728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Behavior › The First Months

The First Months

Your 3- to 6-month-old Baby

By Ann Haarman

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

You're a pro at changing dirty diapers now – both varieties. You can bathe a slippery baby solo – and you've even started using soap. You're doing it all on less sleep than you ever thought possible, and it's starting to feel natural.

And your baby? Pooping doesn't scare him anymore. He's got the basics of eating down, and he's starting to get the hang of sleeping. He's discovered that there are two (or more!) very nice people in his world whose sole purpose is doing whatever it takes to keep him happy. For the 3- to 6-month-old, life is good.

During the 3-to-6-month period, your baby's main developmental task is to form relationships, says Beth Teitelman, Director of the 92nd Street Y Parenting Center in New York City and co-author of Wonderplay: Interactive and Developmental Games, Crafts and Creative Activities for Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers (Running Press, reissue, 1995). "What she's learning right now is that the world will meet her needs, if she expresses them," Teitelman says. "And the world is you, at this point."

Communication and Interaction
Your baby is getting interested in the world around her. Mirrors are particularly fascinating. "She loves to look at herself in the mirror," says Cassandra Lott of Williamsburg, Pa., when describing her 6-month-old, Georgia. "She plays a sort of game with my dad where he takes her to the mirror then pulls her back, then close again."

Babbling (repeating nonsense syllables) may begin. Susan Attiyah, of Glendora, Calif., tells the story of putting her 4-month-old down in an empty room for his nap. "My little 4-month-old son woke up and all by himself realized that if he would make a sound it would echo back," Attiyah says. "He spent 30 minutes talking (well, baby talking) and hearing it echo back to him and then he would giggle."


Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.