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Elliot is now 9 weeks old(!) As my husband says, a light bulb turned on in her head during the past few weeks. She's now noticing the world around her and giving us lots of smiles. All this is wonderful, but I'm also surprised to find myself frustrated with our daily activities. I feel like I don't have any more ideas on how to entertain her all day long. Here's what we do everyday: sit in the swing, sit in the bouncy chair, smile at each other, talk to each other, look at toys, look at the mobile, go for walks. Beyond that, I'm out of ideas. Last week, I felt really bored with our "routine" and I think she did, too. She's been pretty grumpy lately.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to occupy the mind of a 2-month old?
Elliot is an adorable little girl and at her age, she is becoming more alert. She can now hear you and see you better and things therefore become more interesting for her. Unfortunately, while this is a precious time, it can get a bit boring. You have the important activities covered (swing, bouncy chair, taking walks, smiling and most importantly talking!) However, if you need a few ideas to switch things up, I suggest: Spending time utilizing the newfound senses Elliot is discovering. For instance, with the toys you use with her, try holding them farther away from her at first so you can encourage her to raise her head up to see it better. There is also singing and dancing with her. Play some of your favorite music, or children's tunes if you prefer and just dance with her. Even if you feel that you can't sing, Elliot will love to hear you anyway. Touch sensations are important. Remember the book Pat the Bunny? Buy it. You can also take different fabrics or materials and allow her to feel the difference by rubbing them against her cheeks and feet. Babies love that. Another activity she is sure to love: Using mirrors. Hold her in front of a mirror and have her look at herself. Some other activities you can try to fit into your schedule are Peek-a-Boo, the 5 little piggies, and baby aerobics. You can lie her on her back and lift her arms up and down while saying "up" and "down". Also "in" and "out" with the arms. Repeat these activities with the legs and kiss her on her belly. I hope these items I suggested were new to you and of some use - Enjoy!
Lauren, those are all great ideas and I'll start using them right away! Thank you.
Barb, can't wait to see you too!
This is the age at which I really started liking Lorelei, when she 'grew' a personality! I agree 100% with Lauren's mirror idea. Lorelei could spend hours (well, tens of minutes) staring in a mirror. Another thing we did was tummy time a couple times a day. If you haven't already started this, it's great for motor skills but babies tend to hate it for at least the first few days. Not a heck of a lot to do on your belly at first, but once Elliot develops some strength it's a fun way to play. Baby aerobics were also a big hit in our house--we'd make Lorelei do YMCA and we'd kick her legs for her. This would often calm her down when nothing else would. We also had a baby gym with hanging toys. At first she would just look up at them and babble but by three months she was grabbing at them and I think by four months she was getting so rambunctious we had to take the toys off the hangy thing and give them to her to play with directly, since she would pull the whole thing down on herself.
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
I felt the same way ... like I was supposed to be doing more/something/whatever. Nope -no worries - soon enough there will be more to do.
I know the feeling though - I see all the baby toys and all the neat ones always seemed to advanced. I was thinking "when will we get to do that?" ... And now it has just started, and boy is it tiring!
Enjoy the calm ... :)
Hey.. I found this link to activities for babies of all ages but more pertinent to this discussion here is some fun/important stuff to do with a 0-3 month-old.
ooh, another thing I thought of when I was walking this afternoon was reading to your kiddo. Lorelei loved being read to, and at that age I could read anything, even stuff I wanted to read, like magazines or Harry Potter, and she would just listen. Now we have to read board books because she will tear out the pages and she needs pictures to look at. You can also check out your local library to see if they have baby story times. Our library has a story time three times a week for 0-15 month olds. I never did this with Lorelei and I kind of regret it now.
Anna,
I know nothing about keeping little ones entertained, but bored or not -- Elliot is sure a cutie.
-Dawn
I felt the same way, and even though Camille is very busy now, sometimes I still find myself wondering what we can do next. I second what everyone has said about mirrors and books and the baby gym, but the only thing I would add is excursions. Camille LOVED the grocery store, so we'd take our time filling up the cart. She also liked strolling through the mall because there was a lot to see, so we'd go there even if I had to lock up my wallet. I may have created a monster though, because even now, at 15 months, she loves to go. If there is a lull in our playtime, she'll go to the door and start banging on it, saying, "Go! Go! Go!"
Hey!! Our kids are about the same age and I feel the same way. My son loves it when I sing to him. His fave is the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." I do the hand motions on his tummy and get the biggest laughs. ;o) We also go to the library every week for story time and to check out new books. When it's too cold to go for a walk, I turn on the radio and we dance or he watches me do a workout video ;o) (Still working on the baby weight...) We are also working on eye coordination and tummy time. Hope this gives you some new ideas!!
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Sounds like to me if that light bulb is going on, you are doing all the right things. Don't stress to much, she is only 2 months old, and very happy and healthy. You'll have enough things to stress about later, enjoy this time!! Can't wait to see everyone at Christmas!