Entertaining?

My boys are 9 weeks old and they are starting to be awake more during the day. I feel terrible, I feel like we have them in their swings all day! They are just starting to sleep in their cribs but sometimes they will still only sleep in their swings. They will sleep in the pack-n-play but I feel bad just laying them in there when they are awake. What do I do to entertain them all day? They are too young to actually play so I try to lay them on their activity mat but that only lasts about 20 minutes, we have bath time at night so that takes up a little time. They still do take two to three, 3-hour naps but there is a lot of the day when they are awake. This probably sounds stupid but what do I do with them? I just feel like they eat burp and get their diaper changed and then they go right back on their back one way or another. Any suggestions or do I not need to worry about it yet?

 

I would sometimes read to them, sing to them, play with their arms and legs a little, caress their faces, things like that. I wouldn't do a ton, my girls would get overstimulated very quickly.

 

Yeah...that's a tough age to entertain! I also layed on their activity mat with them and talked and sang to them, but you know, that only lasts so long! I found it helpful to rotate them around from the floor, activity mats, swings and bouncer chairs.

 

Tummy time!!!! While they are doing it put toys and books in front of them so that they will start lifting their heads up for longer periods.

 

Belly time and I used to put my kids in their bouncies with the toy bar and jingle the toys in front of them. They don't get too interactive till about 3 mos or so.

We did playgroups from 2mos on -- it was great as it got us out of the house 1x per week. We also went to the mall, etc. This is a great time to get out of the house iwth hte babies as they are pretty content to sleep in their buckets.

Cheers,

Teri D

 

Ha! I think I posted almost this exact thing! Been there.... What we forget is that EVERYTHING is new to these little ones. After you've done the singing, touching, reading, tummy time, floor time, etc, put them in their bouncies and just let them watch you unload the dishwasher or fold laundry or make dinner. Talk to them and interact with them while you do it, and they will be totally entertained. Talk about what you're doing, and I swear they'll listen like they actually understand what you're saying. Great way to find new activities and be productive too!

 

Don't feel too bad - mine were in the swings a lot during this age too. What really helped is when I went on a trip to a rented condo - no bouncies, no swings!
But lots of family to entertain them. During the day at home I rotated them a lot between swings, bouncers (I have 3 different kinds that we got as gifts and each had different toys attached). I put them on their backs on the floor a lot - they liked to look at ceiling fans, me, the dog...
You can put their blanket on the floor near a coffee table or sturdy chair and attach a toy that has interesting rings/colors/shapes on it to the table so they can look up and reach for it. I think mine weren't reaching until 10-12 weeks, but at least they can look at it. They didn't like tummy time very much but we tried to do it anyway. Someone told me that I could read children's books, OR magazine articles or a book that I was reading to myself to them too - that way you get to do something for them and for yourself at the same time. It's not like they know the difference. They want to hear your voice. Oh, singing to them, they LOVE that.


I did carry them around the house in their bouncers so they could watch me fold laundry or unload dishes. They liked the noises the china made when I put plates away.

We also went for walks in the stroller every day. They will be more interactive soon. Mine still slept a lot at that stage. Our routine was sleep, eat, play, sleep, eat play...etc.