How to play with your baby, 4 months old

Where has the time gone?! It seems like just a few weeks ago your baby was still in newborn clothes, and suddenly you are finding yourself at the four-month mark! It’s a fun whirlwind for sure, and month four comes with even more exciting milestones. Get ready for your little one to blossom into a social butterfly!

Typically, month four marks the end of the early infant stage and the beginning of a new stage filled with more complex motor and social skills. At this point, they’ve mastered the basics of using the senses, and they’re on to bigger and better things. [ Pitt School of Education ] 

Here’s what you can look forward to during month four [ CDC ]:

·     Mimicking facial expressions

·     Responding to situations (i.e. looking surprised, scared, happy, amused)

·     Laughing & smiling – a lot!

·     Babbling

·     Picking favorites (usually prefer family members over acquaintances)

·     Reaching for toys

·     Sitting with support

·     Pushing up during tummy time

·     Holding head up or using controlled neck movement

At the end of month four, your baby might be: 

·     Responding to her name

·     Rolling one direction (usually tummy to back)

·     Scooting on tummy/trying to crawl/rocking

·     Showing curiosity

·     Bearing weight on both legs with support

* Note : Skills and abilities vary quite a bit this month. Some even vary by a couple months, such as pushing up, sitting, and rolling over. If your baby is not quite to an activity or skill yet, don’t fret! Give him some time.

With better memory and understanding of cause and effect, your little one is better at letting you know how he feels by using different cries and responding different ways – especially to affection. By this point, he’s probably gives a pretty convincing show when he wants to be held. You’re both getting into a solid groove, and you understand each other well, which makes playtime even more fun!

As you gear up for the big crawling and sitting milestones, there are a lot of fun activities you can incorporate into your baby’s awake time to help them gain confidence and strength. Let’s take a look: 

1.    Get Ready to Roll

If your baby is having some difficulty rolling from tummy to back or back to tummy, don’t worry, they aren’t behind. But, there are some fun activities you can do to help them get used to the feel of it and encourage them to keep trying.

Tummy to back – If your baby is able to push up during tummy time, she’s probably ready to roll. In this activity, take advantage of her curiosity by using a new toy that makes sound or lights up. As she pushes up on her arms, place the toy right above her head. As she turns to look up, the movement will naturally cause her to roll over.

Back to tummy – Place your baby on an activity mat or blanket on his back. Very carefully and slowly lift one side of the mat until your baby is on his side with the mat still supporting his back. From there, hold the mat still and let your baby figure out how to roll onto his stomach. Watch this demonstration by  Tiny Love . You can also help your baby by lifting one arm straight up so it is out of the way for your baby to roll.

2.    Baby Sit Ups

Your little one is getting more curious about the world around him, and he’s probably eager to start sitting up on his own. To help him master the sitting milestone, practice baby sit ups each time you change his diaper. 

How to Do a Baby Sit Up: Hold your baby’s hands or forearms, and gently begin to pull up. Wait until he engages his neck muscles and core so that he’s not lagging behind. Help him gently pull up to a seated position. Do not try if he is not ready to engage his muscles to pull upright.

3.    360 Play

If your little one is already strong enough to sit with support, put her in a “ring position” with her knees out in a butterfly and her feet almost touching. Rest her hands on the floor so she can push up, and position a  Boppy pillow around her. Lay her toys out around her within arm’s reach so she can explore and work on her core strength.

4.    Bubbles

Now that your baby can track objects with his eyes, continue strengthening his neck muscles by propping his chest up on a pillow for tummy time and blowing bubbles down in his direction. The bubbles with captivate his attention and motivate him to pull up more and look around. He’ll also have fun with the cause and effect of touching a bubble and watching it pop.

5.    Magic Trick

Let your baby explore textures and colors by tying colored scarves together into a long line. Tuck them all inside a tissue box, leaving one scarf hanging out. With your baby on your lap or chest propped up on a pillow for tummy time, encourage her to start pulling the scarf. She’ll be amazed to watch the colors continue to flow out the more she pulls. 

6.    Music Time

Your baby will start engaging with you more now as you sing the classics like “Old McDonald,” “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “Wheels on the Bus,” and more. The more dramatic your motions, the more giggles you’ll get. Put your baby on your lap, hold his hands, and help him do the motions, too! 

7.    Sock Puppets

The simpler the better. As you’re doing laundry, put some baby socks on your baby’s hands and some bigger socks on yours. Make them talk to each other using funny voices. Your baby might even babble along with you!