Physical development
At the fifth month of the child's life, the weight increases much more slowly than in the previous months, and the child is gaining an average of 650-700 grams, that is, about 150 grams each week. The baby grows by an average of 2.5 centimeters a month on average, but for the time from birth the baby grows by as much as 13-15 cm. It should be noted that each child has his own individual growth and development program, therefore all the indicators are average and minor deviation from norms are not pathologies.
Care for a child in the fifth month of life
As in the previous months, it is necessary to remember the proper care of the baby, to ensure that clothes, diapers and cosmetics are of high quality, made from natural hypoallergenic materials, do not squeeze the baby's skin and cause irritation.
Increased motor activity of the baby can sometimes accompany the occurrence of irritations on the skin in those places that are most susceptible to friction. In addition, periodically there may be a "swab". These are small rashes, pimples of red or pink. In case of occurrence of such small "troubles" it is not necessary to panic, and to take advantage of following advice on care of the kid:
- try to keep a minimum of clothes on the baby, use disposable diapers at a minimum;
- make sure that the bed is comfortable for the baby, and the blanket is made of tissues that do not cause irritation;
- analyze whether there are rough joints on the baby's clothes;
- do not abuse the oilcloth under the sheet in the baby's crib;
- often bathe the baby, in the summer even three times a day (it should be remembered that soap for bathing the child is used once a week, herbal tea 2-3 times a week);
- choose a quality and effective cream for a diaper that saves from irritation, but do not abuse it (good feedback from parents received the Disetin ointment, HIPP protection cream HIPP Babysanft Wundschutz-Creme).
Small and big achievements
Intellectual
The child learns to pronounce some vowels (a, e, u, u) and consonants (b, d, m, k) sounds, and also tries to combine these sounds into syllables. The kid distinguishes himself in the mirror. The five-month-old child shows a great desire to grab, touch, shake, suck any object that falls into his hands. The crumb imitates the sounds heard, the movements seen. He tries in every possible way to show his pleasure: squeak, growl, squealing. The kid likes to watch the falling object.
Social:
- the kid knows his parents well, is wary of strangers;
- the child smiles and vocalizes in order to attract attention to his own person, tries to connect, thus, into the game;
- the baby manifests a protest: he no longer allows an adult to take a toy from himself;
- A small baby likes to play during feeding;
- crumb can imitate the facial expressions of adults.
Sensory-motor:
- pulls handles to an object that can be grasped, and grasping, firmly holds it in his hands;
- Holds the toy in one or two handles;
- with pleasure is played by rattle;
- tries to sit up, "balances" the head and keeps it perfectly straight;
- Easily lifts his feet to the mouth, studies them, sucks his toes;
- the baby begins to move, crawling, pumping, thereby creating the danger of falls.
Important!
Taking into account the fact that during the fifth month of the child's life there are significant changes in his behavior, especially the improvement of motor skills, parents should pay special attention to the safety of the baby. Statistics confirms that the greatest percentage of falls of small children falls just at this age. Just parents are not yet ready for the fact that their baby has grown up, that he can move and pumped. Therefore, it is important to ensure the maximum safety of the baby at a time when he is on a sofa, bed or other surfaces that are not protected from falls.
What to do with the baby in the fifth month of life?
Do not forget about the further development of crumbs, we continue to communicate and engage with the child. To do this, I recommend that during the child's life from 4 to 5 months, I work with him as follows:
- Humming the baby before bedtime lullabies. If you sing the same song every night, you will form your child's "ritual of falling asleep".
- Develop the baby's vestibular apparatus: swing with it in a rocking chair or shake it on a ball-fitball.
- After bathing, you can make a pleasant and easy massage: pour a small amount of powdered children in your hand and stroke the baby. Communicate with the child during the massage.
- During wakefulness play with the child, watch how much he already knows how to do.
- Strengthen the muscles of the baby's body and develop coordination of movements. To this end, I recommend to build a roller from a baby blanket and put it under the baby's chest. Put the toys in front of the blanket. The kid, leaning on one hand, will grasp the toys with the other hand.
- Change the position of the child's body during the period when it is on the floor.
- Doing gymnastics to the kid, sing songs and tell rhymes. It is desirable that the songs were about the movements. Thus, by voicing your actions, you will introduce the baby, both with parts of the body, and with the movements that he performs.
- Play with the kid in hide and seek, while using different game options: cover your face with paper, a hat, hide behind a curtain or sheet, each time look from different sides.
- Put a bright striped toe on the child's leg or tie a bell to the leg, move the pedal forward and backward. Trying to get the bell, the baby will bend the leg and pull it to his chest. Such an exercise will promote the development of concentration and coordination of the child's movements.