Kiddo Activities

[scorpioscuba]

Those are all good! We have an outdoor swing that we also like to use with DD. It's screwed into the fascia boards of our patio. We do a lot of floor time, rotating through different toys. But yeah, there isn't too much else at this age. If she is starting to pull up on things to stand you could get a water table soon for more outdoor play.

[crimsonandclover]

You know, I found the baby phase with DD1 to be the hardest because I felt like I had to entertain her all the time, and I also ran out of ideas pretty fast. Starting with kid #2, however, that is no longer a problem because you have a built-in entertainment system. Half of the time now DD3 just hangs out on my hip or the floor and watches her older sisters. So how about going to a playground and letting your DD watch some of the bigger kids play? I bet she'd love it and you might be able to chat up other moms about other mom-y things in the area, get the scoop on the best preschools, etc.

[dizzycooks]

Same as crimsonandclover no shortage of activity here. She "plays" with her sisters, I put her in the jumper/exersaucer every once in a while, go for walks, she plays on the swing out in our yard or at the park, I bounce in the teeter totter with her. She crawls around in the grass or driveway (she gets super dirty, but eh...). We also to library storytime and are starting a mommy and me ecfe class once a week. With dd1 we would go to the zoo and botanical gardens and I'd tell her all about what we were seeing, but I enjoyed seeing the stuff myself. Perhaps go to an art gallery or something?

[NellieOleson]

I agree that this age is hard when you have one baby. They want to be engaged and entertained, but can't do a lot of things. When dd1 was a baby we would go to library story time -- sometimes multiple times per week, go to the park and ride in the baby swings, go for walks, sit on a blanket in the shade in our yard and play with toys, go to a park with a splash pad early in the day (so it wasn't too hot or busy) and let her play in the water.

Now I never worry about what to do with dd2 because we are always on the go or she has dd2 to entertain/harass her. Sometimes I feel like I don't get to read to her enough and miss that mellow one-on-one time I had with dd1, though.

[scorpioscuba]

Agreed NellieOleson. I definitely feel I don't read to DD enough. We are in the go so much that sometimes our bedtime routine is rushed and then she is so tired she just wants sleep. I need to think about fitting it in at other times of the day.

[silverspoon]

What else can you do?

Occasionally if he's on the floor playing with his toys, but he starts getting fussy I will turn him so he's facing the dog. He's fascinated by her. She's like his built in entertainment system. She tends to lie down near him so I appreciate her acceptance of the situation.

He hangs out in his jumperoo, lots of floor time, we read books before bed every night, and it seems to go ok. A change of scenery usually makes him the happiest.

[14joa31]

I echo what everyone else has said - she just sort of comes along for the ride with whatever we are doing. I don't really have a lot of focused, one-on-one time with her. I am going to take her early from daycare on Friday for some special one-on-one time - and I definitely need to read to her more than I do.

[Lsquared]

Swing at the park, outside time, play with refrigerator letter magnet things, play with wooden coasters (his favorite activity ever), try to do whatever big sister is doing, play in the tub or baby pool, play with Tupperware, eat everything. We just rotate between all of those activities.

[tinydancer]

We play on the floor a lot - he loves to crawl up and over me like I'm a jungle gym, and then I'll do flying baby with him or I'll lay on my back and rest him tummy down on my knees and do a choo choo train motion. He loves grabbing at the dog's tail too (thankfully she's chill). I have a floor mirror and he loves to sit in front of that and play with the baby :-)

We also do a lot of playdates on weekends, or we'll meet friends for happy hour, or I'll just take him shopping and show him the stuff in the aisles. He likes to swing in the park, wading pool, splash pad, story time.

[kcrkcs]

So these babies love putting everything in their mouths, how does one negotiate things like grass and dirt? My kid wants to be down and exploring, do I just let her try out the grass/dirt etc. as long as she isn't eating a ton of it? Do they have to try it to learn its gross?

[NellieOleson]

Aug 26, 2016 12:39:18 GMT -5 kcrkcs said:

So these babies love putting everything in their mouths, how does one negotiate things like grass and dirt? My kid wants to be down and exploring, do I just let her try out the grass/dirt etc. as long as she isn't eating a ton of it? Do they have to try it to learn its gross?

At this age I try to keep grass and dirt out of their mouths. It's not always 100% success, but I try. In a few months they won't be as bad about it and can understand when you say "No. Yuck." or whatever.

[nikiswimr]

Hmm. Sadly I'm only home with E on the weekends at which time she does whatever we're doing (brunch, run in the Bob, shopping, swimming). If we're just relaxing she loves being outside in the shade, crawling, playing with her toys, standing up at her play table. I really struggled with what to do when I was home though. I'll be following this thread for ideas though!