Exploring with his hands

By the time he’s about six months old (though sometimes it takes a little longer), your baby’s hand control is developed enough that he can pull an object towards him. Once he’s learned to grab a toy, he’ll start to practice moving objects from one hand to the other. Plus, he may discover that letting go of something is as much fun as picking it up. Once he understands the concept of cause and effect, your baby’s world will become more interesting … and yours a good deal messier.

Left or right-handed?

It’s still too early to tell whether your baby is left or right-handed. At this stage, most babies seem to favor one hand for a while and then switch to the other. True left or right-handedness won’t really be determined until he’s between two and three years old.

Learning to roll over

By this age, most babies have learned to roll over in each direction, a milestone that will probably amuse you – and him. Of course, while rolling over is fun for your baby, it could wrack a few nerves for you. Keep a hand on your baby during nappy changes, and never leave him unattended on a bed or any other raised up surface. If you use a changing table, now might be a good time to start putting the changing mat on the floor instead.

Your little social animal

At this age babies not only tolerate attention from others, they often initiate it. Though you may soon notice the beginnings of stranger anxiety, six-month-olds are still fairly indiscriminate: anyone who approaches your baby with raised eyebrows or a grin delights him and becomes an instant friend. But don’t worry – he still needs and craves lots of attention from you.

Your baby is also learning that his behaviors, both the ones you like and the ones you don’t, engage you, so starting now (and for years to come) your child will do just about anything to get your attention. Right now almost everything he does is endearing, but as he gets older, he’s more likely to get into mischief to provoke a reaction from you. Just don’t forget to lavish attention on him when he meets with your approval.

One thing will become clear: your baby is beginning to vary his attention-getting repertoire beyond crying. So expect him to work hard to get you to notice him by wriggling, making noises and so on. Over the next three months, he’ll develop a uniquely personal way of letting you know what he thinks, wants and needs.

Playing turn-taking games

Six-month-olds love turn-taking games, especially ones that involve sounds and language. Let your baby be the leader sometimes, and mimic his vocalizations. When it’s your turn to lead, a good way to teach your child – and make him laugh at the same time – is to make animal noises (“quack-quack,” “bow-wow” and so on).

Your baby the babbler

By six months your baby sees and hears the world almost as well as you do. His communication skills are expanding rapidly, too, including squeals, bubbling sounds, operatic octave changes and babbling. At this age, about half of all babies babble, repeating one syllable – such as “ba,” “ma,” “ga,” or other consonant-vowel combinations – over and over. A few will even add another syllable or two, making their sounds more complex. You can encourage your baby by babbling right back at him and by making a game of it (“The sheep says, ‘baaa,’” or “The goat says, ‘maaa,’” and so on), or by listening as if you understand everything he says and find it extremely interesting. Your baby can also recognize different tones and inflections and may cry now if you speak to him harshly.

A guaranteed way to delight your baby is to fill a glass three-quarters full and use a straw to blow bubbles. Both the sound and sight will make him laugh.

Stimulating his senses

Your baby uses all of his senses to explore and learn about his world. Make sure he has lots of safe things around to touch, mouth and manipulate. He’ll delight in squishing a soft rubber ball, patting a piece of fake fur, gnawing a chilled teething ring and hearing a bell sound inside a stuffed animal.

Getting a kick out of story hour

Reading aloud to your child comes into its own now, as he will enjoy looking at bright pictures and having a quiet snuggle on your lap. No matter what your child’s age, of course, reading provides an opportunity for cuddling and socializing that both baby and parent can appreciate.

Bella Grace developments before turning four months:

Bella Grace is such an attention getter. She always smiles to people who talks to her. I often said that she can be taken by anybody anytime because she considers everyone as friends or family.

Before she turned 6 months, I also noticed that she laughs at the picture with Shrek, Donkey and Boots at our neighbor’s house. So, she smiles at Shrek even if there are no sound-effects that go with it.

She is also a blabber. She talks papapapa, yah yah yah and even shouts if she feels like it.

Another first happened today, Bella got her first wound. Her Papa was holding her for a bit while he watches the Game 2 of PBA Finals: Alaska vs. Purefoods when suddenly Bella bumped herself at the chair and got her gums bleeding. She didn’t cry that hard but she cried demanding to be carried her way! LOL!

Here is Bella holding on her tub while sitting by herself with no support from me or from her grand mother!!

Isn’t she adorable??

Sitting up on her own

By now, your baby’s physical developments are coming fast and furiously. If you place her on her stomach, she’ll extend her arms and legs and arch her back, and when on her back, she’ll lift her head and shoulders. She may even sit momentarily without assistance — be nearby, however, to provide support and surround her with pillows to cushion a possible fall. Encourage her to play face-down on the floor: lifting her head and chest to see toys or your face helps strengthen her neck muscles and develops the head control necessary for sitting up. If you support her under the arms while letting her balance her feet on your thighs, she’ll bounce up and down. She’s capable of easily bringing an object to her mouth for oral exploration.

Repeating her favorite sounds

Your baby is adding new sounds to her language repertoire, and her current favorite is probably blowing a raspberry or making bubbles. At this age, it’s common for babies to become so enthralled by one of their newfound abilities that they get stuck on it for a while. This is a normal developmental process. Most babies master one skill before moving to the next. Hearing the same sound over and over can get annoying, but learning patience now will prepare you for the endless string of “nos” and “whys” you’ll be hearing when she is a toddler.

Strong enough to feed herself

Though she may be able to hold her own bottle now, don’t prop your baby up and let her feed herself just yet. She’ll be better able to sit up by herself and grasp small objects sometime after six months. This month, continue using feed times to cuddle, hold and nurture your baby — she’ll be fiercely independent and resisting your kisses and snuggles soon enough. Your baby’s probably showing more signs that she’s ready for solids — from a lessened tongue-thrust reflex to a keener interest in the foods you and other people are eating. However, breastmilk or formula is all she needs until she is six months old.

Learning about cause and effect

Your baby’s ability to interact with you, others and her surroundings is growing daily. At this stage, she may start playing little games as she begins to understand that simple actions have results. She may drop objects just to watch you pick them up, or to see how and where they fall. Tiring as it sounds, you’d better get used to it. In a few weeks, this will be accompanied by fits of giggles.

Able to see small objects and subtle colors

Your baby’s getting better at spotting very small objects and tracking moving things. At this point, your child may be able to recognize an object after seeing only part of it — the basis of little hide-and-seek games you’ll be playing in the coming months.

Earlier your baby learned to distinguish between similar bold colors. Now she’s beginning to sort out subtle differences in pastels.

Honing in on sounds

Your baby now realizes where sounds come from, and she’ll turn quickly toward a new one. One of the most appealing ways to engage her is to jingle a set of keys. Wind chimes are great attention-getters, too. Your baby may watch your mouth intently when you speak now, and try to imitate inflections and utter consonant sounds such as “m” and “b.” Five-month-olds can recognize their own name now. Notice how your little one turns her head when you call her or talk about her with others.

Easily distractible now

When your baby starts fussing at the supermarket this month, you may be able to distract her for a short time. Try engaging her with funny faces or a round of “Incy-Wincy Spider.” Clapping your hands or giving her something to hold can work too.

A growing range of emotions

Babies can’t express their emotions in the same complex way that adults do. While they do let you know when they’re angry, bored, or happy, they can’t express love or humor in the first few months, but that’s beginning to change. By five months your baby shows a strong attachment to you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up and crying when you leave the room. She may also give you hugs and kisses. And she’s beginning to get the joke — she’ll laugh at funny expressions or positions and try to make you laugh, too.

For many parents, this is when the fun begins. You’ll find yourself regressing back to childhood as you make silly faces and nonsense sounds, or play at pantomime and mimicry.

Bella Grace developments before turning five months:

As she approaches her fifth month, she became more demanding as ever. She never sleeps straight in the morning and afternoon. At night she sleeps around 11pm to 12mn. Good thing her grandma is thereto help me or should I say spoil her wants.

She really loves eating and exploring tastes. She now tends to grab whatever we are eating. She still drinks water from a shot glass and now gets more baby formula as my milk are getting low on supply. So she usually breastfeeds during night time but plays with my milk during daytime.

As usual she has vocalizations of her own. She repeats them every now and then and still shouts as she pleases.

By the way, she always smiles when someone approaches her. She loves to be the darling of the crowd. And when she smiles, her eyes smiles too which makes it more expressive and cute!!

My angel is growing fast!!

Feeding less frequently

As your baby reaches four months, his stomach has grown bigger so he doesn’t need to feed so often — just four or five times a day. But he’ll still gain weight — his need to feed just tapers off as he gets older, becoming more like that of older children and adults. Now his attention will start to gravitate toward other people and things during mealtimes, and though it’s exciting to see him aware of and responsive to new things, feedings can get difficult. If your baby is easily distracted, try feeding him somewhere quiet for a while.

A new talent for rolling over

When placed on his stomach, your baby will lift his head and shoulders high, using his arms for support. This mini push-up helps him strengthen his muscles and get a better view of what’s going on. He may even amaze you (and himself!) by rolling over from his back to his front, or vice versa. You can encourage this through play: wiggle a toy next to the side he customarily rolls to in case he’s interested enough to try again. Applaud his efforts and smile; he may need your reassurance since new actions can be frightening.

Time for solid foods?

For the first four to six months of life your baby gets all the nutrients he needs from breast milk or formula milk. Still, parents are often eager to start their babies on solid foods. Talk to your doctor before trying yours on solids. You can begin feeding your baby some solids (meaning mushy foods such as pureed baby food or baby cereal) now that his digestive tract is more developed and his tongue-thrust reflex is starting to fade, but many doctors encourage parents to wait until their baby is six months old. Not rushing onto solids can cut down on allergic reactions and ensures that breast milk and formula won’t get crowded out of your baby’s diet.
Reaching out and mouthing objects

Your baby is now able to reach out and grab an object, even though he often misses his mark on the first try. Once he wraps his hands around something, he’ll study it for a moment and then try to put it in his mouth. You may also notice a lot more dribbling now. Some babies can start teething as early as four months, but the first tooth usually doesn’t surface until five to six months.

Encourage your baby to explore and play with a variety of objects. For instance, a clean cloth nappy will occupy your baby for a few minutes. Watch him suck on it, hold it, and discover what happens when he scrunches it up. Give him a light rattle and watch him delight in the sound it makes when he shakes it. An activity centre or cradle gym is a good choice for this stage, as your baby begins to discover the cause and effect of moving a lever and hearing a bell ring, for instance.

Able to play alone now

By now, your baby can play with his hands and feet for a few minutes at a time. A miracle! Suddenly you realize it’s strangely quiet in the bedroom so you look in, only to discover that your baby, who so far has needed your attention for most of every waking moment, is amusing himself. Now maybe you can start reading the paper again.

Beginning to understand the role of language

Researchers believe that by four months your baby understands all the basic sounds that make up his native language. Between four and six months, he develops the ability to make some vocal sounds, such as “ma-ma” or “da-da.” He doesn’t yet connect that sound with a parent, though. By now, he’s also able to participate in back-and-forth imitation games — you say “boo,” and he’ll try to say it back. You can promote your child’s sense of communication through imitating his faces and sounds — “mirroring” him. Because you react when he makes noises and tries to say something, your baby learns the importance of language and starts to understand cause and effect. He’ll begin to realize that what he says makes a difference.

Appreciation for a full range of colors

Babies see color from birth, but they have difficulty distinguishing similar tones such as red and orange. As a result they often prefer black and white or high-contrast colors. Between your baby’s second and fourth months, color differences become clearer, and your baby starts to distinguish similar shades. Your baby will probably begin to show a preference for bright primary colors now. Some great eye-catchers include primary-colored mobiles (hung out of his reach), bright posters and visually striking board books.

Getting more selective about people

By four months, your baby may respond to your presence, your voice and even your facial expressions by kicking and waving his arms. About now, your child, who to this point probably bestowed smiles on everyone he met, is beginning to be choosy about the company he keeps. In large groups or with unfamiliar people he may need time to get comfortable. Allow for transition time with strangers or when leaving your baby with a babysitter. You may also notice that when he’s safely in your arms he’s interested in interacting with other people — especially noisy, boisterous older children.

Bella Grace developments before turning four months:

Bella have indeed shown great baby milestones lately. Just last week, she already turned herself over flat to her chest both awake and sleeping. She also did a lot of unique vocalization thus mimicking speech patterns of some sort. There are also times that when she faces the camera, she just smiles as if the camera was her queue to smile.

The only thing that haven’t changed with Bella Grace is her demands to be carried always while touring the whole house, getting attention and sleeping while listening to the tune of classical waltz. She always shouts too as a way of pulling attention to her.

Few days prior turning to four months, Bella already tasted her first solid food. We fed her with Cerelac. She welcomed solid food with great enthusiasm. She likes it!

Holding her head steady

During this month, your baby may be able to lift her head while on her back and hold it for several minutes. If sitting with support, she may be able to hold her head steady and erect. When she’s on her stomach, you might see her lifting her head and chest as if she were doing mini-pushups. You can offer encouragement by sitting in front of her and dangling a toy.

Better arm, leg and hand coordination

Your baby can now wave her arms and kick her legs. As her hip and knee joints become more flexible, her kicks are getting stronger. And if you hold her up with her feet on the floor she should push down on her legs now. She can bring both hands together and open her fingers, though she’ll probably use a closed fist to bat at dangling objects. (Of course, swatting at a toy or other object is developmental progress in itself!) Encourage her hand development by holding out a toy to see if she’ll grasp it.

Sleeping patterns getting more manageable

Starting about now, sleep-deprived parents may get some respite.

By three to four months, your child’s sleep patterns start to settle down. Many babies this age can even sleep through the night, though they may still wake up for the occasional feeds. But some children may not sleep through the night (which, for the first year, usually means just six hours at a time), for a good three to six months, so don’t worry if your baby still wants to keep you up at night.
Clear recognition of mom and dad

By three months, and probably earlier, your baby will have formed an attachment to you and be familiar with your face. Most likely she will still smile at strangers, especially when they look her straight in the eye and coo or talk to her. But she’s beginning to sort out who’s who in her life and definitely prefers some people to others.

The parietal lobe, the part of the brain that governs hand-eye coordination and allows a person to recognize objects, is developing rapidly now. And the temporal lobe, which assists with hearing, language and smell, has also become more receptive and active. So when your baby hears your voice now, she may look directly at you and start gurgling or trying to talk back.

Start reading to her now

Reading to a child, no matter how small, will pay off. It helps your baby develop an ear for the cadence of language — in fact, varying the pitch of your voice, using accents, singing, and vocalizing make the aural connection between you and your baby that much more stimulating. But don’t worry if she looks the other way or loses concentration — adjust her stimulation by trying something else, or give her time to rest. Coordinate your interactions with her responses and interest.

There are plenty of good books to read to your baby. Choose board books with large, bright pictures and simple text — or even wordless books with pictures for you to narrate.

But at this point you needn’t be slavish to age guidelines. Books designed for older children with clear, crisp images and bright colors can captivate a baby. Or you can even read poetry originally written for adult ears. What your baby doesn’t understand will nonetheless delight her because of its musicality (you’ll probably be amused as well).

Early language development

This is a sensitive time when verbal stimulation is particularly important for your baby. Seize the moment and engage her with a variety of words and sounds. Recent research links higher intelligence levels to how many words a child hears in the first year of life. This is the time to set a sound foundation. Even a trip to the shops can be a chance to stimulate your child — as you roam the aisles, point to objects and identify them by name. Your baby can’t repeat these words yet, but she’s storing all the information in her rapidly developing memory.

A baby in a bilingual home will get double the language training if she regularly hears both languages spoken. If you’d like her to learn more than one language, have each parent speak to her in a different language.
Touch becoming more sensitive

Stimulate your baby’s sense of touch with materials such as fur, tissue, felt and terrycloth, or look for books that make touching a part of the reading experience. Touching, carrying and massaging your baby, along with moving her through the surrounding air when you lift her, are powerful ways to relax her and may even increase her alertness and attention span.

Beginning to interact with others

Your child is set on “receive,” drawing conclusions about the world around her. By now, she may respond to her face in the mirror by smiling (babies love looking at themselves), and she may stop sucking her thumb or bottle to listen to your voice. By cooing or making noises at her, and by describing even the most mundane household chore, you’re not only connecting with her but also encouraging her to express herself. Even with others, your baby is becoming more animated and engaging — flashing smiles, oohing and cooing. The fun has really begun. When you’re with friends, keep her nearby so she can hear the richness of human interaction.

Bella Grace developments before turning three months:

Bella’s cooing has different pitches already. She is also fond of watching the TV and smiles at times. She loves listening to music especially if she wants to go to sleep. I also started to let her watch the interactive ABC’s at www.starfall.com and she also smiles when she hears the letters spoken.

One thing that never changed with Bella is her demands to be carried. Not only a simple carry but you should stand up!

The first real smiles

This month all your efforts will be rewarded with beaming, toothless baby smiles. The first genuine smiles are certainly among parenting’s most heartwarming milestones. In a sense it’s payback time. You’ve been diaper changing, feeding, bathing, kissing and cuddling without much response from your little bundle of joy. But one day, it happens: Your baby smiles, and you’re certain he wasn’t just passing wind. This will probably delight you, even if you’ve just had your worst night yet.

For Rob, that first smile from his six-week-old daughter Holly brought tears to his eyes. “It was a lousy day at work,” he recalls. “I was sleep-deprived and the traffic that day was terrible. When I finally got home and my wife handed me the baby, who looked straight at me and smiled this gorgeous all-gums grin, I remember thinking, ‘She knows me’ — and nothing else mattered.”

A growing preference for complex designs

By two months of age, a baby begins to move beyond his early preferences for two-color objects toward more detailed and complicated designs, colors and shapes. Let your baby look at and touch a wider variety of objects now — good choices include plastic toys and soft balls.

Sleeping for longer chunks of time

If your baby is sleeping through the night now you’re one of the lucky few. Most babies will still want a middle-of-the-night feed at two months, or even a couple of feeds. But the good news is, he should be sleeping for longer stretches and staying awake for longer periods of time. Most two-month-olds have two to four long sleep periods and as many as 10 hours a day when they’re awake.

Movements less jerky

He will now be co-coordinating his movements better. You’ll notice that the jerky arm and leg movements of his newborn days have given way to smoother, more circular motions. Your two-month-old is also able to grab objects voluntarily now, though letting go comes later. In the early days grabbing was mostly involuntary and instinctive.

Bella Grace developments before turning two months:

Bella has been sleeping longer during night time. She wakes up around 5am in the morning and sleeps again. Her waking hours are now longer as she is fond of studying her environment. She also smiles when she sees familiar faces and begun cooing and responding to our talk to her when she was just one month and half.

Holding her head up

Your baby’s neck muscles are getting stronger, which allows her to hold up her head for short periods. She can also hold it up for a few moments while lying on her stomach and may even be able to turn it from side to side. She may be able to hold it up when she’s in a car seat or front or back carrier, especially if she has lots of support and you use special baby headrests designed to help her in those situations.

Exploring extremities

At birth, your baby had no idea her arms and legs were attached to her. That’s all changing now as she starts exploring her body. The parts she’ll discover first are her hands and feet. You can encourage her interest in them by holding her arms above her head and asking ‘How big’s the baby?’ or by reciting ‘This Little Piggy’ and counting her toes.
Learning to soothe herself

Babies love to suck. They need to suck. In fact, you may have discovered that a pacifier works wonders in helping your baby calm herself. And when her pacifier’s not around, she may even be able to find her thumb or fingers to suck.

Look who’s babytalking now

Your one-month-old may gurgle, coo, grunt, and hum to express her feelings now. Be sure to coo and gurgle back, and talk to her face-to-face. A few babies may also begin early squeals and laughter. If you have things to do, she’ll still enjoy hearing your voice from across the room. She’ll hold your gaze for ever-longer periods now.

Even though your baby has been able to recognize you since she was a few days old, by the end of this month she may be able to show it. About half of all babies this age begin to exhibit an obvious recognition of their parents: they react differently to mom and dad than they do to strangers. Your baby may quiet down and make eye contact with you; some babies at this age are able to smile when they see their parents.
Baby listens and enjoys music

Now that your baby is awake for longer periods during the day, you can use these times to stimulate her sensory development. Try singing nursery rhymes, or playing music to her. The sound of wind chimes or a ticking clock will also amuse your baby. The more varied the offerings, the richer the impact. Inevitably, you’ll see your child react more pleasurably to one selection over another as she begins to develop preferences.

Eyes can track objects now

Having learned to focus with both eyes, your baby can now track a moving object, something she may have been able to do for brief periods since birth. A simple rattle passed in front of her face will often transfix her. Or you can play eyes-to-eyes by moving very close to her face and slowly nodding your head from side to side; often her eyes will lock onto yours.

The shops are packed with developmental toys, but you’ll do just as well with everyday household objects. Pass shiny foil or a bright plastic ladle from side to side in front of her. Then try moving it up and down. This should attract your baby’s attention, but she probably won’t be able to smoothly follow vertical motion for about three months.

Bella Grace developments before turning one month:

Bella is still awake during night time. She sleeps straight if she is being held all the time. So Mommy and Lola take turns in carrying her. Mommy carries her all night until around 6am where Lola takes over.

A few days after birth, she can already see us. She tracks dark objects slowly. She also smiles at times.