Observing a four-month-old baby - Assignment Example

At four months, babies are able to express themselves, making themselves an active part of their social environment. Observation The focus of the observation was a male baby named Sean Darren from Pennsylvania. This baby boy is developing fast under the care of his mother. He was born with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD), thus he was recommended to avoid certain foods like beans and soya. Some drugs or medications may also be harmful for him, thus he should not be given any medicine without the doctor’s advice.

At his age, Sean is beginning to show funny tricks that make him look lovelier. He can recognize familiar faces of people around him; hence he calls the attention of his mother if he sees her around when he awakes. Similarly, he does not want to go with strangers and seems to choose people he goes with. He recognizes his own platter and jolts when he sees his mother holding it. He also takes his milk to his mouth and holds the bottle with the support of a cushion or pillow. Sean cries when he is hungry and wet.

He feels uncomfortable to wear wet diapers so his mother makes it a point to change his diapers every 3-4 hours or earlier when needed. At the time of the observation, he was playing with his mother who was holding a rattle. Sean focuses his attention on the little toy, and grabs the toy from his mother and drops it on the sofa. His grip at this stage is not yet strong. He does this repeatedly, while his mother keeps on picking the toy and giving it to Sean. At times, Sean would hold the toy to his mouth and attempt to bite it but fails to do so because he could not place the handle of the toy exactly into his mouth.

When he got tired, he turned to his mother’s ring and tried to take it but failed because the ring is in her mother’s finger. After a while, his attention was led to his feet, and he held his feet for more than three minutes while he laughed at his mother whom he thought was talking to him. Sean smiles a lot when he is playing with colorful things. He has some colorful toys hanging above his crib. He tries to get hold of them by raising his hand while lying on his sleeping cushion. When carried by his mother, the little boy would grab anything, especially colorful things he sees around him.

If he is successful in taking what he wants, he would usually take it to his mouth and chew. He drools while he plays with the object in his mouth. Age Based on his behavior and actions, Sean looks like a four-month old baby. Four-month-old babies are nice to hold because they can already react to stimuli in their environment. From looking at things and staring at them, four-year-olds are able to grab them and explore using their hands and mouth. Just like other four-year-old kids, Sean would take something and bring it to his mouth.

At his age, he can roll on his side and sleep on his chest and crawl at short distances. With support from his mother, Sean can put his weight on his feet but is unable to stand on his own or even with support. Moreover, four-month-old babies can interact with people around them. They smile and giggle at people who are smiling at them. According to the Cooperative Extension Website, when tickled, these babies could laugh loud and babble. Additionally, four-month olds prefer sitting with support than lying on their backs.

They can roll from side to side, lift their head forward, grab things around them, and put things inside