Between three and six months, your baby becomes very much her own person. In a parent and baby group, you'll notice the babies are developing at different rates. Your baby may be faster in some things, slower in others. She's not more or less intelligent than another; babies do at this stage start to show individual differences.

On the move

At three to four months put her on a blanket on her tummy and she may try to edge forward by pushing with her feet or pulling with her arms. Many babies can roll from stomach to back. Some can even manage a back-to-stomach roll
At five months with your help, she may be able to push herself up to a standing position
At six months she may be able to sit unsupported.

Grasping opportunities

At four months she is reaching and grasping. Her grasp is limited as her fingers and thumbs don't work independently yet
At five months she can grasp a toy with one hand, then transfer it to the other. She uses her fingers and thumb independently and can rotate her wrist to look at the object in her grasp
At six months she's discovering how to pick up small objects from the floor with her fingers and thumb, using her new skills in judging distance. She can hold a toy in each hand.

It's good to talk

Your four-month-old has discovered she can make different sounds come out of her mouth - and she delights in experimenting with them. She'll practice a sound she particularly likes, from a squeal to a raspberry, over and over again.

She'll experiment with changes in volume too. She'll spend a lot of time perfecting her consonant sounds. She likes to repeat sounds - 'dada' or 'mama' rather than 'da' or 'ma'. The way you react to her babbles helps to pick up language. If you hear her say 'Ma-ma' and come to her with a loving smile, she repeats it and gradually associates the word with you.

Did you know?

Babies smile more at four months than they do at any other time in their first 18 months
As young as four months, babies know that balls thrown up in the air should come down again, and they understand that balls bounce off surfaces rather than going through them.

Things to do

Let your baby try to hold a cup. Some babies enjoy this from around five months
one hand, two hand. Give your baby a toy, first to one hand then to the other. Soon she will learn to transfer the toy by herself.