BABY WEEK 28
Bouncing baby
Your baby can now support some of her weight on her legs, and she loves to bounce something that can strengthen her muscles for walking later on. Hold her under her arms and help her stand up on the floor or on your lap. You may need to help her start moving by lifting her off the ground (or your lap) but once she starts, just watch her go and be ready for lots of giggles.
Handy skills
Your baby's fine motor skill are coming along. By now she can probably scoop things up with one hand and transfer an object from one hand to the other fairly easily. Fine motor skills involve small, precise thumb, finger, hand, and wrist movements and are used for actions like picking up things between the thumb and finger. Gross motor skill are required for activities like crawling, which use large muscles such as those in the arm, leg, or feet or the entire body. To encourage your baby's development of these skills, place a toy just out of your baby's reach and watch her try to get it. If she cries because she can't quite reach it, give her encouragement but not the toy. She's just venting frustration and will become more physically confident more quickly if you don't make everything easy for her. After a few tries, she'll be able to lean forward to grab the toy and then straighten herself again. Before long, she'll be rocking back and forth on her hands and knees or maybe creeping (pushing herself around on her belly) or even repeatedly rolling over to move about the room. Help her move around easily by dressing her in loose, comfortable clothes.
