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Hey guys. So I've been wondering, what sort of activities can you/do you do with your baby? Isla is 7 weeks today and I'm looking for things to help her development and learning. We do tummy time, 'talking', I have this silly kissy game she likes, I sing to her...why else can I do? Obviously she's pretty limited atm to eating, sleeping and pooping :lol: But is there anything else you guys are doing?
Nope, all babies really need is what you said: food, sleep, and cuddles :) They love lots of face to face time. At this age your face is the most interesting thing to them. Too many activities and they can get overstimulated. You don't need to really 'do' anything. You've got it all covered already :)
The two things Annabelle loves most right now are us singing to her and pulling funny faces (she got so close to giggling at DH last night!) and Masterchef. Seriously. She was crying last night and nothing was working, but I put her on the couch next to DH and she watched Masterchef for 20 minutes. Not the first time that's happened either!
We also went to our first Rattle & Rhyme Time at the local library on Monday. She's obviously too young to interact much, but she loves the singing and gets us out of the house - the other little bubs were very interested too :)
She also likes her little gym/play mat thing, if I need to do something and can't hold her I can put her there and she smiles and flails her arms about at all the hanging things.
Can't wait til they can actually play with their toys a little more!
Isla likes her play mat too...it has a mirror and different feeling toys, and the actual mat has crunchy sounding bits on it :)
I went to see Harry Potter at a mums and bubs session yesterday and she watched it a bit too. All colour and movement lol. Thanks guys, I just want to make sure I'm not neglecting her, sometimes she'll just be lying there staring off into space and I wonder if I should be doing more.
I agree with Heaven. What you are already doing is perfect, you don't want to over stimulate her. DD was the worst for it. If we went out for the day we would have to spend a couple of days at home otherwise she would be so unsettled. She loved tummy time we laid down with her and talked to her. I sang to her alot and had alot of face to face time.
Yeah, Annabelle does the staring into space thing too. Sometimes I feel like she needs it though, she gets sick of us trying to play with her too much, so she takes a bit of 'down time' lol. She'll let you know if she's not happy :)
To you PZ, she's staring into space. To her, she is trying to decipher the pattern of light in front of her eyes... or processing all the delightful things she's seen so far during the day... or working out how to move her fingers... or filling her nappy :lol:
Every day, every moment, every interaction is new and exciting and thrilling to them at this precious, gorgeous age. You are absolutely doing the right things with her, keep it up xx
PZ - are you in the Stonnington area at the moment? The library's have a really good program called Read and Grow which I took Jazzy too from when she was quite little - it was great fun and a great way to get out of the house meeting other Mums in the area. Have you joined a Mum's group yet? The MCHN centre is great in Prahran and I know it was a great way for Jazzy to interact with other bubs and for me to get some Mummy interaction also. They have a lot of information there about various things that you can do in the area. Some of it may not be relevant as Isla is still so little, but you can drop in there any time to have a look at the news boards and leaflets.
Janie xxx
Sounds like you're doing plenty.
Her favourite activities right now are cuddles and booby. It's ok if she's staring off into space sometimes - we all need a bit of time for reflection.
Thanks guys! She's really teaching Menai much, babies are more clever than people give them credit for. Sometimes I think she's the one looking after me :)
Janie that's fantastic, thankyou!
Remember to get outside when you can too - my fave times back in the early days were spreading a picnic blanket under some trees and we'd both just chill out on a blanket. DD used to love watching the leaves and trees in the breeze. Weather permitting of course :)
At that age, just being there and talking to her is more than enough. As she gets older, get her out into different environments, just to experience it. Leaves moving in the breeze is waaaaaay fascinating.
You don't have to *do* anything, really. Just interact with her and expose her to different stimuli - things to look at, things to touch, things to taste. That's it. You dont' need fancy classes or special toys or organised activities. Kids love doing things with mum, so you can just work it into your routine (when she's older I mean), so they cook with you, clean with you, go to the toilet with you, etc, etc.
Getting out to mums groups, ABA or playgroup can be a great way for you to get much needed adult time :D
I read to DS from the time he was a month old... More for my own amusement and because like you i didnt know what to do to stimulate them and help them learn but I think it was a good idea, it got me used to reading stories every night or in the afternoon and we still do it everyday and he can practically read. he actually read a few ( probably off memory) and corrects me if I try to change the story on him if I m not reading properly :) And hes only 2.5yrs old now....
But you are doing plenty already.... this is the only other thing I can think of atm.... :)