MOTHER NATURE SHIFTS THINGS UP A GEAR AND IT ALL GOES BACK TO SQUARE ONE AGAIN!
GRANNY’S GUIDE TO …
FOUR MONTH MONSTERS: WHY BABIES CHANGE AT THIS AGE
BY: YVETTE O'DOWD
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he is the delight of our lives - charming, endearing, bringing smiles wherever she goes.
She is a happy, contented baby who hasn’t got a worry in the world. But last week everything changed. My granddaughter turned - FOUR MONTHS OLD! And after all my years of experience around babies, I know that just about all the wheels are about to fall off, big time! If there is only one thing I know, then it is to expect the unexpected between ages 4 and six months. Just when the clouds begin to clear after the early daze, your life starts to have some pattern and your baby becomes more confident, interacting and enjoying life - Mother Nature shifts things up a gear and it all goes back to square one again! So what can my daughter anticipate over the coming weeks?
Distracted feeding: After early breastfeeds taking up to an hour of concentrated sucking, around four months, babies begin to notice that the world doesn’t stop while they eat and they keep stopping to check in case they miss something! Their growing brain hasn’t given much attention to distractions during feed times: TVs can blare in the background, conversations roar, appliances scream and the younger baby just sucks away, oblivious! But now - in the period before they develop the ability to screen out unwanted distractions, they respond to every single one. Someone opened a door - oh, did you want me to smile at you? The cat walks along the couch - hey cat, looking for me? Mummy opens a new 76
Peninsula Kids – Autumn 2017
page on her mobile device - ooh, bright lights, look! Big brother plays with his toys - what was that? Basically, let alone tune anything out, they tune everything in! WHAT YOU CAN DO: •Accept that daytime feeds are less effective, so more nighttime feeds might be needed. • Minimise the distractions you can control and accept the impact of those you can’t. • Be reassured that babies at this age are very efficient feeders and get lots of milk in those short feeds. • Look forward to the next stage of development, when distractions aren’t so interesting.
Short attention span and easy frustration: Just a few weeks ago, it was all about the hands - reaching, grabbing, holding. Now that those skills are fairly well achieved, babies can be frustrated when they fail. The missed swipe at a dangled toy is irritating, not challenging. The dropped toy is frustrating, not forgotten. The attempts to roll are tiring, not fun. Tummy time gets boring, as does lying on your back. The swing was fun this morning but now it isn’t. Don’t pick me up, I want to lie down. Don’t lie me down, I want to be carried! ARGH! I am a growing brain trapped in a stalled body - help!