Model Marriage
The Second Month
- By this month, your baby will begin to fill out more and develop that typical baby
look. He will begin to lift his head for a few seconds and examine his
surroundings. You will now find him turning in the direction of interesting
sounds. The startle reflex will disappear, and the baby will appear longer, now
that his body has relaxed and uncurled. - Somewhere around six weeks of age, you will witness baby’s first true social
smile. It’s no longer “just gas”; he is genuinely happy to see you. He will
probably coo back when you talk to him, or try to engage his toys in conversation
with goos and gurgles. He can also make and hold eye contact for a few seconds. - As your baby becomes more familiar with his surroundings, he will begin to
recognize familiar sights like you, your breast, his toys, his cot, etc. When he sees
a meal coming, he will probably start to suck vigorously.
The Third Month
- By this month, the baby will achieve full neck control. When you put the baby on
his stomach, you’ll see him push up and hold his head high and look around the
room for a minute or two. Vision has also improved so that he can see colours
clearly as far away as three feet. Baby can sit up now with support and prefers to
do so. His baby chair or swing gives him a better view than lying down. - You will find your baby very charming, smiling and babbling to all who hold him.
He’ll extend his arms to you and kick his legs when he wants to play. The amount
of crying will also decrease; he’s having too much fun to complain. - The baby now differentiates between parents, siblings and the house help, and will
make conversational noises to try and attract people around. He will tend to stop
what he’s doing to listen to you talk. In fact, he may pay attention to you for as
long as a half hour at a time. All this is because he’s learned to trust you and
knows now that you will always respond to his wants and needs.
The Fourth Month
- During this month, many babies begin to roll over from their stomach to their
back. Give baby plenty of playtimes on his belly to help him achieve this feat.
You’ll probably also notice him trying to “airplane” i.e. extend his head, arms,
legs and rock back and forth on his tummy. Now that the baby can use both eyes
together (called binocular vision), his hand-to-eye coordination has improved
enough for him to hold or wave a toy, or strike objects dangling above him. He
can also grab your jewellery, eyeglasses, and hair, and will do so constantly, so watch
out! - This is the month the baby really begins to let his feelings be known, getting mad
if you interrupt his play to change a diaper for example. His “conversations” will
also become more involved as he tries out different sounds and waits for
you to respond after he says something.