How much are you playing with your baby?

@fabianstep We go on daily walks but I normally keep her car seat cover closed because of high UV in my area. It’s such a bummer because we are nature lovers and I want her to see all the things! On days with more cloud cover I try to give her a few minutes to look at the sky and trees.
 
@coachlittlez23 My daughters 6 months old and barely naps (she will nap for a total of about 2 hours a day, which im perfectly fine with since she sleeps 12-14 hours through the night) and a lot of the time when shes awake and we arent going for walks or shes not having independent play we will either be cuddling, having story time, or she will bounce on me (she LOVES standing, so i hold her to stand and she will bounce, yes we have a jolly jumper and she loves that too). Sometimes ill even make random sounds at her when she taking a quick feed break since shes mainly breastfed and is currently very good at unlatching and relatching herself
 
@coachlittlez23 I let him play alone a lot. A couple times a day I’ll join him for a bit and ask him to show me what he’s been working on. He slowly is getting more mobile and good at getting what he wants (15 weeks). And of course if he’s frustrated or wants me around I check on him/hang out with him. Once he’s a little more mobile I’m hoping he’ll be more interested in what I’m up to. Right now watching me is too boring for him he wants to play in his baby gym and do tummy time too
 
@coachlittlez23 I downloaded the wonder weeks app (I think it's like $4?) for new ideas, and got the first few lovevery boxes. It's pricey but gave us so many new things to explore and play with, and kept me from getting bored
 
I also read my own book out loud to my baby while he just kind of sat there - he liked hearing my voice and I liked reading my book :)
 
@coachlittlez23 unfortunately all damn day. i have what i assume is a high needs baby. she can’t go long without crying so im constantly having to either pick her up or entertain her some other way. the only way she’s content for a while is if she’s watching me do chores around the kitchen
 
@coachlittlez23 Obviously this will vary with baby’s temperament and personality, but since 8 weeks old my baby has often been content with just a couple of high contrast cards or bright books propped open around him in his crib or pen. He will spend 20-30 minutes literally just looking back and forth at different ones. It makes me feel like I am engaging and teaching him without having to be “on.” In fact, it’s teaching them that books are important and interesting to engage with alone!
 
@coachlittlez23 I think the fact that you’re worried about it means that you are doing a great job! I struggle with feeling good enough too and it’s an imposter syndrome type thing. You are her world and she’s very happy.

They barely know what’s happening in this stage of life. She’s essentially a baked potato. Make sure you do a bit of tummy time each wake cycle and continue singing and dancing but you don’t have to be “on the clock” the entire wake window. You’ll really burn out once they drop to 2 naps if so!! I always try to spend at least 15 mins of good play with no phones etc each wake cycle and then I would let my boy play on his belly for a bit where I was next to him but maybe I would watch a show or read a book. Then the feeding/dressing/changing and chores for the house usually took up the rest of the time.

It also gets better to play with them when they’re interacting more at like 6-9 months.
 
@coachlittlez23 We have a little routine.

6AM Wake up
Eat, “Help me/hubby” cook, Hangout with dad before work

Nap #1 ≈30 minutes
Eat, Go for a walk, Eat (to rehydrate lol)

Nap #2 ≈45-60 minutes
Eat, Tummy time or play time, Bath time

Nap #3 so variable
Eat, Books, Conversation, Tummy time, Etc.

Nap #4
Eat, Yay!! Dads home!!, Hangout with dad

Nap #5 1 hour
Eat, Chill family time, attempt to put to sleep around 7-8PM

I feel like I don’t do enough play time with LO because his wake windows are so short but I do my best to prioritize outside time, tummy time, and bath time. He thrives when we do these activities daily. I do feel guilty though, like I’m not being a good mom because I can’t fit everything into one day.
 
@coachlittlez23 So at that age, I would play with her kind of often but not too often. I think that's around when I started playing with her for a few minutes with her toys and then leaving her to interact with them or not interact with them if she seemed content to be there. Now she is 4 months + 1 week and is usually happy to play independently for about maybe an hour at the most, but that's great since it's most of her wake window lmao I'll still do tummy time with her but she regularly puts herself on her tummy so she is typically doing it on her own at various points in the day. We also will do a daily stroller walk through the park and I make a point to play with her for at least 3-4 times throughout the day, tho I do find it important to let her entertain herself
 
@coachlittlez23 Our 11 week old sits in his bouncer playing with the knock-off toy bar for 20-30 minutes a couple times a day while one of us bounces us with our foot. We smile at him when he looks up and we are nearby but he is "doing his own thing" as much as a 11 week old can.
 
@coachlittlez23 Seems like your baby is awake and ready for action alot! Mine spends lots of the awake time eating a burping, and nappy changing. Yesterday I would say she had about 3 periods of active play.
One was at baby playgroup for an hour and a half.

Our health visitor said it's important they get a bit of independence so we always give her time on her Matt and in her bouncer so we can get things done and she can do her thing (mostly kicking) we will respond if she needs us but largely she does not seem to.

I like to tell her in the morning about what we will do that day and often I just copy they noises she makes and try to teach her to say the words we hope she will say : hello, mama , dada,papa, goose

They say the important things are cuddling , relaxing, playing, responding and talking. Im pretty sure independent play counts as relaxing.
 
@coachlittlez23 I do what I can. I have twins and am a FTM, I’m tired and have no idea what I’m doing hahaha. I wouldn’t stress about it. I wasn’t diligent about tummy time but they hold their up lol. My twins were also 2 months early so I feel like the newborn phase was extended and they are hard to really keep entertained. It gets better when they care about toys.
 
@coachlittlez23 I entertain as much as I have the energy for. Every wake window has her playing independently after her bottle, though, as long as she wants as I'm doing homework or folding laundry or just watching. I still interact with her vocally and stuff but l let her do her thing.. Eventually she gets over it and fusses, and that's when I swoop in and we have one on one time. I may sit her on my lap and we chat and cuddle, I'll sing to her while practicing my ukulele, we'll go outside on a field trip to look at nature. Or I'll wheel her around in her reclining stroller and she can watch perform some chores. By the time that's over it's nap time again.
In the mornings first wake window is spent in bed because it's still too early for me lol the second window is get ready for the day. We get up, get dressed, she gets a face wipe and hair brushed, morning songs which take like 20 minutes. Then independent play etc etc.
Very unstructured and I try to mix it up but yeah some days it feels like Groundhog Day lol and I think, watching me do dishes surely cannot be entertaining but here we are lol
 
@coachlittlez23 Get out of the house and take baby along for the ride. Do a load of washing and baby can watching you hang it. Do a face mask and baby can watch. Cook your favourite meal and baby can watch.

Literally before they need entertainment please, I beg of you, don’t entertain needlessly.

Signed, mum with a 2.5yo and 5 week old. 2.5yo is endlessly needing stimulation and it’s A LOT. 5 week old smiles when he sees a leaf out the window.
 
@coachlittlez23 I also have a 3 month old (13 weeks) we do some I have a hanging toy to go over her crib and a musical animal thing. The health visitor told me you don’t have to occupy them alllll the time (as I was worried I wasn’t doing enough) she said she’ll just be engaged and happy watching you you don’t have to occupy every second of the day
 
@coachlittlez23 My 8.5 month old boy does mostly independent play. I bought a big play yard that I keep in the living room and have all his toys in there. If he needs attention I hold him, read books, dance, and sing, and talk to him but I struggle playing toys with him. My husband is much better at that than me. To compensate though I take him to the library for baby time and we are taking swimming lessons too.
 
@coachlittlez23 Honestly, I let my six month old baby play by himself(play gym, musical toys, teethers) for the majority of his awake time and go do things for myself like have a snack, drink boba, watch movie, or engage in gossips with our nanny 🤣 I pick him up here and there to talk to him but he gets majority of his entertainment discovering his toys. I am very shocked by myself that we haven't done screentime yet which I am quiet happy about each day we push it off (I know screentime is inevitable but I hope to hold on until 18/24 months 🤲) If he gets tired, I let him lay on my lap and talk to him, sometimes read him a book if he's on a mood but he is pretty content chilling on his own. If he is fussier than normal, his nanny or I put him on a carrier and chill outside while I read a book aloud or listen to a podcast. I think it helped that we let him be since he was 3 months old. If all the time of my day revolve around entertaining him, I would be breaking down 4x a day.
 
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