Mom & Baby Classes

ngentile

Has anyone been to a Mommy & Me, Gymboree or My Gym class with their LOs?  How was your experience?  I'm on the fence about signing up for one of these classes.  I have a few mom-friends and have gotten together with their LOs and plan to join up with the Nestie playgroup in a month or two, but didn't know if the structured playgroups were worth the expense and/or a good experience I'd be missing out on.  TIA! 

idonthavethis

This is kind of far for you but we went to the story time at the Enoch Pratt library downtown a few weeks ago and it was excellent. It is for infants and toddlers. They sing and do all sorts of things with them.

 

KathrynMD

I wouldn't worry about doing that kind of stuff when Avery is still soooo young unless you really need the structure.  She really just wants to see you/hang out w/ you and if you take her to different places/different environments - even the grocery store and the mall, the park, playgrounds, etc. - that should be enough stimulation for her.

ngentile

KathrynMD:

I wouldn't worry about doing that kind of stuff when Avery is still soooo young unless you really need the structure.  She really just wants to see you/hang out w/ you and if you take her to different places/different environments - even the grocery store and the mall, the park, playgrounds, etc. - that should be enough stimulation for her.

That's what I thought... but she's at the age where she's too young to really get into her toys and playmats but too old to be sleeping all day long so coming up with ways to keep her entertained is a challenge.  I try to do the narration-thing so she can hear my voice even if I feel silly doing it!

Matildasun

ngentile:

  I try to do the narration-thing so she can hear my voice even if I feel silly doing it!

I talk to Ada all the time especially when we are out. I have begun to wear her on my back, so people really think I am talking to myself, until they see her.

I found it very tiring in those early days to keep her entertained, especially when she was too little to smile or laugh, because I couldn't tell if she was happy. It gets easier.

KathrynMD

I wouldn't even worry that much about keeping her "entertained" just do what you need to do - make the beds, vacuum, load the dishwasher and bring her along and narrate and make sure she can see you and throw in some smiles and touches and she should be good.  Did you see the link below that Lisa and Mickey posted to the Fisher Price website w/ activiites you can do w/ your LOs.  Lots of great ideas there.

Cooper81

It is hard when they aren't sleeping as much, but can't really "play" with stuff.  John started to grasp things a few weeks ago and now he is working on coordinating getting them into his mouth (which is really funny to watch how hard he concentrates).  I bought a package of rings that you can string together and I have them hanging from everything, his car seat, bouncy seat, play mat and he loved to just swing his arms around and hit them before he could grasp.  Now he loves to grasp them.  I would just sit him in his bouncy seat and let him watch me do stuff around the house, fold laundry, vaccum, exercise, and I would talk to him and make faces.  We would also go to the mall and I would put him in my wrap so he could people watch with me, that usually wore him out pretty quickly.

twinpeaks_baby

If your heart is set on a class, we did two during the infant stages that I enjoyed for us.  We did Mommy and Me Swim Classes at Kids First Swim School.  My son seemed to enjoy those, and I did too for the most part.  They are only 30 minutes at a time and not too terribly pricey.  We also did Music Together, which both my son and I REALLY enjoyed.  I did it through It's Groovy Baby with Ms. Bettina.  You can google It's Groovy Baby for her locations (I went to the one on Providence Road, but I know she has locations in Pikesville as well).  It was great because it's a music class.  Even the really little ones seemed to respond to the music, and there was a mix in each class of very young to about 3/4.  We always had Ms. Bettina as the teacher, and she is awesome.  I agree that a class isn't necessary, but I got enjoyment out of these as well as it providing structure and something different for us to do.  Good luck! 

shadowboxerkd

twinpeaks_baby:

If your heart is set on a class, we did two during the infant stages that I enjoyed for us.  We did Mommy and Me Swim Classes at Kids First Swim School.  My son seemed to enjoy those, and I did too for the most part.  They are only 30 minutes at a time and not too terribly pricey.  We also did Music Together, which both my son and I REALLY enjoyed.  I did it through It's Groovy Baby with Ms. Bettina.  You can google It's Groovy Baby for her locations (I went to the one on Providence Road, but I know she has locations in Pikesville as well).  It was great because it's a music class.  Even the really little ones seemed to respond to the music, and there was a mix in each class of very young to about 3/4.  We always had Ms. Bettina as the teacher, and she is awesome.  I agree that a class isn't necessary, but I got enjoyment out of these as well as it providing structure and something different for us to do.  Good luck! 

I wen to the site for the swim classes, but it doesn't mention anything about prices anywhere. How much did it cost?

A&K+J

It's $85 for a 6 week session.