Are you ready for a burst of growth and development? A 4-month-old baby starts to reach some major milestones that allow her to explore her world — and you — in a whole new way. She can do more physically, but she’s also developing a real personality, which parents love to see. “This is a pretty amazing time for development,” says Dr. Jillian Parekh, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.
According to Dr. Deena Blanchard, a pediatrician with Premier Pediatrics in New York City, babies between 4 and 7 months old make amazing advances in language and social skills. “Her ability to interact with people explodes,” she says. However, baby isn’t just focusing on language milestones — she’s also developing her motor skills. “There is a huge leap from learning to control her head and neck to controlling her core and learning to sit up,” Dr. Parekh says. She’s also working on fine motor skills, such as grasping and reaching for toys.
Your baby’s ability to process sensory information is improving, and she’s beginning to use all the skills she’s been learning since birth. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) HealthyChildren.org, your little one will start to recognize her name during this time period, which is especially exciting for parents to see.
Here are some of the other astounding milestones that the AAP says to look for in your child between the ages of 4 and 7 months:
And read
our guide to developmental milestones for kids
.
Physical Milestones
- Rolls front to back and back to front (by 7 months).
- Sits using the support of her hands, and then independently.
- Uses a raking grasp to pick things up.
- Struggles to get out-of-reach toys.
- Transfers objects from hand to hand — and into her mouth.
Read more about physical milestones for 4 to 7 month olds.
Sensory Milestones
- Develops full color vision by 7 months.
- Develops mature distance vision.
- Tracks moving objects with her eyes.
- Brings objects to her mouth to figure out their taste, texture and shape.
Check out these sensory milestones for 4 to 7 month olds.
Cognitive Milestones
- Understands cause and effect — that means that she knows that shaking her rattle will result in a pleasant sound.
- Develops object permanence — in other words, she knows that something is still there even if she can’t see it.
- Uses all of her senses to learn more about her world.
Learn more about cognitive milestones for 4 to 7 month olds.
Language Milestones
- Makes laughing and babbling sounds by 6 to 7 months.
- Responds to her name by 7 months.
- Uses her voice to get attention.
- Makes sounds with intonation — almost like she’s having a conversation with you.
- Understands “no.”
- Babbles using consonants.
For more, check out these language milestones for 4 to 7 month olds.
Social Milestones
- Loves social interaction games like peekaboo and pat-a-cake.
- Imitates your facial expressions and vocalizations in back-and-forth play.
- Enjoys looking in the mirror.
- Responds to emotions in others.
And read about these social milestones for 4 to 7 month olds.
Your 4-month-old baby is fine-tuning her senses, increasing her motor abilities and making the sounds that will become the building blocks of communication. All of these skills help her explore and learn more about her world. “Since their vision and strength have improved, babies explore so much more because they have the ability to do it,” Dr. Parekh says. Give her plenty of chances to learn and interact with you to help her along in this amazing stage of development.
Rebecca Desfosse is a freelance writer specializing in parenting and family topics.
