Adaptive & Communication Skills

Your baby is 4 weeks old today! You have seen a dramatic change between the newborn you brought home four weeks ago and the infant she is now. She has become more aware of her surroundings and sees her environment from different perspectives whether she is laying on her back or during tummy time. Your baby’s gross motor skills are also coming along as she spends more of her time awake on her tummy, she has a bit more control of her head and tries to lift it off the ground albeit very briefly. When you are holding her upright, she has a little bit more control of her head although it is still unsteady and you need to support it.

You see an improvement in her fine motor skills as her once very jerky movements have lessened and seem to be more intentional as the days pass. As you interact with your baby, she continues to look at objects and your face with interest as her cognitive and social skills get better. You may notice that your baby is showing you that she doesn’t want something by turning away from it. For example, during feeding, if she doesn’t want any more breast milk or formula she will turn away from your breast or the bottle. And if that isn’t enough, when she is uncomfortable (maybe she has a full diaper or gas), she expresses it by crying and/or fussing.

Around this time some babies accidentally find their hand or thumb to suck on. This is not an indicator of whether or not your baby will suck her thumb, but it allows her to soothe herself even if it’s just for a moment.

Now you are beginning to hear her vocalize other sounds like “ah” and “eh.” You may want to keep a journal of all these developmental milestones your baby has achieved as there will be so many more to note in the weeks and months to come!