The fourth month can bring on a lot of changes and developments in your baby. Reaching 4th month is a major milestone in itself due to the many changes that take place in your little one. Here are some important 4 month old baby milestones you should know.
By 4th month, babies will double their birth weight and improved vision compared to the previous months. Babies also become better sleepers at this time though some babies may start experiencing sleep regression as a result of the milestones they are achieving.
In This Article
- Important Milestones You Can Expect From a 4 Month Old Baby
- How Can You Help Your Baby Reach Their 4 Month Milestones?
- Milestones You Can Expect at the End of 4th Month
- When Should You Consider Seeing the Doctor?
Important Milestones You Can Expect From a 4 Month Old Baby
Here are some of the major milestones your baby will achieve during this period.
1. Hearing Development
Your baby will start enjoying sounds and music. They will favor toys with sounds or music.
2. Vision Development
Babies can focus up to 3 feet and start understanding depth perception – how far something is. They also start understanding colours. It will start with bright colors like red, orange, yellow or blue and slowly progress to other colors and shades.
[Read : When Do Babies Start Seeing Colors?]
3. Development of Smell
Babies can understand smell and show interest when you eat or drink something around them.
4. Development of Taste
Their sense of taste is developing, and babies will start mouthing everything around them, to explore and understand using taste.
5. Development of Touch
Babies will start touching and exploring textures. Your baby might show a preference for certain textures.
6. Fine Motor Skill Development
Your baby’s grip gets better, leading to holding their own toes and fingers. They can hold toys and shake them with intention.
7. Gross Motor Skill Development
Your baby’s limbs and back get stronger, enabling them to roll over. Your baby might start rolling over to one side to reach for something, this month.
8. Social-Emotional Development
At this stage, babies can express emotions when happy or scared. They will coo for attention and respond to funny facial expressions.
9. Physical Development
Babies will push up with their hands and hold up their upper body for longer. They will reach out and try to grab things close by or even roll over to reach toys.
[Read : When Do Babies Start Reaching For Objects?]
10. Movement Milestone
Your baby will start attempting to roll over to one side from their back. Some babies might start doing it more regularly without any help.
11. Language Development
Babies will start cooing and babbling like baabaa, gaagaa, or maamaa.
12. Cognitive Skill Development
By this time, your baby may understand your expressions and tones, and mimic the same. Your baby understands distance and realizes they have to move to reach something further away.
How Can You Help Your Baby Reach Their 4 Month Milestones?
Here is what you can do, to help them develop on various fronts.
- Encourage them to roll over by placing interesting toys or objects around them at various distances
- Give them light and baby-safe rattles that won’t hurt them
- Read and sing to them
Milestones You Can Expect at the End of 4th Month
By the end of their 4th month, your baby will be able to
- Hold up their upper body during tummy time and roll over to one side
- Move hands and legs in sync
- Spot an object and try to reach for it
- Make noises based on their mood or needs – cry for hunger, coo for playing, etc.
When Should You Consider Seeing the Doctor?
You may need to take your baby to the doctor if
- If your baby is unable to focus on any object, or unable to see anything even close-by
- Eyes cross frequently
- Is unable to hold or lift anything small like toys
- Does not attempt to babble or rollover
Your baby is getting stronger and bigger. They are ready to explore their own abilities and may take a little more attempts than others to achieve them. Just be supportive and give them the time and see them learning everything they are supposed to.
Read Also: 5 Month Old Baby Milestones – What Are They and How to Help Your Baby
