Preemies

How do you entertain your 10wk preemie??

I feel like Addison is so bored when she is awakeTongue Tied. She lays under her activity thing she lays in her chair but I still feel like she is so bored. I hold her talk to her but don't feel like I am entertaining her.

 

Any advice you have would be appreciated.

THANKS!!

Addison and Mommy

Re: How do you entertain your 10wk preemie??

  • It is a fine line ... preemies *can* get overstimulated so easily that you don't want to do too much.  But then you want to engage them and interact with/entertain them too.  I'm trying to remember when Madeline was first home from the hospital, but it has been so long ... Eventually she would sit in her bouncer and watch the lights and listen to the music or sit in her swing and watch the mobile and listen to the music, but I don't remember how soon after we brought her home we did that.  I would read to her and walk around the house with her and "show" her things.  She would lay on her activity mat and just look around.  Eventually the mirror that went with her activity mat was very interesting to her.

    You're probably doing a fine job ... it just is hard to read anything but boredome in their expressions because they can't show you very much about what they are feeling.  They aren't very animated in their expressions is I guess what I am trying to say.

     

  • My best advice is to just talk/sing to her like you would any other person if you're having trouble thinking of what to do/say. Take her for a walk in the stroller (if it's not too cold where you are), read her books, discuss what you're making for lunch, show her photo albums of you and DH, explain all of the art/photos on your walls, use silly voices with a stuffed animal, show her her hands and feet, put different fabrics (silk, cotton, terry cloth) gently against her skin, etc. Basically, every thing is a good idea as long as it's safe :)

    I'm sure you're doing great. Just try not to rely on the bouncer, swing, etc. too much this early on. They're usually only alert for like 1 hour of total time a day - just be with her and she'll enjoy it and learn tons.

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  • It seems like, developmentally, she's just about newborn?  Preemies can be frustrating, because it feels like you'll be at this newborn stage forever.

    She can barely see the stuff on her activity mat, she can just about focus on your face while you're nursing her...  now's a time to snuggle and nurse and take naps.  When she starts to respond to you, to look at you, make faces at you, smile on purpose, THEN you can think about maybe playing a game or two.  It's great to talk to her, but she can't understand the words - she's just getting to know the sound of your voice.  Over the next few months, she'll get much more responsive and be both more interested and more interesting.

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