Month 3 - 6
Between three and six months, your baby becomes very much her own person. In a parent
and baby group, you'll notice the babies are developing at different rates. Your
baby may be faster in some things, slower in others. She's not more or less intelligent
than another; babies do at this stage start to show individual differences.
On the move
- At three to four months put her on a blanket on her tummy and she may try to edge
forward by pushing with her feet or pulling with her arms. Many babies can roll
from stomach to back. Some can even manage a back-to-stomach roll
- At five months with your help, she may be able to push herself up to a standing
position
- At six months she may be able to sit unsupported.
Grasping opportunities
- At four months she is reaching and grasping. Her grasp is limited as her fingers
and thumbs don't work independently yet
- At five months she can grasp a toy with one hand, then transfer it to the other.
She uses her fingers and thumb independently and can rotate her wrist to look at
the object in her grasp
- At six months she's discovering how to pick up small objects from the floor with
her fingers and thumb, using her new skills in judging distance. She can hold a
toy in each hand.
It's good to talk
Your four-month-old has discovered she can make different sounds come out of her
mouth – and she delights in experimenting with them. She'll practice a sound she
particularly likes, from a squeal to a raspberry, over and over again.
She'll experiment with changes in volume too. She'll spend a lot of time perfecting
her consonant sounds. She likes to repeat sounds - 'dada' or 'mama' rather than
'da' or 'ma'. The way you react to her babbles helps to pick up language. If you
hear her say 'Ma-ma' and come to her with a loving smile, she repeats it and gradually
associates the word with you.
Did you know?
- Babies smile more at four months than they do at any other time in their first
18 months
- As young as four months, babies know that balls thrown up in the air should come
down again, and they understand that balls bounce off surfaces rather than going
through them.
Things to do
- Let your baby try to hold a cup. Some babies enjoy this from around five months
- one hand, two hand. Give your baby a toy, first to one hand then to the other.
Soon she will learn to transfer the toy by herself.
|
