Another month already passed? Yep, time really flies! So savor all those little things (even sleepless nights!), they won’t last forever. Your little baby is changing fast and this month is no exception – find out what can you expect in the fourth month of baby’s life
Wonders of the Wonder week
Remember Wonder weeks? Those quite challenging periods in which the baby is gaining new skills and in that process making everyone else miserable? We wrote about it in the article What to expect from the newborn in the Second month.
In short, there is (more or less) predictable timetable in the baby’s development – skills are being acquired around a certain age in weeks. Those jumps in development occur quite suddenly and are characterized by three C’s: clinginess, crankiness, and crying. Who could forget! Well, good news – it’s that time again.
The first thing we noticed is that our little blabbermouth got strangely quiet. She observed her surroundings with little to no vocalization. Then, she started to fight sleeping. No amount of rocking, carrying or even nursing – all working tactics before, managed to get her to sleep. But in a moment of desperation, we put her in the stroller. Result – deep sleep in less than five minutes. We feared it’s only a temporary hack – but it was consistently sleep-inducing. So, as you can imagine, this month we walked a lot!
Sleep regression
So this was the dreaded 4 month (week 19) sleep regression everyone was talking about. Time when the baby is changing her sleeping patterns to more of an adult version – cycling between light and deep sleep several times during the sleep. Wonder week is little misleading here, often these changes start around 15 weeks and last for more than a month! Even if your baby is already sleeping through the night (lucky you!), prepare for some changes. It could be harder to put her to sleep and she could be waking more frequently.
One connected term is sleep associations. Baby is connecting certain activities like nursing, rocking or moving with sleeping and it can be hard for her to fall asleep without them. Sleep experts tell us to put the baby to sleep drowsy, but awake, so she can learn to put herself to sleep. Well, good luck with that! The baby probably won’t like it, so if you are not prepared to let her cry it out (don’t!), you will have to soothe her in any way you can. Don’t worry, the baby will learn to self-soothe when she is ready, no matter what you do. That’s growing up!
Level up!
Week after we noticed these changes in sleep and vocalization, our little girl gained an awesome new skill! She learned how to roll from back to front! Usually, it’s the other way around first (from front to back), but we won’t complain. Now there is no avoiding tummy time! Funny thing – she wants to be on her tummy all the time now. I guess the ability to make a choice matters.
After she demonstrated her newfound ability to roll, she started to vocalize again. And not just the good old sounds, she learned some new consonants. Later we read that children are often quieter when learning a new motoric skill. So don’t worry if that’s the case. Another new skill this month is grasping objects with both hands. Oculomotor coordination is getting better and your baby will be much more interested in grabbing objects (and hair!) and putting them into her mouth (of course).
Interest in listening stories – library visit
One thing that became more noticable is our little pumpkin focus more and more on the sound of her parent’s voice. We talked about it before, in a third month with a newborn but it became even more prominent. Singing to her can keep her occupied for a loong time, and even crankiness can be beaten with her favorite song.
And oh boy, let me tell you a great tip for diaper changing. You probably noticed how that can be a tough job full of wiggling and protesting. What works like a charm every time is farting with your mouth. It’s an instant distraction and while doing it, you can be sure you’ll be able to change clothes without any rebellious acts. And it’s a winner for going from crying to smiling in just a second! The only problem is, it’s short term. As soon as you stop, she goes to her crying song instantly. But for some tough moments… priceless.
So to celebrate that new gift of the long listening attention span, mother and daughter had their first field trip to the Library. And they got some books because, let’s be honest, making up the stories is not an easy task.
And reading those books was really fascinating at some times: She was so focused and calm like she really understood what we read to her. You can say, she was at the edge of her seat! But also, don’t expect that kind of calmness every time. I guess she doesn’t like every story the same…
Vaccination shots
When baby is four month old, it’s again time for the vaccination. It’s the second dose against common infectious diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), and hepatitis B. Possible side effects include irritability, inconsolable crying, vomiting, diarrhea and fever.
Although last time, our girl didn’t have any side-effects, this time she got a slight fever. Even though we expected that it got us quite worried. It was a scary experience, but at least now we can say we survived her first fever.
And that would be some of the most interesting happenings in the fourth month with the baby. Some things became easier (baby colics are gone forever, less frequent diaper changing). And some things got a bit harder (that lack of sleeping can really make you go nuts)! But all in all, there are more joys and laughs, both from you and your baby.
By the time of writing this article, we are already halfway in month 5. So join us soon for the next part in “parents journey”. A lot of stuff is happening right now and you don’t want to miss it.
Until then, Happy parenting!
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