5 Things you can do to entertain your baby & how to find the best toy deals
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You just brought your sweet baby home…but now what do you do with them?! I remember thinking, do I just hold him? Do I ‘play’ with him? And how do I play with him?
There are so many things going through your mind and you’re trying to manage learning all about this new person plus take care of yourself.
In this post, I’ll share a few tips that I learned when my son was a newborn that I’ll be using again next month when I have my second.
· 5 activities that you can do with your baby from the start
· Some tips on how to find “toys” for your new baby
· Tips to release the mom guilt!
I remember once I got out of the haze of sleep deprivation from the first few weeks and we figured out a better feeding schedule/formula situation, I just kept thinking, “Am I doing enough for him?”
The internet reminds us that we need to read to our kiddos from the womb or their kindergarten teacher will know. That if we don’t pick the right toys, we may set our child up to be delayed, or behind. If we don’t do enough tummy time, we will have to put a helmet on our kiddo.
I was beyond overwhelmed and did not know where to even begin. I hope this helps you to feel more prepared than I was, or at the very least, less guilty!!
5 activities that you can do with your baby from the start
1. Skin to Skin
The benefits of skin to skin are numerous, so I won’t get into all of them here. This can help you bond with your baby. Skin to skin is especially helpful when you are breastfeeding. In the early weeks, it is really great to help with supply and connection with baby.
2. Tummy Time
I had no idea that you could start tummy time almost right away. We started a few weeks in and then my son was rolling from tummy to back so it was really a struggle. I would just check with your pediatrician to make sure your baby is good to go. You also don’t have to start tummy time on the floor right away! We started tummy time on our chest and legs. They use the same muscles as they would with tummy time on the floor. You can also use a Boppy or nursing pillow to prop them up if you are wanting to do it on the floor.
3. Go for walks or sit outside
Getting outside is good for you and baby!! They can see nature and feel the fresh air and there is something so relaxing about being outside. Many days while I was on maternity leave with my first, I would just sit outside when I got stressed or overwhelmed. It helped to regulate my nervous system, which in turn helped my son’s nervous system. It’s likely you won’t be able to walk far right away, but you can stay close to home and get used to your stroller and being out and about. I would walk around my driveway in circles and it just felt nice to be outside and moving around. My son loves to be outside now and it has a calming effect on him every time we go out!
4. Sing Songs
Full disclosure, I had no idea what songs to sing and had no memory of kid songs when I first became a mom. We sang Christmas songs in June because it was all I could think of. I ended up searching for nursery rhymes on the internet and that worked well! You can also look at your local public library and see if there is story time there. This is a great way to get connected to other moms and get out of the house for a low-pressure outing. At ours, we read books and sing and once the kiddos are a little older, they can play. It’s so fun to have your baby on your lap and sing songs while you stare at their sweet face! Over the first few months they will react more and more, which will make the whole thing even more fun.
5. High contrast objects/toys
Babies cannot see color (or very much of it) until about one month. After that, they see red first and develop more advanced vision by 4 months. Because of this, high contract objects are important. We used the Lovevery cards and really liked those a lot. We actually just started getting their play kits right from the beginning and are still getting them regularly 15 months later. We got their play mat as well that has a black and white fabric ball on it. Our little guy LOVED to hit that ball from a very early age and continued that as he grew. Once he could kick his feet more, we put the wooden clapper attachment with the bell on it at the bottom of the play mat so when he kicked, he was reinforced with sound.
Some tips on how to find “toys” for your new baby
It can seem so overwhelming to find toys for your baby that are worth it without spending a fortune. I mentioned above that we bought the play kits from Lovevery and have really enjoyed them. If you want to try those, here is a discount for $20 off for you to give them a try! You do not have to go the Lovevery route, there are many different toy companies that have kits you can get or toys you can get that are GREAT!
Your local kid consignment store might have toy options as well. I know there is one in our city that has incredible toys for an even better price and they are in basically perfect shape.
I did not know this was an option until a few months ago, but at all of our local public libraries, you can check out toys and bring them back when you are finished. This is such a great free way to switch up your toys! Sometimes it seems like our kiddos attention span/desire for toys is so short.
If you are wanting to use high contrast cards with your newborn, but you don’t want to buy them, printing them is a great option! A quick google search will show you free printable options that will be much less expensive than buying actual cards and they will work just as well!
Stores like TJ Maxx have been very hit or miss for me. Sometimes I find 10 things I want to get and other times I wonder why I walked in the door. With that being said, they have great toy options when the selection is there and I personally love the price!
When I was first looking to purchase toys other than our play kits, I found a huge gap from about 3-9 months in age. My son was about 4-5 months old, and everything I could find was geared for 0-3 months or 6-9 months and above. I decided I would just buy “up” and he could use them differently now and when he got a little older. We got a xylophone that was on wheels and had two little sticks to play. Obviously I put the sticks away, but this was a great toy for him to practice sitting up with. He would bang on the top and make music so it was entertaining for him. Now he can use the sticks and actually play it and is working on pulling the string while he moves around. Moral of the story here, “buy up” in age and let your kiddo grow into toys. It’s okay that they don’t use them “properly” right away.
Tips to release the mom guilt
This is a hard one no matter what, but mom guilt plaques mamas at different times for different reasons. My hope for you is that you can release as much of that as possible.
I have had mom guilt about going back to work, not working outside the home, using formula, having my two boys so close together and soo much more!
After all of that, I have learned that truly there is no way to “win” in today’s culture as a mom. We can focus on that or we can focus on being the best version of ourselves that we can and love our families the best way we know how.
God gave YOU these kids & husband. The best thing we can do to honor that is love and steward them the best we know how. This will look so different for each of us but at the end of the day, you cannot pour from an empty cup. You have to fill your heart with good things and that is what will come out.
One thing I have focused on very hard, is protecting my social media. You get to choose who you follow. If you see someone’s stories or posts and every time you feel worse about yourself or your situation – UNFOLLOW. Go ahead, do it right now! I bet you someone specific popped into your head. Go unfollow them. Not because they are bad or mean, but because your peace is worth protecting. Some people are great to follow for a season and we move passed that season and that is completely okay.
The other aspect of protecting your social media is getting out of groups that don’t serve you. If you see a post pop up and every single time it makes you feel crappy, leave! You can rejoin later if you want! But leave the group and see how it goes. I’m not saying all groups are bad. But there is something to be said about the state of mental health in our world today and having a million opinions of others constantly invading our mind.
I hope this has helped you to feel a little better about activities for your sweet little baby and you found value!
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