As he progresses through this month, he finally finds his feet, and I mean
this literally. He learns how to grab his toes and this action is good as it helps him learn how to use his hands to hold something. He tends to grab his toes and put them in his mouth so I find it important to make sure that his hands and feet are clean and that he is an area that is clean - clear of anything that may end up in his mouth unintentionally. According to Malay folklore, when a baby sucks his toes, the mommy will have another child. Hmmmm...don't know if I will have any more energy to have a second child :).
Everyday, he spends at least 5 sessions of 5 minutes time on his tummy to help him develop his core strength which will be important in the development of his motor skills. Towards the end of the month, he has learnt how to roll on to his tummy on his own which means that supervision is of the utmost importance. As his neck muscles are now strong and he can hold his head up as well as move his head from l
eft to right and vice versa, I have less a worry of him smothering himself. I do play with him to encourage his head movement while he is lying on his tummy. I find that he prefers to sleep on his tummy with his head slightly turned to either the left or right. He has also learnt to lift his buttocks while lying on his tummy so I guess this is a signal that it may not be too long before he learns to crawl.GM is also more socially-aware now, recognizing people and sounds. I may be biased but he is such a good baby with a great personality - always smiling and friendly. He only cries when he is hungry, wants his diaper
changed or is not well. He is starting to learn to hold his bottle, albeit he will only hold it when he is in the "mood" and the hold is not firm yet. When he is full and no longer wants to drink more milk, he will use his hands to push away the bottle. Even if I attempt to place the bottle back in his mouth because there is still milk in the bottle, he will purse his lips shut. He goes with me almost everywhere and I rarely leave him in another's care. As such, he does not fear new surroundings or sounds and is more apt to explore it. 
As he now expresses his opinion through verbal or physical actions, I watch for the signs. When he cries, there are differences between the sounds he emits for when he is hungry and when he w
ants to have his diapers changed. He also now smiles in response to me and also to other people and has learnt to laugh. I have found some toys for him to play with and in the beginning, he didn't know what to do with it. Now he has learnt to play with them.
As I am still pretty much mobile, travels in the car in his car seat. Although at times I may have passengers and they want to hold him, for his safety and also for consistent pattern, he has to sit in his car seat. I have seen how some parents have to face a crying baby or baby's tantrums whenever they have to put the baby in his car seat so I hope GM continues to accept this pattern of travelling.All in all, this is the month that I have seen the most changes in him and every day, it is a joy to watch his development. Alhamdulillah.
