Tag: baby

Take Turns

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It’s never too early to demonstrate turn-taking and today I played with Veronika in a few different ways to demonstrate.

First, we sat down for some musical fun, since she’s been very into instruments lately!

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I played a drum for her and said “Mommy’s turn!” Then I pointed to her hands and removed my own. “Veronika’s turn,” I told her.

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It took her a moment but then her little hands were on the drum rubbing and tapping. You can do this with just about any toy. Next up was a rain stick: Mommy’s turn!

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Veronika’s turn!

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And then a rattle.

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You can also use this game to encourage skills that your baby will need later on, like dressing, washing, or brushing their own teeth (I wish I’d done something similar with Travis!). At bath time, I used the washcloth and again said, “Mommy’s turn.”

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Then I handed it to her. For now it might be more of a toy than for washing, but she’ll get the idea.

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The game was easy at toothbrushing time, since she already loves brushing her own tooth!

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She barely gave me a turn before she took over!

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Together Time

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Veronika is seven months old today! These little monthly birthdays are great moments to take stock as a parent; you can marvel at how far your baby has come, and also pause to think about what’s working and what maybe isn’t anymore.

To wit, Veronika’s bedtime routine has shifted considerably since she was a newborn (when, by “routine”, I mean there completely wasn’t one!)

Now, she has a set bedtime (6.30) which allows us as a family to decide how we want to spend that last hour before bed.

No matter what your routine looks like, I highly recommend making sure there are no phone calls and no visitors. Where is my phone during all of this? Charging and on silent!

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So first up, it’s time to eat a yummy dinner!

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Next up is bath and jammies.

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It’s okay to invite a stuffed animal friend over, of course.

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We pause to read a story. Veronika likes to help turn pages.

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Then she watches big brother take a bath – her dry tub makes a perfect play pen!

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And that first little tooth needs a brush!

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Then it’s lullabies and lights out.

 

Play with Finger People

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Well, here’s an activity that I thought would be adorable, but as it turns out… it terrified Veronika!

The idea was to make simple “people” on your fingertips, who can then interact with your baby. Draw eyes and a smile with pen.

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If you want, tape on a little bit of cotton ball hair. This one looked a bit like Mozart! Or perhaps Benjamin Franklin.

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One by one, hold your fingers and have them talk or interact with baby. You can have them say bye-bye and hello, or give each one a funny voice and a different name. It’s also a great way to sing the sing the Daddy Finger song, holding up each finger in turn (pointer = mommy, tall man = daddy, ring finger = brother, pinkie finger = sister).

But did Veronika enjoy it? Nope! Her face crumpled into a frown or – worse! – tears every time I popped up a finger. Her expression went from quiet alarm:

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To suspicion:

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To outright anger!

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Perhaps it was just too creepy to see mommy’s fingers talking. But if your baby likes this game, please share your success in the comments!

 

Personal Picture Book

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Sure, there are lots of books you can read to your baby from the library or the bookstore. But don’t forget you can also make your own!

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Since babies at Veronika’s age (7 months old) are primarily interested in the visuals, it’s fun to make a book with no words. I used images cut from magazines and catalogs, but your own photos can work well, too! Since the story has no words, you can change it up every time.

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I chose simple images, limited somewhat by which magazines I had around to cut up. Soon we had stories about a butterfly who moved into a house and then…

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Just use your imagination from there!

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Try to find photos that depict familiar objects. As we “read” about the desk and chair in the story, for example, I took her over to the desk and chair in our apartment and pointed out that they were the same.

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Same goes for the picture of a little girl in our story. “Girl,” I told her, and pointed to the picture and then to Veronika. “Same!”

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This book is also great because a big sibling can “read” it to the baby, even if not yet a reader! I loved looking over to see Travis was making up stories for her.

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In sum, a great idea, and we’ll be adding to our “story” as I cut up more catalogs.

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Building Familiarity

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Seven months old is right about when “stranger danger” kicks in, and this cute activity might help your little one conquer it. Since I had to leave Veronika with her grandmother for a short while today, it was the perfect chance to prep her for a few hours without me!

To build familiarity, we returned to a photo album we made when Veronika was younger. Point out faces of friends and family members before you see them, and then return to the pictures after to reinforce who was who.

Today, Grammy is coming over to visit!

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She loved going through the pictures with me.

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Ok, so there were still tears while I was away, but hopefully each time we do this activity, her comfort level will increase. Familiar surroundings can help, or – if you are meeting up with family outside of the home – bring along a favorite toy!

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Make a Weekly Survival Hit List

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Today’s activity with baby was another one of those more for the parent; I’m constantly on the hunt for the best and most efficient way to organize my mind, our days, our weeks. I have several methods for planning the family’s week, but it always feels a bit scattered.

For events, there’s my day planner, with a column for each person. I highly recommend this – or at least a color-coded system – so you can quickly see not just what the event is but who needs to be where and when.

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Next there’s my method to plan weekly meals. My best advice for menu planning is: don’t wing it! Especially with Veronika now eating a varied menu each week, I plan meals ahead of time in a spreadsheet. When it comes time to make a grocery list, the info is already there!

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Then I write up daily meals on a wipe-clean board. No out of sight out of mind here!

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But I still don’t have a way to string it all together in one place, and I’ve been searching online for inspiration from the bullet journal (bujo) crowd, which I tested briefly with Veronika’s schedule.

Here is one method I liked, laying everything out on a page:

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There’s a column for appointments, housework, blogs or work-related items, a meal section, and then of course the Hit List for the week’s important to-dos.

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Each item gets a dash when incomplete, which turns into a plus sign once done.

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I’ll test this for a week or so, and see if it manages to combine my disparate organization methods thus far. What does your weekly hit list look like? Please share in the comments!

Mini Gym

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Whatever your baby’s latest gross motor skill milestone is, this cute gym session will have him or her giggling! It can be a Mini Rolling Gym, a Mini Sitting Gym, or a Mini Crawling Gym. The key is to get down on your baby’s level and show them the actions, which will serve both as a model and as a game!

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Veronika is already a roller, but first for some review I lay down next to her. Well she thought this was just the greatest.

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I rolled away from her…

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…which soon had her rolling to me. This was a nice refresher because she’s so busy sitting up these days, she sort of forgets to roll when I put her on her back.

Our next gym session was planks (okay, tummy time). She loved having me down at elbow level with her.

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Next I started to crawl in circles around her. This is probably the next gross motor skill that Veronika will master, since she’s currently kicking with legs and pushing up on her arms, but not quite able to put it all together yet.

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She looked like she wanted to chase after me!

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I then sat her up, placed a few favorite toys just out of reach, and mimed reaching for them. Soon she was copying me.

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In short, we both got in a little workout, and lots of giggles!

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Have Breakfast Together

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All too often on weekdays, we eat breakfast in a rush and then it’s time to get everybody ready ready ready and out the door. On weekends, consider making breakfast feel extra special for your baby, even from a young age. This will help set the tone for the day and create bonding moments for your family. At almost seven months old, I can finally make Veronika and big brother Travis the same recipe – and mom and dad can enjoy this one, too!

The night before, prepare the apricot puree:

Combine 3 and 1/2 ounces dried apricots and 8 ounces water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes, until soft. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Let cool, then refrigerate overnight.

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In the morning, prepare the oats:

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup rolled oats and 10 ounces hemp milk (we like unsweetened vanilla). Bring to a boil and continue to cook just until thickened, stirring frequently.

Ladle into bowls, varying the serving size depending on family member; that means about 2 tablespoons for Veronika and about 1/2 cup for big brother! Stir 1 tablespoon apricot puree into each bowlful.

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Now that you have your meal, enjoy each other’s company! It was a delight watching these two dine together.

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Veronika decided she liked eating clumps by hand rather than spoonfuls.

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Other meals that will fit into a Baby Led Weaning menu plus appeal to big kids include: English muffins with non-dairy cream cheese;

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Melon – cut it into strips for baby, and cubes for big kids;

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Muesli made with oats, non-dairy yogurt, and chia seeds;

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and French toast fingers!

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For a super-easy French toast, dip slices of bread in a mixture of: 1 cup hemp milk, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Cook for 4 minutes on each side and serve with raspberries.

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I also like to involve Veronika when I pause for my mid-morning snack. She loves to “share” my apple, and I always hand her my smoothie carton when I’m finished.

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Involving your baby in family meals right from the start will help set a great foundation for the years ahead.

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New Switch-It Game

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In the past when I played “switch-it” games with Veronika, the idea was for her to practice letting go of a toy, dropping one in exchange for another. At just shy of 7 months, the goal this time was more sophisticated: to switch a toy from hand to hand, in order to make room for another. She aced the test!

Plastic farm animals were the perfect toy for this purpose. First I handed her a duck, which she passed hand-to-hand as she played.

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While it was in her left hand, I offered up llama, holding it up to the same hand.

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In a flash, duckie was in her right and llama was in her left!

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I praised the change she’d made, even though she didn’t entirely understand why.

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But she quickly soaked up the happy vibe and beamed proudly!

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Soon she was drumming the two animals together.

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Don’t worry if your baby doesn’t get this right away; keep practicing and soon he or she will be a hand-to-hand passing champ.

Babble with Baby

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Veronika is definitely trying to tell us (and her toys!) something these days; that girl can babble! And she keeps up a steady stream of chatter when she plays or looks at us these days, as if to say, “Can’t you understand me?”.

In the past, I’ve advocated turning your baby’s syllables into words. “Ga” can become garage or goose, for example. But today, I flipped that around. If she “hmmmed,” I “hmmmed” back at her. If she said “ga ga ga” (a favorite these days), I replied “ga ga ga” or “la la la”, trying to pick up on her rhythm.

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Wouldn’t you know, she loved it. It was as if I had learned her language, and she was praising me!

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One way to get her going is to read the newspaper by her side. I read my news and she “reads” her Hello magazine. Pretty soon she was babbling up a storm. I responded back with my own sounds – all the news that’s fit to babble!

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We kept it up all day, and big brother Travis loved it. “Everyone talk like Veronika!” he said on our walk. You can see her delight when he copied her.

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This was a great way to get an older sibling more focused on your baby’s sounds, especially if they are frustrated that baby isn’t “talking” yet.