognition of a family or familiar face. He will also look at or examine parts of his own body like he has just discovered them.
Your baby’s eyes will follow objects as they move. He will continue to stare at some objects, especially brightly colored objects, as they move in a 180-degree arc. He will be more alert to familiar objects such as recognizing a bottle of formula or his mother’s breast. You will see he understands these objects are sources of nutrition for his empty tummy.
Muscular Development
Your baby’s muscles are a little more developed. He will be able to sit with support. Take pillows and prop them at his back, side and in his lap. He will enjoy seeing the world from a different angle. Be sure and stay nearby. Some babies become pretty enthusiastic with excitement and can easily knock a pillow so that it does not give your baby proper support.
Your baby will roll over in his crib or play pen. Usually the first “roll over” motion is from your baby’s stomach to his back. This month he will also be able to lift his head up to a 90 degree angle.
Voice and Laughter
This month your baby will start to experiment with more sounds. As others try to get his attention, he will squeal and laugh out loud. His laughter will be a high pitched giggle or a rumbling belly laugh and it may surprise him to hear himself. As you smile and show delight at these sounds, you will be re-enforcing his acceptance of these sounds.
Your baby will be trying new ways to connect or communicate with you and others in the family. He may be curious at all the talk he hears around him and will try to imitate it. Your babies babbling may have a singsong effect as he tries to imitate the changes in tone that he hears around him. Be prepared for lots of surprising high pitched squeals and lots of repetition. This is all part of his learning process.
To encourage your baby to “talk”, repeat back the same tones and “ahs” and “ohs” that you hear from him. Add your own facial expressions to keep his attention. This will be your baby’s first attempt at having a conversation with you. He will continue to “talk” to you for quiet some time.
Crying
While your baby is trying new ways to communicate with “ohs” and “ahs”, crying will still be his standby voice. He will still cry to communicate paid, fear, loneliness, discomfort from a wet diaper, or when he is hungry. He will not cry as much as he did last month and it may be of shorter duration. He may cry and wait to see if you are responding and then cry again if you are not.
Hands
Your baby will start to use his hands to pull the world to him. These are the first signs of crawling but coordination of that movement will take a few more months. He will look at and study his hands for several moments. And they will frequently be stuffed in his mouth. As his mouth and hand send touch messages from his own saliva and from his gums to his brain, he may appear surprised that these hands he has been observing are really a part of him. He will learn to interact between his hands. Having one hand stuffed in him mouth and use the other hand to grab it and remove it from his mouth. He will also be able to grasp a rattle and hold onto it for a short while.
Smiles and Attention
Your baby will be smiling a lot these days. And he will do lots of things to get your attention. While he’s in his bed or play pen, he may fret a little and then wait to see if you are coming to give him attention. He may also fake a cough. He knows that all kinds of sounds from him bring you running. This is his way of attempting to socialize with members of his family. You will soon know from the sound, whether it is something you need to attend to or your baby just wants some attention.
Your baby will also learn how to let you know that he is not in the mood for your attention. His eyes will seem to glaze over as he no longer focuses on your face. He may turn his head away and not look at you. Or he may bring his arm up to cover his eyes or face. He may cry out in anger or frustration. This is your baby’s first attempt at real protest rather than crying because he was in need of something. It is just another stage in his development.
Toys
Brightly colored toys with soft textures will keep your baby’s attention for longer period of time. Squeaky toys can momentarily scare him until he gets used to the noise. He will become delighted with any toy that makes a squeaky noise. Toys that have handles, loops, and knobs give a better way for your baby to grip the toy and easily hold on. Stay away from toys that are one solid piece with no place to grip. Do not allow toys that have small parts or are small enough for your baby to get into his mouth. Crib gyms are great at this age. He can lie under them and bat at them or kick at all the brightly colored objects that are within his reach. Check the package labels for what toys are age appropriate for your baby. Also be sure to tear off all of the package labels before you attach them to your baby’s crib or play pen.
Sleep
Your baby’s sleep will be more on schedule. His increased activity with the toys and pulling himself along will use up some of that energy. He may be able to sleep the whole night through or at least for nine solid hours before waking up. Daytime sleep will be morning and afternoon naps of two to three hours so you will still have some time to rest yourself.
During the night, your baby may make little noises or even awaken for a brief period. If he is not crying or fussy, leave him alone and he will probably drift off back to sleep. This is something you want him to learn now. If he does, he will have this as an established pattern and be able to drift off back to sleep when he is a little older. If he is a little fussy and it is not his normal feeding time, keep the room light low, and check to make sure he does not need his diaper changed. If not, try talking softly to him, lightly massage his back, and he will probably drift off back to sleep. If you turn on the lights, talk and giggle at him and make this a playtime, your baby will not go back to sleep again. Your baby may decide this is the best time to get Mom’s full attention and you will have established this as a nightly routine.
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