Four months. By now more and more communication should be taking place with your baby. You may notice a greater amount of smiling – while his babbling may have a noticeably singsong quality to it, often ranging into a high pitch that delights him as he learns to like the sound of his own voice. There will be lots of repetition to the sounds that your baby makes. It is important that you always respond to your baby’s “oohs” and “ahhs” and whatever other communication methods she is using - respond with your own voice tones. This is your chance to have a “chat time” with your baby and you should take advantage of these times – you are
helping him to discover the art of conversation. There will also be certain times when your baby may also not be in the mood for talking. He will turn his head in the other direction and may put his arm over his face. He may be showing signs of anger or frustration by crying out, especially if something is taken away from him.
Hearing
Your baby’s hearing is crucial to developing the ability to talk. While this has been true since birth, your baby is just now beginning to understand the fundamentals of communication through hearing and language. When your baby was younger, he or she understood your meaning through the tone of your voice: soothing tones made your infant stop crying, agitated tones told your baby something was wrong. Now, your child is beginning to pick out the components of your speech. Your baby can hear and understand the different sounds you make and the way words form sentences. He or she responds to “no” and is starting to notice new sounds, like the bark of a dog or the hum of a vacuum cleaner.
Three months. By now you will find that your baby is able to recognize your voice and may come to you or face you when your voice is heard. You may notice him laugh out aloud and may even scare himself by doing this (as he does not initially know that he is the one making the sounds). Your baby will be making sounds such as “ahhhh gooo”. He will squeal when he is happy and content, again often startling himself as he learns his own abilities. At this stage you should not only talk to your baby but also introduce other communication forms such as singing and story telling. The greater your effort in trying to talk with him, the better his response is likely to be.
Two months. As a child enters his second month he is far more aware of the world – things such as sounds, even that of your voice, will amuse and fascinate your child. Change the tone of your voice and this will keep him amused. Your baby will respond with a variety of cooing sounds, vowel-like sounds, and sometimes some consonant sounds such as a “k”.
You will find that your baby has quite a collection of cooing sounds that she uses to communicate with you as well as discover how to use the sound of her own voice. During this time, try and talk with your baby this will encourage her response and help in the development process. By looking into your baby’s eyes you are communicating an important thing to her that you are listening.
One month. Speech and language development may be observed during the first month. Your baby will be able to understand speech long before actually talking. From birth he will look at your face and listen to your voice. He may make a small range of noises that will start to mean something to you - these may be made when he experiences feelings of hunger or pain (such as crying and certain sounds while he is breathing). When your baby is eating, you may notice him making sucking type noises and sounds of contentment. The way that your baby cries is an important communication method while he is actually unable to talk. Crying lays the foundation for speech as your baby learns to control his vocal cords. Crying is also a baby’s way of indicating hunger, discontentment, or general discomfort. Through responding to this crying you let your baby know that she is important to you – and this can really be reassuring for a young infant.
It is incredible, but within a years time your baby will progress from random crying to talking. This is quite an achievement for your baby and in a very short period of time. In the following posts we will look at your baby’s development when it comes to language. You’ll also discover what you can expect to see every month but it’s important to remember that these stages of your baby’s development are broad and because every baby is different these are not meant as exact milestones. Please follow the posts.
Babies who are born early usually are carefully monitored, especially for the first year. Very premature babies will be seen by eye and hearing specialists. They will be taken care of by development specialists and breathing specialists. Teams of healthcare providers work together to give these babies as much care as they need to help them develop as normally as possible. Any new or worsening symptoms should be reported to the healthcare provider.
Once the baby is able to breathe on its own, he or she will usually spend some time in the nursery to grow more before going home. When the baby reaches a certain weight, the baby can go home and the parents can try to resume a normal life. But the baby may still need more care than a baby born on time. During the first year, the parents may spend more time in doctor visits with their baby than parents of full term babies.
Ventilators may damage the baby’s lungs. They also may cause chronic breathing problems. High levels of oxygen are sometimes needed to make sure the baby’s organs get enough. This can have the side effect of damaging the blood vessels in the eyes. This in turn can cause poor vision. Certain antibiotics can cause trouble with hearing as the baby grows. Very premature babies often need to be fed through the bloodstream instead of through their guts. These babies can develop liver injury as a result.
Treatment depends on how early a baby is born and its weight at birth. Babies who are born only a few weeks early usually just need time to grow, and time to learn to feed well. They often go home after a short time in the hospital. Usually, the earlier a baby is born, the longer it will stay in the hospital, and the more treatment it will need. The very premature babies are least likely to survive even with the best of care, and those who do survive often have to stay in a specialized hospital for several months.
Being premature is, in and of itself, obviously not contagious and poses no risk to other babies. Some infectious conditions in the mother that may have resulted in a premature delivery, could be contagious.
helping him to discover the art of conversation. There will also be certain times when your baby may also not be in the mood for talking. He will turn his head in the other direction and may put his arm over his face. He may be showing signs of anger or frustration by crying out, especially if something is taken away from him.
