Your baby can now support some of his weight on his legs, and he loves to bounce. What's more, he's probably able to sit unsupported (which will free his hands for exploring), and he'll turn when sitting to reach a desired object. He may even be able to get into a sitting position from lying on his stomach by pushing up on his arms.
Oh yes, that’s the theme for this month. He’s very mobile now, and would not take sitting still for a long time. This means a lot of work for me during playtime.
I can no longer leave him under the pooh baby gym, coz he'd get bored instantly and roll over, try to get up by pulling on the arches and then yell and scream when he can't quite make it.
He wont roll around quitely on the floor because he's attracted to tables and chairs and would want to pull himself up. The thing is, he is still unable to balance himself well on his feet, so more often than not, he'd end up falling on his bum again, or worse falling back and banging his head. This means that I can't really leave him alone .. I have to monitor him constantly.
Learning to grab
Your baby's fine motor skills are coming along, too. By now he can probably scoop things up with just one little hand and transfer them from one hand to the other fairly easily. He may also be able to clasp his hands together and sip from a two-handled cup (with your assistance). Before long you'll probably notice the noise level increasing, not only because of your baby's babble, but also because he'll find out how much fun it is to bang objects together.
Izani can’t transfer things from one hand to the other yet, but he can sure grab things. Combine this with his crawling, and you can just imagine the things that he wants and is able to grab..
Teething
See for yourself:
Testing your authority
At this age your baby may begin testing your authority by refusing to follow your directions or entreaties. When he puhes back, he's not being disobedient or wilful - he's just curious and simply can't remember things for more than a couple of seconds at a time. The best tactic is to use a simple no, then distract him.
AHH! *rolleyes* You don't need to tell me this. After four kids, I had figured out how to handle tests on my authority. I think I've watched enough SuperNanny and Little Angels to have an idea of what to do.. :)
Thank God there are no BIG tests yet.
The beginnings of separation anxiety
Your baby's reluctance to be separated from you may delight you but may also frustrate you at times. In either case, it might help to load a laundry basket with his toys and move it - and him - from room to room so you can get the jobs that need doing around the house done while enjoying each other's company.
Izani is feeling this with both Taufik and me. Sometimes even when I'm in the room with him, he'd cry when he sees his dad get out of bed and leaving him, and it's vice versa. Again, we'd use the distraction method, coz really, babies have such short memory spans.
When it's just him and me in the house, I carry him around everywhere. If we're downstairs, then he'd be in his walker and can follow me around as I move from kitchen to living room to laundry to storeroom etc. For short amounts of time, I could keep him occupied with the knobs on the drawers of the cabinets in the living room, but usually he would push himself about the house to look for me.
Recognition skills
Your baby now actively engages in hiding games and can remember that the jack-in-the-box pops up at the end of the song. He's also able to recognise different tones and inflections and may burst into tears if you speak harshly.
'Ci-ku-cak' (also known as peek-a-boo) is his favourite game. His elder siblings could previously suprise him by popping up at different spots behind the sofa, but now that he is able to prop himself up against the back of the sofa, he is quite adept at listening for rustling noises and figuring out where his brother/sister is going to pop up next. It still delights him endlessly though.
I can't even scold his brothers now, without him feeling hurt by the tone of my voice.
Figuring out how objects relate
Your baby's beginning to understand how objects relate to one another in three-dimensional space. He may be able to sort toys, grouping items such as blocks by size. And if he admires his reflection in a window, and you suddenly appear behind his image, he's likely to turn and look for you instead of believing that you're in the mirror itself.
Ooohh i don't know about the sorting out toys part, but I do know that Izani just loves the mirror. Previously, he would look at his reflection curiously, thinking if it was a nother baby. But I think my constant kissing him in front of the mirror taught him that that baby is actually him. He would usually turn to look at me , and then turn to look at me in the mirror to check.
Stimulating toys and games
Your baby enjoys playing the same game over and over because he likes predictability. In addition to peekaboo (see above), try adding classics such as round and round the garden and patta-cake patta-cake to your repertoire.
I've modified "The Wheel on the bus" to play with him while he's sitting up instead of him lying down now. He seems to love it. He doesnt have that many toys at the moment and doesnt seem to mind it a bit. Even a tupperware filled with beans is a great joy to him. tee hee!
Is my baby developing normally?
I think he's doing splendidly!
Here's a treat for Izani's loyal readers:
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