Here comes the fourth month since your labour and it’s time to welcome the four-month-old developmental milestones. You will no longer find yourself to be as overwhelmed as the previous months where you can enjoy more fun time with your baby.
Whether you are a working mum who is starting to look for a babysitter or a stay-at-home mum, be sure to congratulate yourself on this motherhood journey first. You are the mum your baby needs.
Read on to find out more on how your four-month-old is learning and changing at this stage.
Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones
4-Month-Old Sleep
Similarly in his third month, your four-month-old baby is going to sleep around 15 hours per day. During daytime, he would sleep around 5 hours with three naps in between.
During nighttime, your baby would sleep for 10 hours. You might notice that your baby would experience sleep regression whereby he is waking up more frequently at night and he is refusing to sleep or to take naps.
This happens as he experiences growth spurt. You can adopt some mother-approved tips to get your baby sleeping through the night like continue to lie him down during his sleep and nap time to sustain his sleep routine.
4-Month-Old Feeding
Since you have been feeding for the past three months, you would now be able to identify when your baby is hungry. So, here’s how much a four-month-old baby should eat.
- If you are feeding your baby with formula, he should have four ounces for every four to six hours.
- If you are breastfeeding your baby, he should be breastfed for every three to four hours.
If you wonder whether you can start feeding your four-month-old baby with some solid food, the answer is a BIG YES.
With this in mind, here are some guidelines and suggestions that you can refer to:
When it comes to feeding your baby solid food, different babies are ready at different period. Some may be ready in their fourth month while some may only be ready when they are in their eighth month.
Additionally, you should never feed your baby with honey. Due to the concern over food allergies and choking hazards, a baby can only have honey until they are over one year old.
Key Milestones In Growth
By the fourth month, your baby is gaining double the weight from birth. Here’s the average weight and height that you can expect from your four-month-old baby.
- Weight: Around 6.44 kg for a 4-month-old baby girl and 6.99 kg for a 4-month-old baby boy
- Length: Around 61.98 cm for a 4-month-old baby girl and 64 cm for a 4-month-old baby boy
Key Milestones In Skill Development and Senses
Key Milestones in Movement
- can roll over from his stomach to his back
- brings his hands to his mouth
- reaches for toys with one hand
- can sit with support
- holds his head steadily without any support
- can kick and push with his feet
- can push up to elbows when lying on his stomach
- likes to play with others and may cry when the play time stops
Looking into your baby’s ability to roll over, your four-month-old baby is now having adequate upper body strength and muscle. He can use his arms to propel himself up and over from on-tummy position to her back.
So, is it possible for you to identify whether your baby is ready to start rolling over?
Here are some signs you can start to look out for so that you will be able to get ready with your camera to capture your baby rolling over:
Key Milestones in Five Senses
- Feels objects with his mouth.
- Can listen and imitate your words and facial expressions.
- Starts to giggle and laugh.
- Can pick out more subtle colour contrasts.
- Can track moving objects with his eyes by following them side to side.
- Can look at things in a distance.
In his fourth month, your baby is growing more social. You would notice that he would love to babble, coo, play and mimic the sounds he hears. With this, here are some recommendations that you can follow to encourage more baby talk:
During the baby talk session, you might be amused as you are actually talking to yourself. But it is very essential as you are modeling to your baby on how a conversation goes. More importantly, you can focus on getting your baby to listen more at this stage so that he would develop good listening skills.
Play Time With Your Four-Month-Old
As your little one is moving more purposefully, it is the perfect time to get him to reach for objects far from him. You can prepare baby playmats with hanging toys or mobiles to reach for. Alternatively, you can also get a bouncy seat with hanging toys where they can interact with.
If the situation allows, you can go for walks with your baby in a stroller or a carrier. Make sure your baby is facing out so that he can look at the wonder of his surroundings.
Additionally, you can have your baby look at himself in a mirror. Not only is it fun and fascinating for your baby, it actually helps to develop your baby’s healthy development and learning. This is especially evident in his visual tracking and self awareness.
Thus, let’s try out playing with your baby through a mirror via the following steps:
More To Expect From the Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones
Get ready to burn some calories with your four-month old as he is going to move and play all day long! Just get down on the floor and do some ‘workout’ with your little one.
As your baby shows you his growth and new abilities, don’t forget to expect more fun instead of feeling exhausted or burdened.
Free yourself from any guilt and pressure and shower your four-month-old baby with love and reassurance as per their developmental milestones.
With this, your little one will be able to grow and thrive in no time.
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