Interacting while wearing/holding?

starshineamator

My LO is getting older (12 weeks), and is much more interactive. She smiles and coos at us all the time now. But I find that when I put her down on the changing table to change her is when we get the most interactions. I very rarely put her down otherwise, unless I'm home by myself and need to use the bathroom. When my parents were visiting (they were here for 10 days, left a week ago), they put her down a lot- in her vibrating chair, the swing, and a pack and play. She was ok in all of these things for a while (longer than I expected!) but then they would sit there and talk to her and she was very interactive. I feel like she doesn't interact with me as much when I'm holding her as she does when she's placed down somewhere. She also seemed to love playing with toys and such in the pnp with my mom, which I usually don't do with her. I'm really committed to attachment parenting but not sure how to balance these things - should I be putting her down more to interact with her at this age? The other thing is we have to keep her upright to help with the spitting up issues, so I can't really hold her in a cradled position or lying down on my lap so she can see me and interact that way; I typically keep her up over my shoulder. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks ladies. 

aglenn

Well, my DD hated to be put down at all, so we spent a lot of time around that age on the couch.  I would put my feet on the couch and sit her up against my knees and I'd talk, sing, show her toys, etc.  AP, however, does not mean you have to hold the baby 24/7, so if she is fine being put down that is OK to do!  DS was better about sitting in a bouncy chair or propped up in a Boppy for a while so I did plenty of that with him and we would interact that way.

PumpkinAndThePeanut

Can you wear her in a carrier and leave her head out, facing you (support her head with your hand if necessary) and interact with her that way?

nosoup4u

AP doesn't mean that you wear your baby constantly - it means you respond her needs. So if she's sad or needs cuddles, you're comforting her. You can put her down and play with her and still be an AP parent, especially if she's enjoying it. 

fryrat

To me, AP is more about responding to baby's needs, not being physically attached. If baby wants to be attached then great, but if baby wants to roll on the floor, bounce in a bouncy chair, then that's great too. You can always sit in the floor with LO and talk to him, sing songs, introduce toys and textures, etc.

ncbelle

Do whatever works and makes you both happy!  Although I guess I'm a little confused by the question as I interact constantly with my babies while they are being worn.  It's also good for development in terms of them being able to see a lot more and be involved in your activities.  Not that you should feel you need to wear all the time of course!  But certainly you shouldn't feel like wearing your baby isn't interacting with her

Emerald27

ncbelle said:

Do whatever works and makes you both happy!  Although I guess I'm a little confused by the question as I interact constantly with my babies while they are being worn.  It's also good for development in terms of them being able to see a lot more and be involved in your activities.  Not that you should feel you need to wear all the time of course!  But certainly you shouldn't feel like wearing your baby isn't interacting with her

This! I'm talking with DS, making eye contact if he's on my front, rubbing his back and running fingers through the hair on his little head...for me, wearing DS is very interactive for both of us.

I say don't worry too much, do what you and baby enjoy!

starshineamator

Thanks everyone.  

Typically when I wear her, she falls asleep! So I'm not sure that counts as interacting. And like I said, when I'm holding her up on my shoulder it is hard to see her unless we are in the mirror (which I do a lot, but can't all the time!). 

I also like the idea of propping her up on my knees on the couch! And I haven't used the boppy yet, may try that today.