Milestones

I decided that we should have a record of Dominic's achievements and milestones. He is growing and changing so quickly! It would be a waste to not to jot these milestones down for posterity.

At four months, Dominic is able to:
Smile, coo, gurgle, squeal with delight. He is very expressive! He is also very interactive. He listens to us, coos back, talks, gurgles, and when he is in his fussy mode, he yells and screams at us with his demands!

He can bear his weight on his legs. In fact one of his favourite play activity is to stand on our thighs, while being carried by his armpits. To indulge him, we have just bought a walker. He likes standing in it, and pressing (by accident maybe) the buttons that play music. He hasn't figured out how to move in the walker yet, only by accident, but I think he will soon.

He shows more interest in toys. I have despaired over how uninterested he is in his rattles. Lately Dominic spends more time with his toys. He grasps them and tries to put them in his mouth.

His mouth is like a leaky faucet! He drools copiously and loves to suck on his knuckes. Sometimes, for variety, he would suck his fingers instead. He used to have a preferred hand- his right. But now, to thwart our attempts at pulling his fingers out of his mouth, he has mastered sucking on both hands. So when we pull out his right hand - SWOOSH - his left hand is in!

The habit of contention in our family is Dominic's skill at blowing raspberries. One night, Dominic suddenly discovered how fun it was to blow bubbles. He'd blow and play with his saliva. I was instantly amused and blew some raspberries back. This wet and hearty exchange went on for a few minutes "Finally, a common language between baby and adult!" I thought. Unfortunately, daddy, who is a stickler for cleanliness, abhors this habit and insisted that nobody should encourage Dominic to blow bubbles. After the next few days, Dominic's attempts at blowing bubbles were not reciprocated... and now he hardly blows them. I guess we could count this as a success, but I feel a little sad that we had to curb his enthusiasm. After all, all he is doing is play and communicate! But the lesson learnt is that with practice, he can pick up skills. When neglected, the baby forgets how to do the action. So, engagement is everything!

Dominic has more control of his hands now. He opens his fingers, grasps his toys, brings his hands together to hold a ball, and turns the pages of a book with some assistance. He reaches out for things.

Tummy time is still not his favourite time. Dominic does not seem to see the POINT of it all. He would spend a minute or two on his tum, looking around and at our attempts to engage him, then ask to be flipped over. He is able to hold his head steady. I hope he would enjoy more of it when he gets stronger!

Dominic is also very good at eating from a spoon! He thoroughly enjoys spoon feeding. We started off with gripe water in water. Then, to solve his constipation problem, we introduced banana. Then papaya. He loves his fruits! He has even learnt to open his mouth for the spoon when it approaches! Meal times are a pleasure and he would sit without fussing, enjoying his little purees.

He is a smiley baby, and gurgles and responds when someone talks to him, but we have only heard his laugh a couple of times on one special night. It was National Day 2008, and he laughed out loud late at night, when he was having a wipe down upon returning from dinner at Grandma's house. We tried and tried to get Dominic to laugh after that but it hasn't happened since! Husband and I are looking forward to hearing it again. :)

My baby loves to watch tv. He is such a couch potato!

One of Dominic's favourite game with me is "Up and Down". He'd be seated on my lap facing out. He'd pull himself up grasping my hands going "Uuupp...", and then flop backwards against my chest "DOWN!" Sometimes he plays rough and throw himself backwards, it can get painful when the back of his head knocks on my chest!



To backdate, here are his achievements according to the milestone chart from babycenter.com, from 1 to 3 months.

Child's Age 1 month
Lifts head when lying on tummy
Responds to sound
Stares at faces
Follows objects briefly with eyes
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs
Can see black-and-white patterns
Smiles
Holds head at 45-degree angle


2 months
Vocalizes: gurgles and coos
Follows objects across field of vision
Notices his hands
Holds head up for short periods
Smiles
Holds head at 45-degree angle
Makes smoother movements
Holds head steady
Can bear weight on legs
Lifts head and shoulders when lying on tummy (mini-pushup)


3 months
Recognizes your face and scent
Holds head steady
Visually tracks moving objects
Squeals, gurgles, coos
Blows bubbles
Recognizes your voice
Does mini-pushup
Turns toward loud sounds
Can bring hands together, bats at toys