November 2012 Moms

wakefulhours.. what to do..opinions please

BG has started being awake for longer periods of time and I overthink about whether or not i am having enough quality activities with/for her

she gets floor time usually will go 15-20 minutes cooing and kicking....not grabbing anything thing hanging from the playmat yet, but swings arms to hit them

She likes her swing....

She will stay on my lap and chatter giggle for 10 minutes or so

We will dance to a song .. 

But honestly that all gets kinda dull day in and day out..... and sometimes I just want her to sleep so I can play/read/chill.... and then i feel like a terrible person

I guess my question is Should i be doing more structured interactive playtime already or is OK to let her entertain herself so much???

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Re: wakefulhours.. what to do..opinions please

  • I was wondering the same thing and posted this same question in another group I belong to. The consensus was everything is so new to our babies that just watching us and hearing us speak is amazing in itself. It's also good to let baby learn to entertain themselves. Sometimes I lay my son on his side while I read and book lying next to him. And he just coos and chuckles himself right into a nap. Other times I just read whatever I'm reading out loud to him. And when I have to get stuff done like cook , I sometimes wear him on me. I think he likes the sound of me chopping vegetables, water running and sizzling pans. And I play lots of music for him. I guess just don't overthink it. They are discovering new stuff everyday in sight and sound alone and if your baby is happy and starting to chatter already, it means you're doing something right.
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  • I definitely think parents today, myself included, overanalyze and worry about how much we are "stimulating" amd playing with our LOs.

    I lay him on his back which he could do forever, but I'll do that about ten minutes... then just when he gets really into it, I'm mean and flip him on his belly. He'll only do about five good minutes of tummy time. Then I'll flip him back over and let him kick around on his back a while longer.

    We walk the house and look at everything and I point to stuff.

    I sit him up against my knees facing me and talk, sing, make faces....

    We call grandma and put her on speakerphone. He likes that.

    We do a lot of airplane flying around the house.
    I raise him up above my head.

    Read books. Go "shopping" and let him look at stuff.

    Of course, bath time! He loves bath time.

    Anyway, really I think this is true for most babies, but especially C, he can only be up for an hour and a half or less or else he gets fussy and hard to put down.

    So it may get repetitive, but I find I get enough breaks in between naps and can mix it all up a bit.

    Oh. Also. His new favorite way and the new sure fire way to zonk him out in no time flat is holding him while bouncing on an exercise ball. He loves it and then... he doesn't know what hit him! He's out!
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  • imagerachael_c26:
    I definitely think parents today, myself included, overanalyze and worry about how much we are "stimulating" amd playing with our LOs. !!

     

    Agreed!!! 

  • We will play on her playmat, which she loves. She's been grabbing at the toys more and more. After every diaper change we do some tummy time. When she starts getting fussy, usually after about an hour to hour and a half of being awake we read a book and cuddle. I get better naps out of her when we cuddle so ill either have a nap with her or read/watch tv and hold her.
    When I'm making dinner she hangs out in her bouncy chair in the kitchen.
    Laundry and such gets done while she's playing on her back. I feel bad that I'm not interacting with her, but then her nap times actually gets to be me time and I have my sanity.
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  • I felt the same way for a while, but we do many of the same things mentioned. He loves his piano kick and play mat so he does spend a lot of time on there. Sometimes on his own and sometimes I play with him. Like Rach, I will flip him to his tummy to break up stretches. But right now, it's the only other thing other than his changing table that amuses him well!

    Other times I will read and sing to him. I sit him on my lap and make faces with him. That often gets him going.

    He likes his bouncy seat too.

    I go back to work in a week and I know both grandmas won't do as much holding and playing as I do. I stress about that. They are so old school....they think they will spoil him...they believe he needs to learn to play on his own. It's a learning process....they are getting better...but its hard to teach old dogs new tricks.

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  • I do pretty much the same things but he also gets extra at daycare. Yesterday they did "hands painting". I have no idea of the logistics involved but I got a neat splatter of paint to hang up in my cube. They set the babies in front of the mirror a lot too. Everything else they do is normal, reading, singing, pointing things out etc.
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  • I think it's fine to have him play by himself for awhile for both your sake and his. It gives him time to learn independent play and you a break.
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