How to play with/ stimulate an infant?

[BeachBum]

I feel really dumb asking this, but can anyone recommend a book on how to play with an infant? Now that Henry is starting to be awake more, I feel like I should be playing with him. I want my kiddo to be smart! I just don't really know what to do with him.

[Megande]

I know what you mean! Sometimes at the end of the day, I look at DS and think "what am I supposed to do with you now?".

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553380303.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
I got this book at the library. It is by the authors of Baby Signs. It has a lot of the current research on child development plus ideas for things to do with your baby from birth to three years old. That said, I was already doing a lot of the suggestions.

Some things that we do (DS is three months old):
I sing him a lot of songs. He especially likes songs with motions like "Head and shoulders, knees and toes", "Where is thumbkin"

If I have to do chores or cook dinner, I narrate everything that I am doing. The more words a child is exposed to, the better.

You can buy little socks or bracelets with bells on them really cheaply at Target and it is a good problem solving exercise for the baby to figure out how to make them ring.

Exposing them to new sights, sounds, smells, etc is also really good for developing minds. Take a walk, sit outside under a tree, let him feel new textures, stuff like that.

Thats all I can think of for now! HTH!

[dzmattie]

Great advice here so far. I talked to my mom alot about this as DS was getting older - she just kept telling how important it is to keep talking to them. I would basically talk though my whole day to DS - sometimes I felt like I was going alittle nuts! ;)

I also liked the Link-a-doo's playmat - it played songs, gave him things to pull at and it was really cute. I enjoyed sitting and encouraging him to play with it more.

[oshannon]

BeachBum -

I have been wondering the EXACT same thing! I'm not due till January, but have this fear of his awake time being me staring at him and him staring back. :o

Thanks for asking, and thanks to the others for the help.

[SaphirimalMei]

Singing, reading, soft toys, hard toys, toys that make sound, really whatever comes to mind. I like The Baby Book by Dr Sears, because along with all the usual helpful info it has ideas on games to play with baby based on age.

As far as talking goes. Yes! Talk, even about mundane things. Chatter away :D The only input I have about that is that around 6 months you'll want to slow down when talking to baby because this is the time where they're starting to learn that language has a purpose even if they can't communicate that way yet. I have read that speaking more slowly and pronouncing things clearly helps baby get a better grasp on what language is all about :)

The book You Are Your Child's First Teacher (can't remember who by...Dancy?) is a kind of "crunchy" view on parenting and is written based mainly on the teachings of Rudolph Steiner (father of Waldorf schooling). I could take or leave a lot of the Waldorf views on things, but the section on language development is fascinating!

[kimthebride]

I got a book as a gift called Games babies play that has some nice ideas in it:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0916773582.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
Games, songs, ideas.

Also, just be as interactive as possible with DC: get on the floor and play Peek-A-Boo or 'dance' his different body parts, make his toys talk to him or kiss him, show him different rattles, lay on the floor next to him on your backs and read books together pointing out each thing on the page, sing, dance, clap, shake rattles to music, tickle, help him set off the music on different toys or his play gym. Basically just be silly, creative and playful with him, lol.
have fun!

[Mrs. M.]

-Singing games like "the itsy bitsy spider", "patty cake", etc

-it's never too soon to start looking at picture books

[Winter Biscuit]

I agree that it's never to soon to look at picture books. We started out with story books at a very early age. DH would read DD a story every night before bed. She absolutely loves books - always has - and I think it has everything to do with the fact that we spent a lot of time reading to her when she was younger and never let her watch TV except for the occasional Baby Einstein video.

[kimthebride]

Oh, and i got this as a gift as well:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1570711100.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
A ton of home-grown creative ways to play with your baby from birth to 2 years old. Artsy-farty, simple and pretty cute.

[kindermom]

I worried (and am worrying right now) about what to play with my baby. She is 7 weeks old and most of the time she seems to like staring into space. I highly highly highly recommend the following book...

Your Baby's First Year: week by week by Curtis and Schuler. You can check it out here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0738209759/qid=1128557499/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-3650152-8503148?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)or at your local bookstore.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0738209759.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-

Besides being a great resource, at the end of each week they have games to play and toys to play with for your baby. For example we ar ein week 7. They recommend, in addition to previous suggestions, that we encourage language development by talking to her all the time (notice PP also suggested that) and to entertain your child by making a stuffed animal dance and sing.

[LeslieR]

Great thread-I struggle with this every day! I totally recommend a silly songs cd. We turn it up loud and sing-Luke loves it! It's a total crapshoot as far as what will make him happy, but I just keep trying different things. He loves it outside, so we go for walks and I talk to him about all of the things we see. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy, but he likes it, so who cares?

[Renrel]

Definately don't feel dumb of asking. I certainly felt the same way. Talking and singing and dancing are all great. I started reading the same book to DS every morning and another at night. At times he was interested, at time he was not. Early on I felt silly since he obviously had no idea what was going on. I know I also bought books he could chew on just to make sure he got used the the concept of a book. That the pages turned and such.

Other things to try are baby yoga, there is a book itzy bitzy yoga that I really liked. It has very short little exercises to do with young children, a section for infant, one for pre crawlers, one for crawlers and one for walkers. Things like holding your baby while you do a quick drop which can get some babies to stop crying, and touching toes to nose while singing a little song.

Infant masage, is fun and easy. You can take a class or buy or rent a dvd. You may need to do it a few times before you kid likes it but it is very good for them and makes you feel like you are really "doing something."

Rattles and other noise makers are good. I particullary like the Sassy polkadot rattle, it is just the right size for a small hand to hold, it is light so they can't bang themself in the head and hurt themself, it has ball at the end that they can easily grasp and rings on the handle which make noise and can also be grabbed.

Kissing each part of the body and talking about it.

take walks and talk about what you are seeing. Talk about colors, animals, the sky, whatever.

[Cali_Katy]

I also like the Your Baby's First Year: Week by Week for suggestions on age-appropriate activities and games each week. They were really helpful, especially in the beginning. It gets easier as they get older, too.

[summerbaby]

I struggled with this too... I kept thinking that if I don't stimulate my daughter enough, I'm going to miss some window of development period. Now that I have a few activities that we do everyday, I don't feel so bad.

I second silly CDs. I checked out some kids CDs from the library to sample, put my baby in the bouncer in front of me, and just started singing/laughing while playing with her hands/feet. She LOVED it! I basically noticed that whenever I'm laughing, even if it's at nothing, she laughs back.

We also did a preview of itsy bitsy yoga and I really liked it. It was a little too expensive for us though. I did remember the little moves and do them constantly. They're baby exercises like circling ankles, legs, etc, gently of course.

We go to Gymboree class once a week and I do a lot of what we do in class at home everyday. Infant massage, puppets, beach balls, mirrors, etc are all fun.

If you play any musical instrument, play it for your baby. I play the piano so I sit her in my lap and play for 5-10 minutes or until she loses interest.

I talk to her a lot when we go out too. Like at the mall, I'll describe different kinds of stores, etc. Silly, I know, but she thinks it's fun. I think..

[Renrel]

summerbaby - I did the itzy bitzi yoga class full class for walkers and enjoyed it even though Gabe never actual walked, he was just on the verge the whole time. You might want to get the book if you liked the class.

[BeachBum]

Thanks for the ideas! I can't wait to start implimenting some fun into our day :)

[twainny]

Do you really need to do anything? Isn't EVERYTHING stimulating for a newborn/young infant? Though the ideas are great, it just makes me think that even as babies we "over schedule" our kids.

Take the baby for a walk... or just side outside. When we put DS in the grass for the first time he LOVED it!!! It tickled his feet and felt funny, I'm sure. He grabbed it and yanked it out. Found leaves and krinkled them. Isn't that learning?

Since I don't know any songs (Like all I know of Mary had a little lamb is well... mary had a little lamb.) we have always sung the ABCs to DS. Totally calms him down! By the time we get to G he is calming down (usually).

[JRPAGV]

Bumping for more ideas on what to do from day to day. I feel guilty if I'm not holding or playing with DS when he's awake and alert. :o

[oshannon]

Bumping for more ideas on what to do from day to day. I feel guilty if I'm not holding or playing with DS when he's awake and alert.


Me too, me too!

[Renrel]

One game I remember playing with DS was to have him laying on my legs and gently let him roll off my legs on to the bed. I would be holding him as we did it and I would do it very slowly to allow him to learn about suspense. I think I started the game to try and encourge him to roll from back to stomach or stomach to back. It has been awhile, so I don't remember exactly what we did, I just made it up, but it was a fun little game.

twinny - I think sometimes mommies need to be "doing something." It was two years ago for me but I definately remember feeling like I should be "doing" something after the first few weeks, once ds was more alert. But something really can be anything at this point. I also remember buying new toys, not because ds really needed new ones or was bored, but that I needed more variety as I played with him.

[BeachBum]

Well I thought I should come back and respond since I started this thread when DS was about a month old and some one bumped it.
Now he is 4 months.
I ended up buying the book, Baby Play, by Gymboree http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0865734348.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIlitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,32,-59_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
I thought it had some good ideas and made my feel like I was doing the right things. By the way, you probably *ARE* doing the right things. The ideas in the book seem to incorporate household items (free) which is nice.

I started doing infant massage, which H did enjoy quite a bit. It can be really messy though since he tends to pee when his diaper is off :) I bought the best rated book off amazon and it wasn't so good. I would try the library, or just look online if I were you. We use (Burt) Baby Bee's apricot massage oil. It is all natural so no weird stuff soaks into their skin. Without massage oil, you can really rub and shape your kids head too. So don't be afraid to rub it all the time to help him/her have a nice round head shape.

He also really likes it when we sing and move his arms and legs. Stuff like "patty cake" is a big hit. We have made up a bunch of other dumb stuff that he likes too.
DS really hated tummy time at first (we called it tummy torture), but now he enjoys being on his tummy and is pretty strong. I'm glad we stuck with it. For us it was really important that I danced stuffed animals and totally entertained him while on his tummy until he got to like it more.

I should also mention that many of your basic parenting reference guides will have "play" and developmental ideas and tasks that are age appropriate. Dr. Sear's book is pretty good for this.

Even now, with DS just 4 months I realize how fleeting those first few weeks are. My advice is to just hold and cuddle your babe as much as you can.

[jenji]

thanks to everyone who's posted in this thread. It's exactly what I've been looking for.
Last monty I started watching a 6-month old 3 days a week. I have about zero baby experience and though I think we do pretty good, I feel like I could be doing more.
In the mornings we have time on the floor and play with different toys, look at books, sing songs. after his morning nap he likes to play in his exersaucer or we'll go for a walk or sing more. After lunch we play for a bit, then watch a baby einstein before the afternoon nap. Anyway, sometimes I feel like I could be doing more. He's always pretty happy, but I'm so excited to check out these recommendations for more ideas.

[Hula1974]

bumping to ask how soon you all started doing anything?
I thought I read somewhere that infants can't handle too much stimulation.

[Wrighty26]

bumping to ask how soon you all started doing anything?
I thought I read somewhere that infants can't handle too much stimulation.

I'd say after 6 weeks. DS started to "play" on his gym mat around 6-7 weeks. This is when he started to become more aware of his surroundings, smiling all the time, and was interested in some of his toys - basically he started to become active alert when he was awake. Before then he basically quiet alert - just looking at stuff but showing no focused interest.

I've never seen DS overstimulated. I think people confuse overstimulation with being overtired.

[IzzyJune2006]

bumping to ask how soon you all started doing anything?
I thought I read somewhere that infants can't handle too much stimulation.

There's definitely an attention span that lengthens as the baby grows older. During the first 6 weeks, I'd say the only item that consistently grabbed her attention was her Symphony-in-motion mobile. at the most she would be content with it for 10-15 minutes. She's now 4 months old and when we play, she can be happy with an activity for probably ~ 30 min.

Uninteresting activities get her cranky really quick. For example, DH likes to try to work while holding her. She starts fussing right away when he's at the computer.

She's been really interested in the mirror for several weeks now. Even just taking her to the bathroom to look into a mirror gets her excited as she looks at all those little things on the counter.

[SQ2]

bump