At the age of 4 months your 4 month old baby is ready for fun

At the age of 4 months your 4 month old baby is ready for fun, games and conversation, any kind of social interaction with you or anyone who happens by, so be prepared for lots of laughter at this age of baby.

Your 4 month old baby sleep 10 to 12 hours at night, waking up for a feeding or two, and nap for three to five hours a day, spaced between two or three naps. Your 4 month old baby can raise up on her arms when placed on her tummy and keep her head level when propped in a sitting position. Baby can also roll over (though if she’s had little in the way of tummy time, she may reach this milestone later) and reach for an object. Half of all babies this age will be able to bear weight on their legs when held upright (try it with your little one!) and many babies will play with their toes (think of them as a built-in toy!) and even mouth them. If your baby is advanced in the milestone department, she could be sitting unassisted now or even be able to stand up while holding on to someone. She may also work really hard to get a toy that’s out of reach and react unhappily if you take a favorite toy away.

A 4 month old baby will still be on a liquid-only diet. Some parents choose to begin solids at the 4-month mark, but most doctors recommend waiting until baby is 6 months old to start regular food. If you do decide to spoon up solids starting now, keep in mind that your baby doesn’t need more than a tablespoon of food once or twice a day. Plus, those solids will only be for practice, not for nutrition.

Your 4 month old baby growth will be fueled by the still-important-as-ever breast milk or formula. If you’re nursing, count on an average of five to six feeds a day to keep up with baby’s growing needs. That’ll come to about 24 to 36 ounces of breast milk a day.

If you’re formula feeding, you’ll be serving up the bottle an average of five times a day, with around 6 to 8 ounces of formula per bottle for a total of 24 to 36 ounces of formula a day. All that food will help to keep 4 month old baby at a healthy weight and height.

Your 4 month old baby working on lots of new physical skills from grabbing toys to doing her imitation of a turtle on its back. Baby may find her feet such fun toys that always available.

If you put your 4 month old baby on her tummy, she'll work on pushing up her head and chest, as well as flipping over onto her back, where she'll begin to lift her head and shoulders if you gently pull her up. All this helps her build the muscles she'll need to sit up on her own.

As long as your 4 month old baby has good neck control, try propping her in a seated position. If she slumps down or slips sideways, it's too soon. If not, you can assume she's comfortable and ready. If she does start fussing or slip-sliding away pick her up and try again another time.

You ask lots of questions with 4 month old baby then follow up with answers. Yup, you're talking to yourself, but you're also modeling the give-and-take of conversation. While keeping up a steady stream of speech helps your baby beef up on vocabulary, she also needs time to try her own hand at talking. When she starts yakking, pause, look at her face and really listen as she tries to master an "mmm" or an "ahhh." She'll be delighted that you're paying such close attention.