4-Month-Old Baby Development: Germs, Kids and Colds

You are Earth Mother. In tune with your baby's every cry, coo and whimper. You nurture, nourish and attend to the masses. This parenting thing isn't so tough after all. Now, if you could just figure out how to unfold the stroller on the first try ...

What You're Thinking: "I don't care if my shirt is covered in spit-up, I'm a total goddess!"

• If he hasn't had one already, your baby will probably suffer through his first cold and/or fever soon. Unfortunately, there isn't a ton you can do to soothe an infant's cold symptoms, except to offer a little Tylenol or Motrin and lots of TLC. Germs and kids are an unfortunate fact of life.
• If you lay your baby on his stomach, he may hold his head all the way up at a 90-degree angle. Get down on the floor and exercise with him! He'll think it's great that you're imitating him. You'll think, "I never knew I had so many underused back muscles."
• Keep talking to your baby and listening to him "talk" back to you. All that cooing is getting him a step closer to one day being able to tell you which flavor of ice cream he'd like.
• Your baby is able to focus and see a little better now and can look back and forth between two different things. Take him out and let him watch a bird fly, a squirrel run up a tree, Daddy mow the lawn ... OK, maybe just the bird and the squirrel.

• You can take baby's temperature in fewer than five attempts.
• You got the poop stains out of the carpet (but the one on the couch is still there).
• You made it through two magazines at the coffee shop before your baby woke up.
• You finally hung up the artwork for the nursery that's been lying around your living room since you gave birth. (Of course, you had to hang it up before the friend who gave it to you saw those bare nursery walls!)
• You've officially used baby wipes for all of those reasons you'd been hearing they're good for other than wiping butts.
• You've figured out a lot of new great uses for Aquaphor, too!

Next up on the babyproofing tour is the living room. You know, the place where you do everything from changing diapers to napping on the couch to watching four TiVo'd episodes of Project Runway (in.a.row.). And believe it or not, there are more things in the living room to consider than whether baby can reach for—and possibly hide—the remote control. Read more ...

• Choosing a Thermometer
• Figuring Out if Your Baby Is Sick ... or Not
• I'm worried about the overuse of antibiotics. How do I know if my child needs them?

Do it: Blow Wind Blow
Get baby to crack that priceless smile with this cute game.
Buy It: ABC Fun Pad
Coffee table coverage that'll save baby from head bumps (and your table from beer can rings!).
Share It: People Who Live in Glass Houses
What's with all the judgmental mamas out there?! Discuss It: Chat with other new mamas and papas on our Baby Board.

BACK: Baby Development: More Month 4 / NEXT: Special Edition: Mommy Blues

All babies grow and develop at different rates. So please don't compare your kid with so-and-so's baby from across the street—you'll just drive yourself nuts. If you have any concerns, bring them up with your pediatrician at your baby's next checkup.