Baby in the Daytime

As your baby approaches four months the range of things he can handle increases. At this age lying him on a mat on the floor, with rattles and other safe objects, can provide fairly long periods of contented play. He may enjoy lying on his tummy and lifting himself up on his hands to reach out for any toys or objects within his reach. He may even be able to move his body a little by rolling over.

At the stage that a baby enjoys being held and standing on his legs a baby bouncer may be a boon. It is excellent for a wakeful baby who wants to be with you, as you can hang it in a doorway where he can watch you working and feel part of what is going on. Use a baby bouncer only when the baby is able to support his head. At first he may just `stand' in the bouncer and perhaps shift from one foot to another or shuffle himself around, but he will soon learn to bounce and jump and even to dance. Never leave him unattended in a baby bouncer.

A baby of this age may also be old enough for a play-pen. Although he is nowhere near mobile, a play-pen provides a place in which his toys can be kept, and can even be a safe place to snuggle down if he is sleepy. You can hang interesting objects from the bars of a play-pen or safety gate for the baby to swipe at. If there are other children or adults around, you won't have to worry about them treading on the baby or about pets possibly bothering him. It also helps to get a baby used to a play-pen long before he is mobile, or he may never accept the idea of it.

An activity centre is a good investment at this age; it can be fixed to the bars of the cot or play-pen. Many babies start to enjoy activity centers as early as three months and they will provide entertainment for months to come. Other popular toys for this stage are weighted objects which you can push over and which bounce back, and soft toys which squeak or make a sound. However, a baby of this age is happy to be `entertained' without toys: he will get a lot of pleasure from walks, from bath time games such as trickling water on his tummy and other gentle games. He may also enjoy hearing music on the radio. If you don't want to spend a lot of money on toys, you can make your own rattles, mobiles and cloth bricks from household materials.

Even if your baby is happy to spend some of his time playing with toys, remember that you are still his main source of pleasure and security so try to make time to talk to him and demonstrate how things work. You can always chat and sing to him as you work.

By four months it is probably safer for the baby to begin sleeping in a cot if he has been in a carrycot or Moses basket so far. You can put soft toys in the cot for your baby to play with on going to bed and waking, but make sure they do not have long strings or ribbons, or anything which the baby could swallow.