4 - Four Months Baby Development

Has it already been over 16 weeks now since your baby was born? Now at about four months old, your baby begins to enjoy the stimulating interactions he shares with you and other family members. He or she begins to express and convey a wider range of emotions and feelings, and is better at projecting those emotions and feelings. Of course, at this age, your child will still resort to crying the most if he or she is unhappy about something. Crying is still the most effective tool a baby has for expressing his or her unhappiness and displeasure.

If you pay close attention to your baby's cries, you may be able to distinguish the "tone" of their cries. For example, high pitched, sharp cries may be an upset or angry cry, where as a softer, sobbing cry may be more of an expression of sadness, or wanting some attention and love, or a sign of tiredness as the baby tries to pacify and then fall asleep. Sometimes, you may also notice certain "fake" cries, where upon picking up your baby, the crying stops immediately. In cases like these, it could simply be boredom, and your baby is "crying" for some attention.

Four Months Old Baby Milestones

Below, we list some of the different developmental milestones you can expect to see in your child. The different areas of development we'll cover are physical, emotional, social, and language.

Physical Growth

• At 4 months old, an average baby may weight around 13 to 14 pounds and measure around 24 to 25 inches
• Your baby has greatly improved hand and eye coordination, and with this new development, he or she may reach for and grab on to objects
• He or she will also let go of objects, instead of simply grabbing on and holding tight
• Your baby may also resort to crying, to show their displeasure when an object is taken away from him or her
• A four months old baby will roll from side to side
• Can hold his or her head up and is able to sit with support
• Your baby may also learn to hold his or her hands together at this stage

Language & Communication

• By this time, your baby is much better at communicating with you
• He or she will be able to make different sounds, and is able to change the shape of his or her mouth to make different sounds
• At this stage, your baby may also begin to babble, as if trying to talk to you
• Your baby will also laugh out loud
• He or she is in much better control of the different crying sounds they make to express their different feelings

4 Months Social & Emotional

• Your baby greatly enjoys social interactions, and is very happy to see you
• When you play with your baby and tickle your baby, you may find that your baby begins to laugh out loud, and produces a prolonged laughter
• Your baby recognizes you and will greet you when he or she sees you
• He or she may hold their arms up in a "pick me up" gesture - signaling to you that he or she wants to be picked up
• Your baby's temperament and personality is developing, and you may begin to notice some of the different developments in his or her personalities

Five Months Baby Development >>

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