Your baby is slowly starting to develop a little personality of her own. The more you stimulate her, the more fun you’ll have with your baby.
It was at about this time that Tate gave me that wonderful gift; her first smile! Get ready for your baby to reward all your loving care with a beaming, toothless, just-for-you grin.
Your baby may start babbling away in her very own kind of baby talk. It may even sound like she’s making vowels like “goo gaa”. The best way to encourage her to keep talking, it to talk to your baby at every chance you get.
Talk to your baby as you dress her, nurse or change her nappy. Say things like "Mommy is changing Tate’s nappy” so that baby can start associating you as Mommy and her as Tate. Even though she cannot answer you, you should also ask her questions. “Are you hungry, Tate? Do you have a wet nappy?” Later on, your baby will start to understand these things and react by laughing or kicking her legs when you get the question right.
Stimulating your baby is a great way to help your baby learn about her environment. But how do you know when you’re doing it right, or when you’re over stimulating your baby?
Listen to your baby. If she’s tired, hungry or fussing, leave her alone for a while. As an adult, the last thing you would want is to have to entertain someone when you’re tired or hungry, so don’t make your baby do the same.
Also, don’t overdo the stimulation. Give her some quiet time when she needs it. A few minutes of play time is more than enough for your baby at this stage.
You’ll know she’s having fun, when she stares wide-eyed at you when you make faces and funny noises. She’ll also kick her legs and smile when she’s interested in what’s happening around her.
At this stage your baby will crave being held close to you. Instead of pushing your baby in a pram, wear your baby in a sling. This is important for development, as it will keep your baby calm and make her feel secure. It has also been shown to improve sleep as well.
Head control and holding
Tummy time is a wonderful opportunity for your baby to explore her environment.
Your baby needs to develop head control and you can help her by making sure she has ‘tummy time’ each day. Put your baby on her tummy when she is awake and encourage her to lift her head to see your face or an interesting toy.
You may find that you’ll be met with some fierce resistance as your baby struggles to get comfortable. Start out by putting your baby on her tummy for a few seconds, then as she gets used to it, slowly leave her on her tummy for a few minutes.
You must always make sure that tummy time is supervised, so that you can help her if she starts choking.
At this point your baby may have found out that she can use her arms to push her chest up off the ground.
