The development of a 4 month baby, what can your little one do?

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4 Month Old Baby Development

How should a 4 months or 16 weeks baby develop?

According to the Denver II child development screening test, a baby at 16 weeks or 4 months of development has generally achieved the following:

• Move the hands and feet simultaneously and continuously.
• Raising his own head up to 90 degrees.
• The baby sits alone, although he still needs support.
• Put your weight on your feet.
• Lie down and support your weight with your chest.
• Shows response when hearing a bell or chime sound.
• Say "ooh" and "aah".
• Laughing and squealing loudly.
• Putting his hands together.
• Recognizing his own hands and holding toys.
• Following or looking at anything in any direction, about 180 degrees.
• Look and see the faces of the people around him.
• Smile to yourself when invited to joke.

Gross motor skills

After successfully moving both hands and feet together, and smoothly raising their own head, there are other things your baby can do at 16 weeks of development too.

At the development of a baby aged 4 months or 16 weeks, the baby is able to sit on his own, and support his body weight with his feet. Interestingly, now he is also able to lean over his body and support his body weight with his chest.

In fact, another baby's motor development is being able to lift his head while moving his hands and feet while lying down.

Communication and language skills

During the development period of a baby at the age of 16 weeks or 4 months, crying is still a habit that cannot be released like a newborn.

Quoted from Kids Health, babies in this phase learn to interact with their closest people. There are many ways to get attention.

However, now he will improve his communication skills and language development by saying "ooh" and "aah" at the age of 16 weeks. He can also laugh and squeal loudly when spoken to and joking.

Fine motor skills

As well as being able to move and stick their hands together, babies at 16 weeks or 4 months now seem to be starting to show other developments.

In the development of a 16 weeks or 4 month old baby, your little one is able to hold a toy and follow or see things in all directions.

In addition, your little one has already shown a desire to reach for toys.

Social and emotional skills

In addition to recognizing the faces of the people around him, the development of your little one aged 4 months is now able to recognize his own hands.

He began to understand that his hand was an extension of himself, which could be used for various actions.

You will also continue to see the smiles and enthusiasm that your baby will show at 16 weeks or 4 months of development. Whether when he was playing alone, or when someone asked him to joke and talk.

What should I do to help with development at 4 months of age?

You can help encourage the development of a 16 week or 4 month old baby's sensory abilities to practice holding his own toys.

You do this by placing a toy near the baby or giving a toy to him and let him learn to accept as well as hold it.

If he does well, praise your child's efforts and smile at him. Also maintain a routine that has been used so that the baby continues to remember it.

For example, turning off the lights every time it's time to sleep. Usually babies will also stop crying when they are in the diaper changing position.

Health of 4 Month Old Babies

What needs to be discussed with the doctor regarding development at 4 months of age?

Each doctor has their own way of checking the growth of a 16 weeks or 4 month old baby depending on their particular situation. The overall physical exam as well as the number and types of diagnostic techniques and procedures will vary depending on the child's condition.

The doctor may perform the following tests regarding the health and development of the baby at 16 weeks:

• Measure the baby's growth such as weight, height or length, and head circumference of the baby.
• Physical examination.
• Ask you to consider the next tests related to how to feed, sleep, growth and how to care for the baby.

In addition, also pay attention if the following things appear during the development of a baby at 16 weeks or 4 months:

• Cockeye.
• Weight gain tends to be slow.
• It's hard to raise his head on his own.
• Looks unresponsive when you see your face.
• Not sensitive when there is movement of people or objects.
• Can't smile yet.

You should also consider any problems that appear for more than a month on, for example, problems with breastfeeding that have lessened.

Record information and directions from doctors as well as important information related to babies at 4 months of age. For example weight and height, head circumference, birthmarks, vaccinations, diseases, and medications given.

What should I know at 4 months or 16 weeks of development?

In order for the baby's development at 4 months of age to be more optimal, there are a number of things that parents should know, such as:

1. Obesity

There are several causes of obesity in infants during development at the age of 16 weeks or 4 months. This is probably because parents like to see a baby who looks fat is very cute.

Whereas normally, the baby's weight increases around 0.45 kg to 0.56 kg in one month. If excessive, this can certainly lead to health problems in the future.

Some babies look obese at birth, and some others start to get fat as they get older, including during the development period of the baby at 16 weeks or 4 months.

But not always because of unhealthy eating patterns or babies rarely move. This condition can occur because the baby's muscles are not developed properly.

However, obese babies will usually begin to have ideal body weight when they get older. Many children begin to lose weight when they start to crawl and learn to walk.

As you get older, you can encourage it to play on a bed or flat but safe ground.

Make sure to breastfeed your baby according to the breastfeeding schedule only. This will help reduce the likelihood of obesity in the developing baby at 4 months.

2. Dangerous games that should not be done

At 4 months of age, he may have a lot of fun when you throw him in the air and catch him over and over. However, this stunt was very dangerous.

This method is very dangerous if applied to babies under 2 years of age. Babies may get injured when shaken or held high, because the body development of babies aged 16 weeks or 4 months is not very strong.

In addition, the weight of the baby's head is equal to the overall body weight, the neck muscles are not fully developed. This makes the baby's head strength to support his body is still very weak.

When you hold your baby with your head tilted back and forth, this risks causing the brain to collide with the skull.

Brain injury can result in swelling, bleeding, pressure or nerve damage to a baby at 4 months of age.

It is possible that it will affect the baby's mental and physical, such as the eyes.

If the retina is separated because the parent throws the baby into the air, the nerves will also be injured, which can affect the baby's vision, and result in blindness.

Injuries can also arise when the baby is shaken while playing with him. So, avoid rough play and always support your little one's head and neck during the developmental period of 16 weeks with your hands.

In addition, avoid shaking the baby when holding him, it's better to sit the baby in a stroller or baby stroller.

This doesn't mean you can't play with babies. You can still play gently and put safety first.

Things that must be considered

What to watch out for at 16 weeks of development?

When entering the development of your little one at the age of 4 months, you should pay attention to the following:

1. Schedule breastfeeding babies

The schedule for breastfeeding the baby will usually be adjusted according to his age. At the age of 16 weeks or 4 months, there is also a development in the baby's breastfeeding habits.

The frequency of breastfeeding at 16 weeks of development usually takes place around 7-8 times a day, with a time span between 2.5-3.5.

The thing to remember is that before giving solid food, breast milk or formula milk is the most important thing for babies.

2. Sleep time

Sleep time for babies is quite complicated to predict. When compared with the development of a baby at 2 months and the development of a baby at 3 months, in this phase the sleep time will be slightly different.

At this age the baby will feel more accustomed to sleeping longer at night. At the age of 4 months, babies may also experience it growth spurt or a growth spurt.

Then, how is the development of the baby at 5 months or 20 weeks?