3-4 Months – Diverse experiences

Communicating

What’s New? 

In the first two months you got to know each other and established routines together.  Now you will see your baby master new ways of communicating and learn more intensively about feelings. Although crying is still her most important signal, the period of intense crying will slowly come to an end, because your baby will now try to communicate with you in different ways. For example, you will see her smile, or even give a loud laugh, when she sees or experiences something that she likes.  She will often try to respond to you by cooing or making a vowel sound like “aaaah”!  She loves making sounds, so you may also hear her babble when you leave her alone.  Sometimes she even copies sounds that she hears.  She is really communicating now!

And What Can You Do to Help?

When you hold and talk happily to her, she will listen carefully, and sometimes try to repeat your voice sounds. So do this often. Talk to your baby, and be sure to listen to her response.  When she makes sounds, show her that you are happy and excited to hear them. She will also enjoy hearing you copy some of her babbling sounds.  Make time in your day for quiet play times when you sing to your baby, tell her a story, or show a book to her.

Feelings

What’s New?

Your baby continues to be fascinated by faces.  She can observe them carefully and for a long time.  She is so interested in you—she may copy your smile and even a frown. Around this period, she will also begin to connect what you are saying with your facial expression. Now she can also recognize the voices of people who look after her and turns her head when she hears them. At this age, you will see her spontaneously smile at special people. You will also notice that your baby loves to play with people. You could say that right now people are her favourite toys!

And What Can You Do to Help?

While talking or listening to her, always look her in the eye. Give her lots of chances to watch your facial expressions. Smile at her and show that you enjoy imitating her. Hold her in your arms, caress her, smile at her, use baby talk with her, talk and sing to her, and shower her with attention every day. Pay attention to what pleases your baby and fulfil her needs. By doing so, you will make her happy. 

Thinking  

What’s New? 

She will want to explore the world with her own hands. Sometime during this period, she will start reaching for objects in her surroundings, and she will try to put things she can grab in her mouth. As your baby is using her hands and fingers more, you may find her staring at her hands in admiration and often using them as her first very fun toys.  During this period, she is also learning by looking.  Her eyes follow moving objects. Of course she loves faces but she is also learning by watching them.  She begins to recognize people, and also familiar objects, not just when they are up close, but now when they are further away.

And What Can You Do to Help?

Allow her to explore by giving her the possibility to grasp safe objects of different shapes, textures and colours. Let her enjoy them with both the sense of touch and the sense of taste. Put interesting objects in her hands and help her to hold them. Play games like peek-a-boo. 

Moving

What’s New?

During the third and fourth month, you will notice that your baby can better control the movements of her head. She does not need as much support for her head when you hold her in your arms or put her down. Your baby is exploring possible ways of moving. When you put her on her tummy, she may be able to raise her head and support herself with her arms.  She may also be able to roll over from her tummy to her back. She can now not just hold a toy or other object, but she can also shake an object and swing at an object that is dangled in front of her.

And What Can You Do to Help?

Give your baby many opportunities to use her body in different ways.  Get down on the floor with her for some play times. Find simple everyday objects that she can hold and explore. Your baby needs to explore with her mouth, but only with safe objects. Be especially careful about small things that could cause choking. 

To find many more ways on how to support child development through play, go to Playing Together section.

Parents’ concerns about development in the period from the 3rd to the 4th month 

Because each child develops in her own particular way, it is impossible to predict exactly when or how your own child will perfect a certain skill. The abilities (developmental milestones) expected and listed for this period give you only a general idea of the changes you might expect as your child gets older. Please do not be worried if her development takes a slightly different path.

However, to be sure, do talk with your pediatrician [or other health provider] if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay, if your child seems to have lost some of the skills she had at an earlier age, or if you have other reasons to be concerned:

• Your baby frequently cries a lot and cannot be comforted  
• she isn’t making eye contact or paying attention to people's faces  
• she doesn’t watch things as they move  
• she isn’t making any sounds or responding to sounds  
• she can’t hold her head steady 
• she isn’t reaching for a toy or object that is in front of her
• she doesn’t bring things to her mouth.