The fifth month is a time of transitions for your baby. You can expect him to make his first attempts at real speech. He’s also gearing up to start crawling, which means you need to be ready for your little one’s new mobility.
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What can my baby do this month?
Your baby is becoming much better at expressing herself. She will show her affection by giving you hugs and kisses, and holding her arms up when she wants you to pick her up. She may even laugh when you make funny faces and noises.
You may find your baby watching you intently as you speak to her. She’s learning more every day about how language works. She may even turn her head towards you when you call her name.
Your Baby at Five Months
She should be able to:
- Distinguish between bold colours
- Raise her chest supported by her arms when on her stomach
- Roll over (one way)
- Amuse herself by playing with her hands and feet
- Bring both hands together
- Smile spontaneously
- Squeal in delight
- Reach for an object
She will probably be able to:
- Turn towards a new sound
- Turn in the direction of a voice (particularly mummy’s)
- Recognise her own name
- Razz (make a wet razzing sound)
- Keep her head level with her body when pulled to a sitting position
- SHE MAY POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO:
- Sit momentarily without support
- Pull up to a standing position from sitting
- Stand while holding onto someone or something
- Object if you take a toy away
- Work to get one out of reach
- Pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other
- Look for a dropped object
- Imitate speech sounds, for example; “mama”, “dada”
- May begin developing stranger anxiety
- Your baby’s probably showing more signs that she’s becoming ready for solids and is likely to be showing a keen interest in the foods you and other people are eating. However, breast milk is still all she needs until she is six months old.
How can I stop my baby fussing when we’re out and about?
Taking your baby out and about and introducing her to new experiences that will catch her interest is always fun. However, there will be times when your baby starts to fuss, usually because she’s over-stimulated, tired, hungry, or all three. Unfortunately, this often happens at inconvenient times, such as during the weekly trip to the supermarket!
If your baby starts fussing, distracting her for a short time may help. Try pulling funny faces or reciting her favourite nursery rhymes or lullabies. Clapping your hands or giving her something to hold, such as a favourite toy, or rattle, can work too.
Many supermarkets and shopping centres now have baby-changing and feeding facilities. Try giving your baby a feed or changing her nappy, to see if that helps to ease her fussiness. If not, take comfort from the fact that you won’t be the first parent to abandon a trolley full of groceries!
Can my baby show affection?
So far your baby’s only been able to let you know if she’s angry, upset, bored, or happy. But now she’s beginning to express love, affection and humour.
Your baby may show her feelings for you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up, and crying when you leave the room. She may also be able to give you hugs and kisses now. And she’s beginning to get the joke. She may laugh at your funny facial expressions and try to make you laugh, too.
This is when the really rewarding, and silly, part of parenting kicks in. Since you’ll do almost anything to make your baby laugh, you’ll find yourself making silly faces, nonsense sounds and performing funny dances at a moment’s notice. And you won’t care who’s watching.
Dressed for success
As your baby starts becoming more active, he’ll appreciate wearing comfy clothes. Opt for soft fabrics that won’t chafe him as he’s moving around. Loose, stretchy, and breathable clothing is also smart as it provides your energetic little one plenty of wiggle room.
Avoid clothes with rough or scratchy seams; long ties, buttons, or bows (could be a choking hazard); and anything else that gets in the way of your baby’s sleeping, crawling, playing, or other regular activities.
In your baby’s diaper
Don’t be surprised if your baby’s stools change color and odor as soon as he starts eating even tiny amounts of solids. This is normal. If his stools seem too firm, switch to other fruits and vegetables and oatmeal or barley cereal. (Rice cereal, bananas, and applesauce may be constipating.)
