games to play with baby

Being home with the baby all day may seem like an ideal situation. No working, get to spend quality time with your child as the primary care giver. I am going to write a little something about working mom vs. at home mom, but that is not what this entry is about today. Really, its about the reality that when you have an infant to care for, there isn't really much you can do during the day. He can't sit up, is just now holding his head up, doesn't crawl... obviously no walking or talking, so aside from plopping him in front of the tv in his little bouncy seat - what the heck is there to do?

This is the thinking that took me to the book store and resulted in a variety of baby books. One in particular specifically about little games to play with your baby for the first year and is split up in sections by age. Its called Baby Play & Learn and there are some great ideas in here. Some are totally stupid like... "point your finger at the baby, make a buzzing sound and touch your finger to his nose" - great thanks I didn't know that one when I was 6 years old playing with my cousin.

But I did find some good ones that I have put to use and I thought I'd share them. I'll tell you the good ones as we get older to, but from the 0-3 mths and 3-6 mths section here are a couple he likes:

1) Belly Scoot Game: Put the baby on his belly (obviously on a blanket or something), put a colorful toy out of arms reach but so he can see it and encourage the baby to reach for the toy. This game helps them develop cause and effect skills, motor work and pre-crawling exercize.

2) Shooting Stars: Lay baby on back, hold a Pom Pom (or another really soft toy) above his head so he sees it, count to 3 and on 3 drop the toy on his belly. Learning Skills: Anticipation, eye/hand coordination, social interaction and visual tracking and acuity. ***I didn't think this one would go over well with him, but I now think its his favorite and after only a few days he is actually trying to catch the ball... not successfully of course but the fact that he is trying is exciting.

3)Boat Ride: Place the baby on top of 2 soft large blankets on the floor, take an edge of the blanket and slowly walk the baby around the room. You kind of need a visual for this one and I couldn't find one... but picture the game where you grabbed our dads ankle and he dragged you around the room. Now replace the ankle with the blanket and make sure baby is on his back! Learning Skills: Balance and Exploration

Those are the few that we have tried so far that he seems to enjoy long enough to make it actually fill up some time between eating, burping and pooping:) As we practice more I'll fill you in... but he is waking up now so blogging time appears to be over!