Sleep
Sleep becomes deeper, and now it lasts 10 – 11 hours. During a day time your baby may have two or three sleeping periods: in the morning and two in the afternoon. The right time for your little baby to go to bed depends on his individual biorhythms.
You should put your baby to bed as soon as you notice first signs of tiredness. Every baby has his individual indications. But the following symptoms may refer to the majority of little children: yawning, rubbing their eyes and refusing from game. But there are babies, who become overactive, and some of them may begin to suck their thumb or turn their head left and right rhythmically. In a situation like this it is only up to you to find your baby’s sleeping code.
First Tooth
By the end of your baby’s fourth month he may begin teething. The signs of it are irritation, constant feeling of something uncomfortable, biting everything with his gums, rhinitis and diarrhea. In some cases baby’s temperature may raise up to 100, 4 – 102, 2 degrees. How long will your baby suffer from the above mentioned symptoms depends on the amount of cutting teeth, his central and peripheral nervous systems’ maturity and perfection, baby’s build and mostly on his own organism. First appear two central teeth in mandible. During the process of cutting teeth your baby’s gums become red and swollen. He would rub this area of his mouth with everything he finds, so it is better to buy a special ring filled with cold water for his irritated gums to calm them down.
Your Baby’s Achievements
Intellectual
The period of his activity lasts more than one hour during a day – time between several periods of sleep. Your little baby is able to remember something which lasts from five up to seven seconds. He smiles and produces different sounds in someone’s presence, rather then being alone. Your baby is crazy about producing new sounds and repeating his own tunes.
Social
Your little baby laughs when somebody talks to him and cries with demand, if you stop playing with him. He likes to watch at his reflection in the mirror. He would produce all kinds of sounds in order to make somebody pay attention at him and laugh aloud when he is tickled. He likes to listen to music and “dance” at it, when his mother holds him in a vertical position. Your little baby also likes to combine feeding with playing.
Sensor – Motive
Your baby can hold small subjects with his fingers for some time, and he is able to draw everything to his mouth to see how it tastes. He would look with a great surprise at the place from where something has fallen down. Babies of this age splash in their bathtubs while their parents are bathing them. He shows vivid interest towards different smells and is able to distinguish them. By this time your little one is ready to begin consuming hard food (additional feeding). He can turn from his back to his belly and vice versa without your assistance. Babies also turn their heads in all directions lying on their back and on their belly as well. Your little baby tries to make “swimming” movements and he moves in his cradle or in his bed. Babies are also able to fix their look at different distances, and he holds his head in a raised position for quite a long period of time.
Physical
During the fourth month of his life your little baby gains about 1, 5 – 1, 6 pounds and becomes approximately one inch longer.
A Piece of Advice from a Pediatrist
You must have been well acquainted with your baby’s doctor by this time, and you may ask him any question, which bothers you. Remember about keeping to strict day regime and diet, watch your baby’s reaction at any new product, you introduce into his feeding ration. You should ask your doctor’s advice about new toys, which would develop your baby’s psycho emotional sphere. You paediatrist will check if a baby has no rachitis, anemia, etc.
Your baby grows and develops, and he demands new and new skills from you. You have to understand him and be able to provide help in any kind of situation. But even if you are not a “newly - made” mother, and if you have elder children, still, you should not rely upon you previous experience, you are to watch after a baby, learn something new all the time, as every person is an individuality with his own peculiarities of development and behavior.
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