Four-Five Months old Baby
- Holds onto an object placed in her hand. Can reach for objects, but often overshoots her mark. May transfer objects from hand to hand.
- May roll over by her self. Sits up with support and holds her head erect.
- Smacks and pouts her lips. Smiles and "talks" to get attention.
- Recognizes different people in the household and responds to them. Smiles openly and laughs while socializing, often interacting for an hour or more at a stretch.
- Enjoys play, games, and toys
- May sleep through the night, with naps (4-6 hours) during the day.
- Protests when someone tries to take away a toy or otherwise displeases him.
- Wants to touch, hold, and taste objects.
Important Changes
- Your baby's first teeth are getting ready to come through. The first tooth may make its appearance this month.
- Your baby's vision has developed so she's able to see things in color and can focus her eyes to different distances. She can track movement smoothly.
- Your baby's hearing is reaching full development, so she's interested in the different sounds she hears, as well as those she makes herself.
- Her hand and finger coordination is improving rapidly. She's learning to make her hands do what she wants them to.
How to promote development
- Give your baby things to look at, touch, taste, smell, and listen to. Play records and tapes for her. Give her grasping toys.
- Allow extra time during your baby's bath for play. Splashing, kicking and grabbing at bath toys are good for her development.
- Respond to your baby's achievements with praise, smiles, and hugs. She's a social creature who's motivated by your approval.
- Provide your baby with toys he can get a response from, such as a music box that can be started by pulling a handle or a crib gym that has different functions. Crib gyms and mobiles should be removed by five months or when baby can push up on hands and knees.
- Put an unbreakable metal mirror in your baby's crib so he can look at himself. Be sure it has no sharp edges.
- Give your baby chances to meet other babies. Give them plenty of time to look at each other, smile, make sounds, and reach out to touch.
- Hold your baby often, talking and whispering to him. Show him that you love him.
Immunizations
Your baby will get DTaP, IPV, Comvax (combination of Hepatitis B and Hemophillus Infleenza B), Rotateq and Prevnar. Most common side effects are pain at the site and fever. You can give them Infant Tylenol ____ml drops every 4-6 hours.
If the baby gets fever of more than 104F or cries for more than 3 hrs or develops a seizure or any other unusual reaction call our office immediately.
Sleep position preferred is on the BACK for the first 6 months. This prevents SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). The exception is only if the infant has complications of gastroesophageal reflux, or have birth defect involving upper airways.
Introducing Solid Foods
We recommend introducing solid foods usually at 6 months. At that stage their birth weight has doubled, they have good head control and are taking equal or more than 36 ozs of breast milk or formula.
For your baby's first food, we suggest a single-grain cereal, like rice fortified with iron. One or two teaspoons of cereal is enough to get started. Place it in the center of tongue with a spoon. She may spit it out but continue trying for 5-7 days. You can also introduce oatmeal and then barley cereal. We wait for wheat cereal till the baby is atleast 7-8 months for allergies.
After cereal, the foods you'll introduce include: yellow vegetables, green veggies, fruits and meats. You can give her egg yolks after 7-8 months and egg whites after a year old. Introduce one new food at a time preferably in morning, waiting about a week until you see how each food agrees with your baby before adding something else to his diet. If there is any allergic response, skin rash or eczema or vomiting give our office a call.
Solid Foods: Some Do's & Don'ts: High protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry, and eggs are more likely to cause food allergies at this age. We wait until the baby is at least 8-10 months old to introduce these foods. We avoid peanut butter and chocolates till 18 months for allergy reasons.
When your baby starts solid foods, drinking water can also be added to his diet. Before that they need less water, since they get all the water they really need from breast milk or infant formula.
A general guideline is not to feed your baby foods that CANNOT be mashed with his gums and tongue like a whole grape, carrots or celery. Also be sure to stay away from foods that are easy for baby to choke on like popcorns, nuts, hard candies, raisins hot dogs or chips.
Feeding Chart
| Age | Cereals and breads | Fruit juices | Vegetables | Fruits | Protein foods |
| 4-6 months | Rice cereal then oatmeal or other single-grain baby cereals (with iron) | None | None | None | None |
| 6-8 months | Single-grain baby cereals (with iron), cereal/fruit baby cereals, oven-dried toast or teething biscuits | Water by cup (up to 4 oz per day) | Strained or mashed, green, dark yellow, or orange (no corn) (1/4 to 1/2 cup per day) | Strained or mashed, without the peels (up to 1/2 cup per day) | None |
| 8-10 months | Baby cereals with iron, toast, plain bagel, crackers, teething biscuits, bread | water by cup (up to 4 oz per day) | Cooked, mashed vegetables | Soft fruit or canned fruits packed in water, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped | Ground or finely chopped lean meats, egg yolk, small amounts of plain yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese |
| 10-12 months | Baby or Toddler cereals with iron, unsweetened cereals, mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, spaghetti | water by cup (up to 4 oz per day) | Cooked vegetables, chopped | Soft fruit or canned fruits packed in water, peeled, seeded and chopped | Smaller tender pieces of lean meats, cooked beans |
- Stop feeding when baby turns away from food or shows disinterest.
- Use a baby spoon to feed cereal and other foods. Do not put cereal in bottle.
- Use formula, not cow's milk until baby’s first birthday.
- Don’t add any sugar or salt to baby’s food. Don’t offer baby sweet desserts, candy, soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, sweetened or sugar-coated cereal.
- Introduce one new food a week once baby is ready for vegetables and fruits.
- Feed baby food from a bowl, not the jar.
- Buy plain vegetable, fruit, and meat baby food. Combination dinners may contain fewer nutrients than single food items.
- We advise offering vegetables before fruit to avoid setting up a preference for the sweet taste of fruit.