Tag: infant

Bumping Noses

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Here is my new favorite way to make Veronika smile. It’s the cutest, quickest game ever but gets giggles every time.

Hold your baby a little ways away from your body, looking eye to eye. Whisper “boo”! and bring him or her a little closer.

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Say “boo” again – a little louder now! And bring him or her even closer.

Now say “boo” even louder… but don’t yell or you might scare the baby! This time, bump noses gently. It gets Veronika grinning and giggling every time.

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This game is also a fun one for siblings, who probably can’t hold the baby, but can play it while your little one is lying down on a blanket.

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Go On a Nature Trail

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Spring has sprung!

For my baby girl, born just as autumn turned cold and gave way to winter, I have been waiting and waiting for this first spring day to show her that the world can be warm and wonderful. So today we took advantage and took her on a nature walk! You can do this activity in any park or wooded trail near you, or even in your own backyard. The goal is simply to engage all the senses and introduce baby to nature.

Strapped in the front carrier, I narrated everything we could see to Veronika, including trees and the first spring flowers. Hello purple!

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If you want, let your baby get up close and feel interesting finds, like the bark of a tree or a smooth stick or soft leaf.

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You can also stop to smell, whether the fresh grass of the meadow we walked through, or any plants you find.

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Don’t forget abut the sense of hearing. We were delighted to happen upon a pond full of chirping sounds! At first I assumed it was birds, but then realized it was more likely frogs.

In sum, the simplest of outdoor trails will be full of wonders for your little one.

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Enjoy Some Downtime Together

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Here is easily the most relaxing suggestion I’ve found for whiling away time with your infant – and one that I hope Veronika and I can include in our everyday routine moving forward. Or at least on the days that big brother is at school!

Try to take a moment (today and each day!) to play soothing music and just have downtime next to your baby. This sounds so simple, but our house is always filled with noise and movement, and I usually have Veronika playing on the living room rug while I get things done. Very rarely do I sit until the kids sleep!

Today, the goal was to take a pause. I set my Spotify list to slow jazz tunes, and we retreated to her nursery.

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She seemed immediately surprised by the switch to her room, but then seemed to like the jazz right away. Aah, time to read the paper while she kicked and played with toys.

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We switched to Celtic meditation music.

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I got to do the crossword and sip a smoothie! She loved playing with a tactile mat in the background.

We switched to piano sonatas (flute sonatas would be pretty too).

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She had a blast doing tummy time in the relaxing location!

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Finally, we tuned in to Indian classical. She was still so busy playing, that I easily could have spent ages in here with her – if there wasn’t more to get done!

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Happy relaxing!

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Have a Change of Scene

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Sometimes when you’re a stay-at-home parent with an infant, you just need to break up a long day. And sometimes that means a change of scene – for both of you! Veronika and I played around with this idea in two ways today, one way more for her, and one more for me.

First, if there’s a walk you traditionally take with your baby, you can mix things up with one simple twist: Pop open an umbrella! The more fun the pattern the better (a little kid’s umbrella fits the bill perfectly). We simply walked the usual grounds of our apartment complex, but she couldn’t stop gazing up at the umbrella shade. And wanted to grab the handle!

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Having this funny purpose to our walk helped make the old seem new, even when we paused just to look at the regular view. A nice change of scene!

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Now it was my turn. With my firstborn, I had a habit of ordering everything we needed online (hello, Amazon Prime). But one afternoon, I realized that the act of strapping baby into a car seat or stroller, making our way to a physical store, and buying an item there helped fill long days with a pre-verbal person! As a bonus, the baby gets all kinds of new stimulation from sights and sounds. So even if you need something simple – a baby item, a gallon of milk from the corner store, a quick cup of coffee – get out of the house, avoid the drive-thru and the internet, and make an event of it.

Today, Veronika and I strolled the downtown sidewalks…

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…popped into a cute local boutique since she needed a few new bibs anyway…

 

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…and otherwise soaked up the sights – and the change of scene!

Name Check

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Today’s activity is a simple reminder to… use your child’s name! It builds upon the Name Drop game we played back when Veronika was only two months old.

A child’s name is one of the first words they’ll truly recognize, since they probably hear it hundreds of times each day. For each action today, I made a point of saying “Veronika,” first. “Veronika, I’m going to pick you up now.” “Veronika, we’re going to do your diaper change.” “Veronika, we’re getting in the car.”

Then, although she’s years away from learning to read and write her name, it was also fun to provide her with a visual of it throughout the day.

To wit, she starts the day on the sheets that say her name!

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Big brother Travis and I then had fun going through “Veronika’s photo album,” and putting together a personalized puzzle with her name – and she got to have fun watching the action.

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Personalized books are great for this purpose, too, since many companies will now custom print a book featuring your child’s name.

We even have a family song almost entirely about her name. The ditty works like a charm whenever she’s fussy in the car. It goes:

Veronika, Veronika

We love Veronika – oh yeah!

And yes, I’ve been known to repeat this song for up to ten minutes on end, if it keeps her calm!

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What other cute personalized items does your baby have? Chairs? Step stools? Backpacks? Please share in the comments!

Baby’s View

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If you’re at all like me, you’re probably in the habit of putting your baby in the same places, facing the same direction, and looking at the same spots. This is certainly true for Veronika, with her head always the same way for diaper changes, her high chair at the same angle near the dinner table, and a go-to spot for her blanket during playtime on the rug.

Today, the goal was to shake things up! Although routine is good for babies (it helps your little one record information), even little changes can help forge new pathways and memories in the brain.

First, instead of getting her dressed on her diaper table, we changed outfits down on the floor. Hello, new location!

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Next, I placed her high chair in a different corner of the kitchen while I cooked and cleaned. Goodbye old spot…

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Hello new!

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She loved that she could look out the patio door from here, and seemed delighted whenever I opened the cabinets just past her shoulder.

Then we slid her tummy time blanket over to a different section of the living room, and I faced her another way. A whole new wealth of furniture and sights to see!

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Obviously it’s not practical to move around big pieces of furniture like a crib, but if you have small, easy to move pieces, do a switch-e-roo today. I turned her baby swing, which normally faces one way…

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…and oriented it another. I’d say she liked the change!

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Finally, I always make a point of switching up which way Veronika sleeps in the crib. If she nurses on the right side just before bed, her head goes to the right, and vice versa for the left.

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So take the time to switch things up today, and see if your baby finds a new favorite point of view!

Larger Board Books

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Veronika first graduated from black and white books to those with more colors and rhymes. Now, at just shy of five-months-old, she’s at a great age for large-format tactile books. Look especially for ones that can open flat, so they provide entertainment during tummy time. She’s rolling over to check this one out!

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No need to stick to black and white anymore – babies at this age will love seeing vivid colors.

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Other things to look for include thick, easy-to-turn pages and flaps. Veronika loves playing peekaboo with the animals hiding behind pages.

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Noises are also fantastic. Two that we love, featuring farm animal sounds: I Like to Squeak, How Do You Speak by Jonathan Litton and Poppy and Sam’s Animal Sounds from Usborne Books.

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And don’t forget about texture!

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Pat the Bunny is a classic, and Veronika also loves Noisy Farm Touch and Feel by Tiger Tales.

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In sum, mix it up for your baby with new finds from the library or bookstore, and watch how interactive your little one is with books now.

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Roly-Poly Game

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We have a roller! Veronika officially started rolling a few days ago (and I credit a lot of that to our scarf circle game!) and now she doesn’t want to stop.

If you’re still coaxing your baby to roll (or have a new roller who can’t get enough of it) here’s a fun game to play. Any toy will work, but I like to play this game with round balls for maximum roly-poly fun.

Start with your baby on his or her back, and give them a toy.

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Then move the toy just out of reach off to the side. If needed, you can get down in that direction too, and coo and urge your baby to reach for it and (hopefully) flip over.

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My little miss roly-poly needs no encouragement, now! Going, going…

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Gone!

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She looks so pleased to reach the toys.

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We added on to the rolling fun by gently batting the ball back and forth.

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As I rolled the ball near her, I sang:

Roll that little ball round the room

Roll that little ball round the room

Roll that little ball round the room, 

Roll that little ball, roll.

In sum, great roly-poly play.

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Take Peekaboo To a New Dimension

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A few weeks back, we introduced peekaboo; now it was time to take the game to a new level! Peekaboo never gets old for babies, but as your baby gets older, you’re going to keep want to find ways to keep it novel and entertaining.

So whereas in the past I’ve draped a see-through scarf over Veronika’s head, today, I used an opaque (but lightweight) blanket. Prop your child up and drape the blanket over his or her head.

Quickly and gently lift one corner with a big happy, “Peek-a-boo!”

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Likely, you’ll get giggles and your little one will want you to repeat again and again.

Though to be honest, sometimes Veronika was more into the blanket itself, and the tactile feel of it over her head or in her hands.

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Then repeat the game with a favorite toy. “Peek-a-boo,” says her pudgy little bear.

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She eagerly awaited each reveal whenever the blanket hid the toy.

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When it appeared again, I’d greet it with, “There’s the toy!”

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As a reminder, there’s a purpose behind this classic. It’s one of the best and earliest ways to teach your child object permanence, so keep those peek-a-boos coming!

 

Natural Mimic

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Infants are wired to mimic or mirror their adult caregivers, which leads to the beginnings of language, social skills, and emotional intelligence, just to name a few! So today, I really focused on letting Veronika mimic the bigger people in our household, in preparation for some milestones to come.

Of course, one of the easiest ways to encourage mirroring is to continue making faces at your child – big smiles are sure to be returned by your little mimic!

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More to the point, though, talk your baby through your day, and encourage him or her to join in. Today I sat Veronika in her high chair while her big brother ate meals. She got play food; he got the real thing.

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She got to hold a spoon just for fun; he used his fork for real.

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Pretty soon she was picking up the toy food, biting at the spoon – a natural!

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Later, I put her back in the highchair as I cleaned the kitchen. Veronika got her own cloth to “clean” her tray. She looked so excited to be involved in mommy’s activity, as I narrated my own counter wiping and cleaning to her.

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Another great opportunity is diaper changes. I talked Veronika through my actions, and she got her own diaper to hold.

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This mimicry is also the reason babies love toys that look like (a more colorful) version of your things. Veronika loves her set of car keys – so much like mommy’s!

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How does your baby mimic you? Please share in the comments!

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