What do you do to entertain baby?

[futuremum]

Hi!!!

Keeping Thomas busy can be tricky. He is a bit lazy and will happily seats on his bouncer for an hour or more watching me tidying the clothes. He does not do much with his hands and when we give him toys to play with, he does not seem to bother either. So we encourage him to hold his toys, put him on his belly so he can practice, i will dance with him sometimes but i kind of feel guilty if he just lies down in his bed playing on his kick and play piano or when he is doing nothing. It is great for getting on with things but I don't want him to miss out on his development. My friend's baby who is 2 weeks older than Tom can reach and hold his toys, his bottle whereas Tom cannot.But I know every baby is different

So I was wondering what do you do to encourage your baby's motor development?

 

[Urchin]

Brody has changed very quickly recently.
He now grabs for stuff and holds onto toys and chews teething things.
Don't worry about entertainment too much, if your baby is happy sitting watching you then make the most of it...pretty soon he'll want to to carry him about everywhere!

 

[Rosebay]

Hi,

I've just got a couple of American books on things to do with babies under 1. To be honest a lot of it is pretty simple stuff that I just needed reminding of, rhymes and things but here are a couple of ideas that I've been trying this week:-

blowing bubbles near them and letting them watch them
hanging chimes near them (I got a cheap dangly thing in a pound shop)
knee bounces (if they can support their heads)
hang a balloon somewhere near them, in a draft if possible
play peekaboo
gently move their arms and legs to music (my OH was doing "Hands Up Baby Hands Up" earlier!
blow raspberries at them (Mel has started to try and do them himself now)
play them some unusual music e.g. classical

just a few ideas . I was going up the wall thinking of things to do with him last week and a few ideas help the long afternoons fly by!
+++
ps although to be honest he's probably learning lots just watching you

 

[beanie]

Seren loves sitting on the sofa chewing either her fist or her toys. She has done the same as Brody, come on very quickly and loves to put things in her mouth. I tend to put her under the play gym (but she doesn't like it for too long) or put her on a blanket on the floor with some toys around her. I also like to move her arms and legs whilst singing, and in the bath we play splashes so she knows that if she moves her legs she makes a noise. Don't worry about Tom just sitting there, he is taking things in. Seren loves watching the world, her favouritist place is on my knee watching people (nosey just like her mum )

 

[lauramumof2]

If he is happy then I wouldnt stress out too much and I wouldnt compare him to your friends baby. My friends little girl took her first steps at 12 months and Jess was 18 months.
He sounds like a happy wee boy. I used to worry that with Jess sleeping all night then having naps during the day that she would be bored. She seemed to be pretty happy doing not very much but she was taking it all in.
Hope this helps to calm your fears a bit.

 

[tracyM]

Alex is constantly on the go, but isn't any further ahead with his development. I thnk they just do their own thing as and when they're ready for it. You might find that Thomas will concentrate on one thing for ages to get it right, Alex will get bored and frustrated after 5 minutes and want to do something else.

 

[lauramumof2]

he, he, tracey, thats sounds like me and my dh, I have no patience at all.

 

[Strangeness]

I found it really strange because one day Aaron wasn't really interested in much and would just sit and chill out and then it seemed like over night he was into everything and wanted toys etc. Keep showing them the toys they will surprise you with how quickly they get it all!