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What does a 5 month old baby look like? No longer a baby: what a child should be able to do at five months. Movement of the body as the beginnings of crawling

At five months, the pace of physical development slows down slightly, but the baby’s social and emotional development becomes more and more active.

Your baby already knows how...

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Physical development of a child in the fifth month

By the fifth month of life, the baby's weight gain is almost double its birth weight.

During the fifth month of life, the baby gains about 700 grams, and for the entire period from birth to 5 months, 3500 - 3700 grams.

The child’s height increases by 2-2.5 cm in the fifth month of life, and by 13-14 cm over the entire period.

During this month, the head circumference increases by 1.5 cm, and the chest circumference by 2 cm.

In the fifth month of life, the baby already sleeps about 14-16 hours a day, while the duration of night sleep is 9-10 hours.

By the age of five months, some babies begin to cut their first teeth, so it is good to keep toys on hand that can be chewed. You can also purchase special products at the pharmacy that reduce pain and inflammation during teething. Just be sure to read the instructions before use, or better yet, consult your pediatrician.

Neuropsychic development of a child in the fifth month

The baby is growing up, maturing, he already clearly knows his friends and strangers and chooses who to go to and who not to.

Better and better, the child begins to distinguish the intonation of the voice, so in response to a gentle, friendly address he begins to smile, and when he hears an angry, menacing voice, he may burst into tears.

At five months, the baby can already sit with support, but you should not get carried away with this, since the baby’s muscles and spine are not yet strong enough, which can lead to poor posture and problems with the spine in the future.

Some babies try to sit and stand up on their own, but they are still not very good at it; however, if the child is supported by the arms, he can stand for quite a long time (3-5 minutes).

Children at five months can already choose their own toys. So, the baby can shake the rattle for a long time, examine it and, of course, pull it into his mouth.

At 5 months, babies can walk and babble for a long time, they like to listen to various melodic sounds, including those that they themselves make.

In the emotional sphere, there is also intensive development, so if you carefully observe the baby’s reactions, you will notice joy, sadness, excitement, alertness, fun, fear, surprise, dissatisfaction and many other manifestations of feelings.

The baby can lie on his stomach for a long time, lean on his forearms, look at toys and try to reach them, all this prepares the child for such an important skill as crawling.

At five months, the baby rolls over well from back to stomach and from stomach to back.

Laughs loudly and cheerfully.

What else can a 5 month old baby do? At this age, babies develop an interest in adult food; the child may grab pieces from the plate, pull them into his mouth or throw them on the floor. The child watches with great interest how the adult eats and what he puts into his mouth.

Speech development at 5 months

By five months, the child more actively imitates the speech of an adult. More and more melodious vowels and repeated syllables appear in his babble (ma-mom-mom, ba-ba-ba, nya-nya-nya and others).

Vision and hearing at 5 months

By 5 months, the child’s vision and hearing become even more perfect. The baby slowly begins to distinguish colors, carefully examines faces and toys. Visual perception of the image is combined with tactile perception, so the child loves to feel his mother’s face, touches his eyes, nose, puts his fingers in his mouth, and can pull her hair.

At five months, the child actively listens to the sounds of the environment (phone ringing, the sound of operating household appliances) and meaningfully tries to find the source of the sound with his eyes.

If a child accidentally drops a toy, he begins to look for it with his eyes.

By five months, the child learns to notice small objects and, better and better, follows moving objects.

Your baby already recognizes his name, he turns his head when you call him or mention his name in conversation.

Caring for a baby in the fifth month

Urination and bowel movements become less frequent, but this does not mean that hygiene procedures should be neglected.

The walks are becoming longer and longer and the baby takes an active part in them; he hardly sleeps during the walk, but watches everything that happens in a circle.

At five months, for the child to fully develop, it is necessary to do massage and gymnastics daily, and the time of the procedures increases and the exercises become more complicated.

Baby nutrition at 5 months

Despite the fact that the child shows great interest in adult food, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until 6 months.

A peculiarity of this age is that during feeding the child is often distracted from the breast, of course, because there are so many interesting things around.

Breast milk or infant formula is all your baby needs right now, but if you really want to introduce something new into his diet, you can start with a few drops of juice. As a rule, this is apple juice, it is better to use freshly squeezed juice. To do this, grate a small piece of apple, put it in cheesecloth and squeeze a few drops into a clean spoon. Give it to your baby and watch his reaction throughout the day. If the child has no allergies and everything is fine with stool and tummy, then the baby has tolerated this new product well and you can gradually increase its amount.

If your baby is prone to allergies or often has tummy problems, then you should not rush to introduce new products.

Necessary examinations at 5 months

At five months, as usual, you need to visit a pediatrician so that he can measure your baby’s height, weight, chest and head circumference, and also evaluate the baby’s neuropsychic development.

No additional tests or examinations are required at this age.

How to play with a 5 month old baby?

When playing with a child, it is important to teach him how to manipulate objects. Choose bright toys for games.

When playing with your child, show him what can be done with objects, for example, that a ball can be thrown, rolled, tossed; The rings from the pyramid can be strung on the pyramid, or you can roll them. Now he is not able to repeat all these actions, he observes and remembers.

At five months, the baby's hand coordination improves and grasping movements develop, so it is useful to place toys so that he can reach them, while applying a little effort.

While listening to musical melodies, you can take your baby in your arms and dance with him, this will give him a lot of pleasure and joy.

Children love to listen to funny songs, nursery rhymes and rhymes while sitting on their mother’s lap. Rhymes with a surprise at the end are especially entertaining for them; over time, the baby will remember that there will be a surprise at the end and will burst into laughter in anticipation of it.

When bathing or changing your baby, name the parts of the body, while lightly touching them.

Finger games promote the development of fine motor skills and speech development.

What toys are appropriate at this age?

At this age, children especially like to put everything in their mouth. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor the cleanliness of toys.

Offer your child toys of different shapes, sizes and weights, made from different materials. Pay attention to the quality and safety of toys.

At this age, children love to look in the mirror. Hold your baby in front of the mirror and let him carefully examine his and your reflection.

The baby is already quite big, and he likes to discover new interesting objects; he will certainly be interested in the tumbler doll. Let him push her, watch his reaction.

Rattles are indispensable for the development of a child at this age; he shakes them, transfers them from one hand to another, grabs them and throws them.

A pyramid, a ball, a tumbler doll and bath toys are also necessary for the baby.

As you rejoice at your baby’s new achievements, don’t forget to praise him more often; your recognition is very important for him at this stage.

Parents of a five-month-old baby are happy to note how much he has already learned at this age and how quickly their baby is growing and developing. At 5 months, the child no longer looks like the helpless baby he was just recently; he knows how to roll over, confidently grabs toys, laughs loudly and even tries to sit up on his own. Attentive parents at this age pay attention not only to the baby’s height and weight, but also to his skills and abilities, because they are the ones who demonstrate the degree of mental development of the baby. So, what should a child be able to do at 5 months?

Physical development

By the 5th month of a child’s life, his growth rate slows down slightly, weight gain is approximately 500-600 grams, height increases by 1-2 cm. By the end of the fifth month, the baby’s weight should be at least 2 times greater than at birth, the increase in height is about 12-15 cm, the average height of a child is about 60-75 cm.

Starting from this month, the baby becomes more and more active, he no longer refuses to lie quietly while awake and tries to constantly do something, play, communicate or learn new skills. A child at 5 months should be able to roll over from his back to his stomach, firmly grasp and hold a toy or some other object in his hands, and also try to sit up supported by pillows.

A five-month-old baby confidently holds toys with his hand, and opposes the fifth finger to the rest, pulls into his mouth any objects that come into his field of vision, loves to play with his arms and legs and begins to “crawl”, lifting his upper body and leaning on his arms. By the end of the 5th month, many children try to sit up on their own and love it when their arms are pulled, helping them get into the desired position. But if your child has not yet demonstrated such skills, do not be upset - there is still a whole month to master the skill; most children begin to sit after the first six months of life.

Parents should also know that at this age children should not sit with support for a long time - the child sits down on his own only when his spine is sufficiently strong.

If a 5-month-old baby spends too much time sitting, his fragile bones and joints may bend under the influence of too much stress and, as a result, the child will develop scoliosis or other spinal diseases in the future. It is also prohibited to place a child who cannot sit down independently and sit without support in a stroller, walker or any other device in which the spine will be subject to stress.

Neuropsychic development of the child

At this age, children begin to divide people into “friends and strangers”; children show intense joy at the sight of familiar faces, but are wary of strangers who try to pick them up, talk to them, or are simply next to them. Many parents are surprised and even scared: their recently so sociable and smiling child becomes a “beech”, refusing to be held by anyone and crying at the sight of strangers. In fact, this is a demonstration of a very important stage in the development of a child; for the first time he realizes his place in a world filled with other people, and parents must help him socialize and feel protected. Under no circumstances should you scold or shame your child for such behavior, or, moreover, force him to go “in the arms” or “communicate” with people whom the child rarely sees and does not recognize as “his own.” This behavior can become a source of strong negative experiences in the child, and he will lose unconditional trust in his parents. In addition, excessive gullibility of a child is not the best quality in the modern world, and if such instinctive behavior is successfully suppressed by parents, in a few years it will be much more difficult to explain to a grown-up child why it is impossible to open doors for strangers or leave with them.

At 5 months, children begin to pronounce the first syllables - “ma”, “ba”, “pa”, incredibly delighting their parents with this, they constantly walk, “sing”, and laugh. At this age, children try to repeat the movements of their parents, distinguish voice intonations well, and may begin to cry or laugh “for company” with others. Five-month-old babies can spend a long time playing with new toys or looking at bright pictures; especially at this age, they like to grasp and explore objects not only by touch, but also by taste.

What should a 5 month old baby be able to do?

At 5 months, a child can usually:

  • raise the upper half of the body, sit down with support;
  • confidently grab a toy, examine it and pull it into the mouth, as well as push, swing, twirl and hold objects that interest him;
  • stand on your feet for several minutes if held and supported;
  • roll over from back to stomach and back;
  • try to crawl using your feet;
  • recognize parents and other adults by voice;
  • lying on your back, lift and bend your legs and arms; at this age, some children can suck fingers not only on their hands, but also on their feet;
  • make melodious sounds, hum, babble and pronounce syllables;
  • pay attention to everything that is happening around, the child is actively interested in everything - he looks around, hums, babbles, attracting the attention of adults. He rejoices at the sight of a familiar face, perks up when he sees his mother, father or other relatives, tries to direct the adults holding him in their arms to the object that interests him, “steers”, and having received what he wants, he rejoices wildly and begins to study a new toy or household item everyday life.

Warning signs

At the age of 5 months, children should be active, noisy and energetic; parents of the baby should start to worry and seek advice from a specialist if their child.

The five-month-old baby continues to develop intensively, successfully improving previously acquired skills and acquiring new ones. He is increasingly passionate about exploring the world around him. The task of parents at this age is to actively help the physical and psychological development of the child.

Physiology of a child at 5 months - height and weight of the baby

By the end of the 5th month, the child should gain up to 700 grams and grow a couple of centimeters.
Baby's averages:


The baby’s performance improves every day; the parents’ task is to carefully monitor the child and, in case of deviations, consult a doctor.
Vision The baby focuses his gaze on an object that interests him for a long time. If you move it in different directions, the baby confidently follows it with his eyes.

How to develop: For the development of eye muscles, it is useful to hold a bright toy at a distance of 35-40 cm from the child’s eyes and slowly move it from side to side and up and down several times so that the baby follows it with his gaze.

Child's hearing The baby easily identifies the source of the sound and reacts to it. He expresses dissatisfaction if he doesn’t like the sound and smiles joyfully when he hears pleasant intonations.

Examination: To test your hearing, you need to stand at a distance of 5 meters from the baby, call him quietly or clap your hands. A child with normal hearing will turn his head in your direction and greet you with a joyful smile.

Remember that the baby’s favorite sound is the mother’s voice.

New sounds The baby quickly replenishes its sound reserve and constantly babbles something. He develops the ability to use speech as a means of communication.

Conclusion: That is, the sounds he makes have an emotional connotation. The baby shows through sounds that he is good or bad, happy or sad.

Need for sleep The daily sleep duration of a five-month-old baby ranges from 14 to 16 hours, with most of it occurring at night – up to 10 hours.

At 5 months, the child sleeps 2-3 times during the day, depending on physiological needs.

Teeth cutting Many children begin to cut their teeth by the end of 4 months. Children have a hard time with this process. The baby sleeps poorly, is capricious, and loses his appetite. Teething is accompanied by high fever.

Motor activity and skills of the baby at five months

At 5 months, the child’s motor activity increases noticeably, as the last manifestations of muscle hypertonicity disappear. The baby no longer lies in the crib, calmly looking at the toys. He successfully turns onto his stomach, lifts and holds his head, leaning on his arms. Lying on his back, he tries to sit up, diligently lifting his back off the bed.

The child's mobility helps strengthen all the baby's muscles. The baby’s movements become purposeful, coordination noticeably improves, arms, legs and neck move in concert, obeying one goal. If you place toys around the baby, he learns to crawl while trying to get them.

The child becomes quite flexible. Resting his head and legs on the surface of the crib, he bends in an arc, practically making a “bridge.” A baby can easily put his toe in his mouth.

During this period, the child's favorite hobby is throwing objects. The baby diligently collects toys and throws them out of the crib. All children go through such classes, so you shouldn’t scold them.

A normally developing child, approaching six months, should be able to:

  • Roll over on your own on the tummy and back.
  • Lying on your stomach stretch your legs and arms, doing a “swallow”, bend over and hold your head well.
  • Support mother's breasts during feeding , and bottle-fed babies should hold the bottle on their own.
  • No problem stuffing it into your mouth and sucking your toes .

Mental and emotional development of a child at 5 months

The child actively explores the world and is very pleased when this happens with his mother or other people close to him. For full development, you need to devote enough time to satisfy the baby’s cognitive needs.

Tactile sensations and fine motor skills

The baby should receive different sensations by touching different objects. He already knows all his toys, it’s time to expand his circle of acquaintances.

What do you need:

  • Walk around the rooms with your child, letting him touch furniture, curtains, refrigerator and other objects (soft and hard, rough and smooth, cold and warm). Along the way, name them and explain their properties.
  • For the development of fine motor skills Sew several bags, pour different cereals, beans and peas into them. The baby will touch them with no less pleasure than toys.
  • Notice how your baby grabs objects . At 5 months, the child should pick up a ball or balloon with his fingers spread out, a stick or pencil with his entire palm, and a string with his fingertips.
Baby and music Music influences a child’s spiritual world and intellect from an early age. It helps to relax, can cheer up the child and relieve emotional tension.

In addition to music, it is useful for your baby to listen to songs , which mom hums. These can be not only lullabies, but songs for all occasions, for example, when the baby is humming and babbling something, sing along to him:

The nightingale sings, sings

Sings, sings young

Young, pretty

Nice, pretty!

It won’t be difficult for any mother to find and memorize a few nursery rhymes, rhymes or songs.

Getting to know the books A good book with bright illustrations perfectly satisfies a child’s needs for learning new things. . Looking through books with the mother and her explanations of the pictures promotes speech development, expands the worldview and imaginative thinking, and has a beneficial effect on the baby’s intelligence.
Educational excursions During walks, the child is no longer satisfied with simply lying in a stroller. He is interested in looking at everything that is around him, determining where certain sounds come from. . Give the baby the opportunity to touch objects that interest the baby. During walks, talk more with your baby, telling him about everything he sees around him.

Further development of speech skills

At 5 months of age, the child’s speech begins to develop. He not only pronounces individual sounds, but also tries to imitate your intonation.

The most important thing in the formation of speech skills is that the child must learn to understand the speech of adults , and not perceive it as a simple set of sounds. You need to talk to your baby slowly and clearly, accompanying your words with actions.

For example, when rocking your baby in your arms or on a swing, comment on the child’s movement : "Up - down, up - down." The baby is not yet able to understand the meaning of what was said, but he can learn that movements in opposite directions are indicated by different words.

Use more easy-to-understand words in your speech . For example, a doll is Lyalya, a cat is meow, a grandmother is baba. Such sounds are easier for the baby to repeat.

Baby nutrition at 5 months

The diet of children at the age of five months is not much different from the diet of a child at 4 months. Breast milk remains the optimal product for a baby. Since the baby’s ventricle grows with him, he eats a larger volume of food at one time. In this regard, the number of feedings is reduced.

At the 6th month of life, it is enough for the baby to eat 5 times a day.

  • Regardless of what feeding – the baby is breastfed or artificial, he needs an introduction.
  • If you haven't started doing this before , at 5 months it is imperative to add new foods to the child’s diet.
  • For one feeding The baby should be allowed to try only one product.
  • By six months of age The baby’s diet should include vegetable and fruit mixtures, fermented milk products, cereals, juices and compotes.
  • Start complementary feeding you need half a teaspoon, gradually increasing the volume.

In this case, it is necessary to monitor the child’s allergic reactions to a particular product.

Exercises to help the physical development of a child at 5 months

Physical exercise and massage play an important role in the development of a child, helping the baby grow healthy and strong. In the morning and evening before bathing, you should devote a few minutes to massage and gymnastics. In addition, you need to perform a number of physical exercises every day that strengthen your muscles and help you learn new skills.

Strengthening the press The baby is pressed against his body , holding his legs above the knees with one hand, and just below the tummy with the other.

In this position, the baby can bend and straighten your body, “pumping up” your abs and strengthening your muscles.

Learning to crawl Lower your baby to the floor more often , laying out toys at a small distance. By 5 months, babies should be able to crawl.

At first, the baby's feet will slip , but gradually the baby will cope with the task.

Learning to stand on all fours The baby will actually start crawling when he gets on all fours. If he lifts his butt while trying to crawl, you need to lift him by the tummy so that his arms are straightened and he can lean on his palms.

First time The baby will fall in a few seconds, but after training he will succeed.

Let's pull ourselves up

Take your baby by the hand when he lies on his back. Pull the baby towards you at first until, and then lift the baby completely. Such exercises should be part of morning and evening exercises.

Subsequently, the child is given a smooth stick or rings, by which they pull it up.

Developing the vestibular apparatus Lift your baby in the air , while “flying” around the room, swing it, placing it on your legs. Exercises on a fitball (swinging from side to side, circular turns, bending) develop the vestibular apparatus well.

Give your baby as much time as possible, because only the care and love of loved ones helps the child’s diversified development.

At 5 months, the baby’s favorite position is lying on his stomach. He holds his head well and in this position perfectly views the world around him. A baby is ten times happier when adults take him in their arms; he loves to “walk” around the house with dad or mom, because this way you can look into the farthest corners and see all the furnishings. By this age, the baby can handle various toys quite independently: he throws them, turns them over, always “tastes” them, carefully examines them, and moves them from hand to hand.

At 5 months, the child’s activity increases significantly, he feels like a real discoverer. The task of parents is to help the baby see and feel the world around him, to adapt to it.

Expansion of motor skills

By 5 months, the child’s motor abilities significantly expand. The baby no longer lies quietly on his back or tummy, or simply tries to raise his head, he begins to learn about his body and its capabilities. Let's look at the basic positions in the prone position:

  • Balancing on your tummy. Having perfectly mastered “lying” on his stomach, the child moves on. The baby expands the range of movements of his arms and legs, rather than simply leaning on his forearms; a “boat” figure appears in his arsenal: the child lifts up his bent legs and arms, balancing on his tummy. A new exercise helps develop the muscular system.
  • The baby begins to make pushing-extension movements, preparing to crawl. If by 5 months the baby still cannot balance on his stomach, this does not mean a lag in the development of motor skills of the arms and legs. The child does not yet know how to independently roll over from back to stomach, but in moments of increased activity he can do this by accident. Such accidental rollovers can lead to a fall from a height - at this age, do not leave the baby unattended for even a minute. Start teaching your baby to passively roll over: show your child the toy, holding it up above his head, and gradually move your hand with the toy behind the baby’s back. Following your movement and the toy, the baby will turn his head and body, making the transition from back to stomach.

Educational games that help the baby improve coordination of movements will be very helpful in the future, when the little person has to learn to walk. They don't have to be tedious or complicated - rather focus on variety and interest.

  • The head is in an upright position. At 5 months, the vertical position of the head is completely fixed. The child holds his head straight both when lying on his stomach and when sitting in his mother’s arms (we recommend reading:). When lifting from the back by the handles, the head does not fall back, it maintains a straight position in line with the neck and spine.
  • Sitting position. A 5 month old child does not know how to sit up on his own (see also:). Parents should not be ahead of their time and teach him to do this. You can sit your baby down to watch some of the movements. Place the baby on the mat, supporting him by the shoulders, and slightly spread his shoulders to the side. While holding the child in this position, tilt him left and right, pay attention to the position of his head. If the head is kept level and does not move in the direction of tilt, this is a huge achievement. Do not let go of the child’s hand when bending over; the baby will not be able to use it as a support yet and will fall. The child will master this technique later. You can find out how and when to drop off a child in the video, where Dr. Komarovsky colorfully talks about this (see also:).

Complementary Skills

  • Improving eye-hand coordination. Having learned to grasp toys or some objects by the end of 4 months, at 5 months the child should consolidate the skill. Take a small, about 3 cm, toy in a bright color, show it to the child, holding it 30 cm from his face. Now look at the baby’s reaction: he should briefly concentrate on the shown object, then reach for it with one or two hands. All these actions indicate the baby’s meaningful behavior. The baby will not always grab the object, he can simply touch it, but this is important.
  • Preparing to crawl. In the “lying on his stomach” position, the baby is already trying crawling movements. The baby rests on his forearms because he is not yet ready to get on all fours. Place your favorite toy in front of your baby; it will act as an attractive incentive to move forward and take the toy.
  • Straighten your legs while leaning on them. A very useful exercise: lift the baby by the armpits, place him vertically so that he rests on his feet. The baby will not be able to stand on his entire foot, but will rest on his toes.


Preparation for full crawling is an important stage in this period of development. To encourage the baby, the mother should use special exercises and educational games.

The world around us and its perception by a child

A child’s emotions are his reaction to the world around him. They show his attitude to everything that happens around the little man. The baby perceives the world through vision, hearing and tactile sensations. It looks like this:

  • Development of the emotional sphere. Like motor skills, emotions appear gradually in a child. In the first month, the baby winces, cries, makes faces unconsciously, reacting to organic processes inside him. At five months, the baby is ready to express emotions as the correct reaction to social factors - he reacts to situations around him. The baby perceives communication with loved ones especially emotionally. Emotions and movements during this period are very closely related.
  • Testing your hearing. All infants can be classified as auditory learners. They live in the world of sounds and evaluate it through noise, ringing, voice, music, timbre, intonation, but in infancy the main channel is laid through which a person will subsequently perceive this world. A simple test can be done to check your child's auditory response. Lay the baby on his back, stand behind his head and rustle a piece of paper, first near the right ear, then near the left. The baby should turn its head, following the source of the noise. By five months, he already responds well to music, doorbells, the noise of a vacuum cleaner and other household appliances.
  • Tactile sensations. A grown-up baby can already compare toys; he distinguishes their surface, feeling whether it is hard or soft, fluffy or smooth. To train tactile sensations in your child’s toy arsenal, collect toys of different shapes from different materials. In addition, the baby recognizes the temperature of objects and responds to tickling with laughter.

Regardless of whether you have a boy or a girl, children develop at the same pace. Gender does not affect emotions, motor skills, hearing or vision. Everything a baby does at this age is related to his innate temperament and physique.

New sounds in the vocabulary

A five-month-old baby does not babble yet, but has already mastered the articulation of sounds and is steadily expanding it. The emergence of new sounds leads to the development of speech skills. What can a child say by the age of five months:

  • The child actively reproduces vowel sounds: “i”, “a”, “e”, “u”, “s”, “o”.
  • Consonants are already appearing: “g/k/x”, “d/t”, “s/z”, “m”, “b/p”, “v/f”.
  • Intonation coloring appears in the voice. The child expresses his emotions with his voice, expresses joy and anxiety, delight and concern.
  • Syllable chains are formed, consisting of the following syllables: “ma-ma”, “ba-ba”, “give-give”, “me-me”, “da-da”, “mem-mem”.

The baby is actively growing and developing, his motor skills and other skills are improving. Coordinates his movements well, his hands deftly grasp objects, pull and push them, the amplitude of movements of his legs increases. Most of all, the baby loves to grab everything.

Now the child recognizes his parents not only by touch and smell, but also visually.

Physical development

The child's growth rate is high, but not as rapid as the first three months. During the fourth month, the baby gains approximately 750-800 grams in weight, the head circumference becomes larger by approximately 15 millimeters, and the chest circumference by 20 millimeters; the baby usually gains another 2–2.5 centimeters in height. The weight of the lungs during this period is almost twice that of newborns, and accordingly the lung surface area doubles. The size of the pancreas increased one and a half times compared to the first month. The liver added 40-50 grams to this stage. The baby's success in digesting food is obvious, and now the baby can sleep almost all night, early in the morning calling on his mother to feed him. By this age, the baby has practically formed ideas about the time of day - this is noticeable by the rise and fall of activity, respectively, at night and during the day.

Indicators of a child from 4 to 5 months

Growth chart and

And a weight chart

Height

62.15-63.79 cm

6.550-6.875 kg

Head circumference

Chest circumference

What are the baby’s motor skills during this period?

The baby purposefully reaches out to hanging toys and grabs them, improving the ability to turn from back to stomach. The child is able to turn his head in the direction from which he hears the voice of his mother or father. Now you can play “hide and seek” with the baby, covering your face with a scarf or hiding behind the back of the bed. Such games bring great joy to the little person and contribute to his physical activity.


If this is not your first child and there are already children in the family, be sure to involve them in caring for the baby and activities with him. This allows you to save the older child from possible jealousy associated with the fact that with the appearance of the little one he experiences a shortage of parental attention.

As we have already said, at the turn of the third and fourth months the child receives a set of vaccinations. The baby is carefully prepared for this event by his parents, and visits are made to medical specialists. And when vaccination is over, it is recommended to measure the baby’s temperature in the evenings during the week in order to track the successful course of post-vaccination reactions. If a child’s temperature rises to more than 37.3 °C, his behavior changes, a rash and vomiting appear, consult a doctor.

Typically, the baby sleeps four times during the day for approximately two hours and is awake four times for one and a half hours.

A few words about feeding your baby

If you continue breastfeeding at this stage, you can continue to feed your baby six times a day. If feeding is mixed or completely artificial, then it is optimal to feed the child five times a day at intervals of four hours.

There are many points of view regarding the baby’s diet at this stage. There is a spectrum of theories, trends and feeding rules. We will outline one of the approaches popular among modern pediatricians. By the second half of the fourth month, with appropriate recommendations from the pediatrician, in addition to juice, the child is given fruit or berry puree.

It is possible to introduce fresh grated apples, grated bananas, plums, cherries, cherries or appropriate children's canned food into the diet. They usually start giving fruit puree with half or a quarter of a teaspoon after milk or formula. Then the portion of puree per day is converted to 3-5 teaspoons (gradually over two to three weeks).

As a rule, carrot juice is not recommended for children with exudative diathesis (allergies), and it is better to choose green and yellow varieties of apples. It is advisable to exclude juices from oranges, tangerines, peaches and grapes from the diet, regardless of whether the baby has diathesis. If your child has frequent constipation, plum juice or puree is recommended. The total volume of food (including juice and fruit puree) by the beginning of the fifth month increases to one liter per day.

It was previously believed that a baby's first teeth appeared at six months. However, pediatricians now say that the eruption of the first teeth by the end of the fourth month is not uncommon.


If your child is actively drooling during the day, and at night he suddenly wakes up and cries, the baby may have teething. Sometimes it is difficult for mother to see the edges of the incisors. In this case, you can touch the gums with the pad of your index finger. With your hand you will feel the hard edge of the tooth, and then doubts will dissipate. There are other signs of teething. The baby has a high temperature throughout the day, a runny nose or loose stools. Do not neglect to call a pediatrician at home if your child’s teething is very painful.

At this stage, the baby has fewer episodes of unexplained crying (for example, due to attacks of intestinal colic). The baby is gradually adapting to life in a big and wonderful world; the task of doctors and parents is to help him adapt, eliminating all causes of discomfort for the little person.

Mental development

An important indicator of a child’s social development is the baby’s joy at the sight of adults, which he expresses with animated movements of his arms and legs and a smile. The child is not yet afraid of strangers. He reacts equally joyfully to any adult’s attempts to communicate with him. The baby vividly shows his readiness to communicate: he smiles and babbles. New vowel sounds and consonant sounds appear in the baby’s babble (i, e, y, m, b, p).

By the fourth month, the support reaction and reflex step movements finally fade. If you place your baby on a firm support, supporting him under his arms, you will make sure that his legs remain bent and he will not make stepping movements. Many babies can learn to turn their heads left and right in the direction of a sounding toy or moving object that interests them. Little ones like to listen to musical toys, melodic music, and follow with their eyes the movements of adults around the room.

What games and exercises with a baby are useful at this age?

When the mother rests the baby's head against her cheek, he feels vibration when talking to him. This helps the baby better understand how speech sounds sound and remember them. Change your intonation when talking to your baby, speak loud and quiet, fast and slow, smile and laugh, be silent for a few seconds. Such stops and changes in the pitch, strength of the voice and tempo of speech better attract the child's attention. When your baby makes noises, wait a moment and listen to him, then repeat the sounds he made. This is how the little one learns to take turns speaking.

Try to call your child by name. It will be better for him if he is Sasha or Mashenka, and not a bunny, baby or someone else. Sing him different songs. The kids really like this. After some time, the baby will learn to calm down when you sing to him in a quiet and drawn-out voice.

Now the child recognizes his parents not only by touch and smell, but also visually. When talking to your baby, stand so that the light falls on your face. Fill your eyebrows and apply bright lipstick. It attracts attention better. The baby will watch with interest the changes in the movements of the eyebrows and especially the mouth when you talk to him. Change your facial expression, smile and then frown, raise your eyebrows in surprise and open your mouth wide. Probably, soon the child will try to imitate your movements and surprise you with this.

Take several bright toys (but no more than three at once). Slowly pass one after another in front of the baby, attracting attention. The little one will follow the movements of the toys with his eyes. Take your child in your arms, go to the window and choose a place from where it will be more convenient to watch. The baby gets a lot of impressions by watching birds, cars driving along the street or yard, people passing by the house, swaying tree branches and trembling leaves. In the evening, the baby's attention is attracted by bright street lights. Don’t forget to tell your baby about what’s happening outside the window, for example: “Look, a car is driving. The car hums: beep. And there the bird flew away. The bird croaks: kar-kar." Do not leave your child alone by the window; an unexpected loud sound may frighten him. The baby feels confident and safe only when you hold him in your arms or are close to him.

A great place for a baby - a playpen

There is a safe place for the baby and enough space for his games and toys. He will be able to move and roll over, look at and touch toys. Stretch a string or a tight elastic band with different toys over the playpen. The baby looks with interest not only at the toys, but also at his hands. If you see that the child is looking at his hands, help him connect them above his chest and clap his palms.

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