LO is 6 weeks and we do tummy time, listen to music, play with toys and all that jazz but I still feel like I am not entertaining him enough. What are you doing to entertain your LO?
Honestly not much. They are 7 weeks old and on the rare occasion they are both content at the same time, I often leave them to sit in their bouncers so I can eat or pee or something. Today they had about 10 minutes on the play mat. I imagine I might spend a few more minutes this afternoon rattling a toy in front of them or something, but otherwise I just talk/narrate/sing while I'm doing stuff. I can't wait until they are a bit more patient and content in life.
bfp#4 3/19/2014 edd 12/1/2014 please let this be the one!
I carry LO around with me in a sling and tell him what I'm doing, it was an idea I got from a thread here. I explain brushing my teeth, fixing lunch, folding laundry, etc. but then other times I worry I'm not talking to him enough!
My oldest was not ever really entertained until he was a bit older and I honestly think thats the reason his motor skills were so advanced, and why he was (and still is) so independant. I think a lot of that was also bedsharing/babywearing, too - he always knew we would be there and felt secure to explore and entertain himself.
I honestly wouldnt worry too much about entertaining him as long as you're responding to his needs and spending SOME time talking/etc.
Oh gosh now I'm paranoid that I'm not doing enough at all. We usually just spend the first half of every day just nursing/snuggling. Aside from that I talk and sing to her, do some tummy time, take her on car rides and listen to music. Her Sleep Sheep is really her only toy thing, she is all about those whale sounds.
I make up stuff but I think it's more to entertain myself than him right now. For example, we did tummy time but I put him on a piece of cardboard and pulled him around the carpet during it. He seemed to enjoy it for a bit at least.
I suck at narrating my day so I just ask him questions and wait for "answers" or put on music and dance with him. I need to buy a sling or k'tan to wear him around. Still, his favorite activity is staring at the blinds so I'm not super worried.
In memory of the baby Hufflepuff and all the angel babies of D14
LO is 6 weeks and we do tummy time, listen to music, play with toys and all that jazz but I still feel like I am not entertaining him enough. What are you doing to entertain your LO?
I do all of the same things with my 5 week old and I too still feel like I am not entertaining her. She also doesn't seem too interested in any of it either. She seems much more interested in staring at the walls and windows (that are covered with blinds and curtains).
DH and I: Dating: 08/2008, Engaged: 02/2012, and Married: 03/13!
"toddler station" on pandora has all those kid songs i forgot existed. so i will put it on and sing while i am cleaning/doing house stuff.. also read her a story every now and then. i hold the book up to see if she will look at the pages.. but like PP have said.. she doesn't really care about the book and would rather stare at the light on our ceiling or the picture on our wall.
The nurse practitioner told us that the significance of reading them books at this age is so that they can hear a wider vocabulary. So I figure, if I just talk to her like I'm having an intellectual conversation with a regular adult instead of repetitive baby talk, she's hearing a wider range of words than she would from story books. No idea if it actually works the same way. :-/
What toys do you guys use? I have a couple rattles and a play mat, but he is not interested in them. He just stares at my boobs (like father like son). I want to get him things that he will want to play with.
Baby girl is 3 weeks tomorrow. We sing , do tummy time or back time on her play mat, crib time with the mobile, lots of talking to her and mimicking her cooing sounds.
"but like PP have said.. she doesn't really care about the book and would rather stare at the light on our ceiling or the picture on our wall.
We have started calling LO moth baby because staring directly into light is one of her favorite things. I try not to think of it as a reflection on my narration skills.
For my fellow neurotic D14 moms, Gymboree has a book called something like 100 things to do with your baby, with instructions and pictures, organized by age. The ones I've had time to look at so far are pretty good.
"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
I feel like we don't do enough either. We try toys and books but he is just not interested. We dance around & sing, mostly. I try to time tummy time well and he does pretty good at it. When I do it we start with a few minutes on his mat looking at the animal mobile above him and I do all the different animal sounds.
LO is 3.5 weeks, and I sort of feel like he doesn't have as much alert awake non-fussy time as he should. He's not colicy, just inactive. So that's part of why we struggle with activities.
LO is 6 weeks old and is more entertained by the lights in the kitchen than anything else. We do tummy time, I sing/talk to her or walk her around the house. She is just starting to enjoy her swing. Its been hella cold here in CT so I can't really take her for outside.
I talk to him a lot. I walk round the house with him & show him what things are. I read to him & my daughter. & sit him up & let her gently touch his hands & feet & sing to him. I think at this point they don't really know what boring is honest. Everyday is something new to them because they're just not use to it. But it still is important to interact with them but don't think your not doing enough. Seems like your doing everything fine to me.
She loves doing her exercises! We do bicycle kicks and arm movements while counting out loud. She also loves her tummy time. Otherwise she sits in her rocker and observes things while I talk to her or I hold her and walk around showing her the house and having "conversations" or singing. I try to balance out letting her explore on her own quietly and me being in her face, I think both are important. She is 3 weeks today (woah, what?), and I wouldn't say she seems bored when we aren't doing anything proactive, it looks like she's studying everything and figuring out the world.
The nurse practitioner told us that the significance of reading them books at this age is so that they can hear a wider vocabulary. So I figure, if I just talk to her like I'm having an intellectual conversation with a regular adult instead of repetitive baby talk, she's hearing a wider range of words than she would from story books. No idea if it actually works the same way. :-/
The other reason to start reading early is so that babies learn reading behaviour early on. I track the words on the page with my finger when reading them, for example, so that she knows this is normal reading behaviour when she starts to read later. You also just want to instill a love of reading - make it part of your daily life. This will help them immensely once they start school.
And story books use an incredible vocabulary, actually! We often think of them as being "simple" but your average picture book is really not made for a child to read on his or her own because the vocabulary is too advanced/varied. They need an adult to read it/interpret it.
Exactly. I also feel like my little dude is very disinterested at this point, but I do it anyway. Early exposure to books is so important!
The nurse practitioner told us that the significance of reading them books at this age is so that they can hear a wider vocabulary. So I figure, if I just talk to her like I'm having an intellectual conversation with a regular adult instead of repetitive baby talk, she's hearing a wider range of words than she would from story books. No idea if it actually works the same way. :-/
The other reason to start reading early is so that babies learn reading behaviour early on. I track the words on the page with my finger when reading them, for example, so that she knows this is normal reading behaviour when she starts to read later. You also just want to instill a love of reading - make it part of your daily life. This will help them immensely once they start school.
And story books use an incredible vocabulary, actually! We often think of them as being "simple" but your average picture book is really not made for a child to read on his or her own because the vocabulary is too advanced/varied. They need an adult to read it/interpret it.
Exactly. I also feel like my little dude is very disinterested at this point, but I do it anyway. Early exposure to books is so important!
DH read LO her first book while I was in the recovery room from my C-Section-- that was probably overkill but it is a beautiful memory. Now we mostly read her stuff we like to read as she doesn't focus on the pages for tracking anyway... But I try to read her "But Not the Hippopotamus" daily, because it makes me smile.
My mom, who is a child psychologist, said yesterday we should start LO on books with textures, flaps, etc that they can interact with.
"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
The nurse practitioner told us that the significance of reading them books at this age is so that they can hear a wider vocabulary. So I figure, if I just talk to her like I'm having an intellectual conversation with a regular adult instead of repetitive baby talk, she's hearing a wider range of words than she would from story books. No idea if it actually works the same way. :-/
The other reason to start reading early is so that babies learn reading behaviour early on. I track the words on the page with my finger when reading them, for example, so that she knows this is normal reading behaviour when she starts to read later. You also just want to instill a love of reading - make it part of your daily life. This will help them immensely once they start school.
And story books use an incredible vocabulary, actually! We often think of them as being "simple" but your average picture book is really not made for a child to read on his or her own because the vocabulary is too advanced/varied. They need an adult to read it/interpret it.
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That makes more sense. I hadn't realized they start learning reading behavior this early, I guess like PPs I just thought since she doesn't really pay attention she's not getting much from it. Tbh I had been reading out loud from Autobiography of a Yogi (just what I'm currently reading) and not thinking about the visual stimulus aspect. Looks like I will be breaking out the story books then!
Re: I feel like I am boring my baby
I talk to him a lot. Just kind of explaining what I'm doing. I like to give him little massages too and he seems to enjoy them.
bfp#4 3/19/2014 edd 12/1/2014 please let this be the one!
beta @ 5w0d = 12,026! u/s 4/22/14 @ 8w1d it's twins!
I suck at narrating my day so I just ask him questions and wait for "answers" or put on music and dance with him. I need to buy a sling or k'tan to wear him around.
Still, his favorite activity is staring at the blinds so I'm not super worried.
For my fellow neurotic D14 moms, Gymboree has a book called something like 100 things to do with your baby, with instructions and pictures, organized by age. The ones I've had time to look at so far are pretty good.
LO is 3.5 weeks, and I sort of feel like he doesn't have as much alert awake non-fussy time as he should. He's not colicy, just inactive. So that's part of why we struggle with activities.
D14 November Siggy Challenge: The feels of 3rd trimester...
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Exactly. I also feel like my little dude is very disinterested at this point, but I do it anyway. Early exposure to books is so important!
, 💙💙💙💙💙💙
DH read LO her first book while I was in the recovery room from my C-Section-- that was probably overkill but it is a beautiful memory. Now we mostly read her stuff we like to read as she doesn't focus on the pages for tracking anyway... But I try to read her "But Not the Hippopotamus" daily, because it makes me smile.
My mom, who is a child psychologist, said yesterday we should start LO on books with textures, flaps, etc that they can interact with.
D14 November Siggy Challenge: The feels of 3rd trimester...
--quote box--
That makes more sense. I hadn't realized they start learning reading behavior this early, I guess like PPs I just thought since she doesn't really pay attention she's not getting much from it. Tbh I had been reading out loud from Autobiography of a Yogi (just what I'm currently reading) and not thinking about the visual stimulus aspect. Looks like I will be breaking out the story books then!