Baby stimulation

The age of four to six months is a magical time for your baby as she learns an astounding number of things and develops physically at an enormous pace. Are you ready?

Four months old… this is the start of a sensitive phase during which stimulation becomes very important. Use this time to entertain your little one with a variety of words and sounds. Research has even shown a connection between your child’s intelligence and the number of words that she hears in her first year! › In this month you can also develop your baby’s sense of touch by introducing different textures to her, such as fur, tissues, felt, satin and wool. Let her hold and feel them, and also rub them over her body. › When you massage, stroke or move your baby around in space, you are helping her to relax and also increasing her awareness of herself in space. › Somewhere during her fourth month your baby will be able to sit up if you support her hips. She will tilt over to the side, but keep her head upright. When you put her on her tummy she will contract her muscles and pull herself into a hobby horse position and rock forwards and back with stretched-out arms and legs. Her head won’t dip down anymore when you pull her up to a sitting position and she will swivel her head in all directions. › Your baby is beginning to understand the world around her much better. She might already greet herself with a huge smile when looking in the mirror or pause during feeds to listen attentively to your voice, making feeding times a bit more challenging. You might want to go someplace quiet to minimise distractions. › It is important to call to her and encourage her to engage and react to you, in order to learn how to communicate. Keep her with you when visiting, so she can observe human interaction. › Your baby will begin to reach out to toys and she will enjoy having something like a rattle placed in her hand that she can swing around, or a toy that she can bring to her mouth to investigate. › Your baby will also start to bring her hands together at the midline and cross them over. › Your baby’s tummy size has increased as she has grown and therefore she doesn’t need to feed as often anymore, leaving more time to play. She will continue to gain weight. › You and baby might get a surprise when she rolls over from her tummy to her back, or vice versa. You can exercise all the muscles needed for this by playfully rolling her little body over and back when playing on the floor. › Your baby’s sight is also developing fast. She’ll start to distinguish between colours now, and will show a preference for primary colours. Supply her with bright colours or a bright mobile over her changing table.

BY SIX MONTHS, YOUR BABY CAN SEE AND HEAR HER WORLD AS WELL AS YOU CAN, AND SHE CAN PINPOINT WHERE A SOUND IS COMING FROM