4 Month Milestones: Rolling, Laughing and the 4 Month Check

The usual 4 month milestones are steadier head control, pushing up on the forearms in tummy time, the first attempts at rolling, reaching for and grabbing toys, laughing out loud, and cooing that starts to turn into babble. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby(opens in a new window) calls a 4 month old stronger, more social and more curious, and each skill arrives in its own time.

Four months is also when the home rules change: once bub shows signs of rolling, wrapping stops or the arms come free, and the second round of immunisations falls due.

What does a 4 month old usually do, by area?

A 4 month old sits at the join of two age bands, birth to 4 months and 4 to 8 months, so the table carries what is usually settling in and what is usually just starting. The rows follow the ACECQA developmental milestones(opens in a new window), the national early-childhood reference, and the checklist here is the same checklist the BabyLog app records.

A baby pouring effort into rolling can look quiet on babbling for a fortnight; that is a trade-off, not a gap.

What is typical at 4 months?

Rolling and head control

Rolling is the headline skill of this month, and it has a wide window. The Raising Children Network(opens in a new window) puts it as "it could be around now": at 4 to 5 months babies often start rolling from back to tummy as well as tummy to back. Tummy to back usually comes first. Red Nose sees the first signs of rolling from around 3 months, and healthdirect only lists not rolling as a concern from 6 months.

Head control makes rolling possible. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby notes that a 4 month old pulled gently to sit can usually hold their head up with little support. The tummy time guide covers building up to around 30 minutes across the day.

One safety point travels with rolling: Pregnancy, Birth and Baby's advice is never to leave a baby alone on a change table or any raised surface.

Laughing, squealing and early babble

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby lists smiling, laughing and showing excitement when you interact, plus turning toward voices. The Raising Children Network adds the 4 to 5 month repertoire: blowing raspberries, squealing, sounds like "ah-goo", and copying the up-and-down tone of your speech.

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby · 4 months old

Back-and-forth interaction, when you and your baby take turns responding to each other's sounds, smiles and expressions, is an important part of social development at 4 months old.

Reaching, grabbing and mouthing

A 4 month old may reach for toys, grab dangling objects, hold a rattle placed in the hand, then bring everything to the mouth. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby describes mouthing as common and useful for learning, with the rule that small objects stay out of reach. By 4 to 5 months the Raising Children Network expects a palm-and-pointer-finger grip.

Feeding and sleep at 4 months

Milk is still the whole menu. Solids start at around 6 months; the Raising Children Network describes the run-up as more dribbling, fingers in the mouth and interest in what you are eating. Amounts by weight and age, and the signs of getting enough, are in how much milk a baby drinks.

Eating and sleeping patterns are usually becoming more settled, and 4 month olds are often awake for longer stretches in the day.

Why does rolling change the safe-sleep rules?

A wrapped baby who rolls onto their tummy may not be able to roll back, with their arms pinned. That is why Red Nose(opens in a new window) ties the end of wrapping to rolling rather than to a birthday.

Red Nose · Wrapping or swaddling babies

Stop wrapping when baby shows signs of rolling or reaches 3 months of age.

For a baby still being wrapped, Red Nose's rule is that once they show signs of rolling, the arms are left free or wrapping stops altogether, so a baby who ends up on their tummy can push back. Arms can come free earlier, once the startle reflex fades. Back sleeping stays the same: Red Nose is clear that tummy sleeping raises the risk of SIDS, and a wrapped baby on their tummy is at extra risk of overheating and suffocation.

The trigger fires before the first full roll. Rolling from side to side, which the ACECQA list places in the birth-to-4-months band, is the usual first sign.

What immunisations are due at 4 months?

The 4 month round is the second on the routine childhood schedule. The Australian Government Department of Health(opens in a new window) lists the same diseases as the 2 month round: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), rotavirus and pneumococcal. Vaccines on the National Immunisation Program schedule(opens in a new window) are free, though a clinic may charge a consultation fee. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies may be offered an additional vaccine.

Is there a child health check at 4 months?

In some states there is. Victoria's Maternal and Child Health service(opens in a new window) holds its fifth key age and stage visit at four months. The nurse reviews growth, health and development, works through the parent questions in the green book, and covers safe sleeping, food in the first year, play and immunisations. Each state runs its own visit schedule, so the baby health checks in Australia guide has the timing for where you live.

When to talk to your child health nurse

Variation is normal at this age; a persistent absence is what the nurse wants to hear about. Drawn from Pregnancy, Birth and Baby(opens in a new window) and the Raising Children Network(opens in a new window), talk to your child health nurse or GP if your baby:

• isn't feeding well, or has sleeping patterns that worry you
• cries a lot or is hard to settle, and it is worrying you
• isn't making sounds, or isn't responding to sounds and voices
• isn't making eye contact, isn't smiling, or isn't responding to familiar faces
• has an eye that turns in or out most of the time, or doesn't follow moving objects
• isn't lifting their head, isn't reaching for objects, or isn't rolling tummy to back by around 5 months

At any age, a lost skill warrants a review. healthdirect(opens in a new window) puts it plainly: all babies develop at their own pace, but missing a milestone beyond the usual age may be a sign that a child needs extra support.

Keeping track of the 4 month window

BabyLog's milestone checklist uses the same ACECQA list as the table above, in the same areas. Mark a few milestones to watch, tap the one that happened, pick the time and add a note; it is stamped with your baby's exact age and shared with every caregiver. Milestone tracking is part of Pro. Before a check, a checkup report pulls a chosen period of feeding, sleep, growth and the milestone checklist into one summary, shareable as a private link or PDF.

The wider picture is in baby milestones by age. Look back at 3 month milestones if bub arrived here early, or ahead to 6 month milestones for sitting, solids and first teeth.

Common questions