Don't feel bad! I remember feeling bad because Jax and Alek (my little twin monsters) would just lay there, looking around, sleeping, eating, pooping, eating, pooping, sleeping - you get the idea! I felt like they were totally BORED! WTF was I thinking?! They don't even know what being bored is and even if they did, there was no possible way that they were bored! Imagine being all blind and snuggled up in the wet wonderland of a uterus (gross) and then being spewed out into our big, bright world! Yeah, they're not bored. They're acclimating themselves to being in a totally different setting than they had grown accustomed to. They can't see real well, everything is a billion times louder now, and there's more space around them than they know what to do with!
You're not a bad mom if you're not holding them 24/7. I mean, if you want to, and like that kind of thing, by all means, hold them all the time (they won't get spoiled just yet)! I'm not that kind of mom. I love the little guys but I also hate sitting still for too long! Of course they need held and cuddled and loved, but they will also be fine if you leave them be to figure out some stuff on their own!
The first few months are pretty harsh when it comes to their sedentary "lifestyle"! I've put together a list of ten things I did with my boys from 0-5"ish" months old that kept all three of us entertained. Trust me, you will question your sanity at some point and these activities will give you a little release (or perhaps just confirm your insanity)!
1- Lay them on their play mats even if they don't "play"! They are looking at all the hanging objects you've put in front of them. They will eventually start to interact with the stuff. Plus, someone once told me that babies that have nothing above them to look at will "turn out dumb", lol! There's actually research on that, and I will say that the findings do show that the visual stimulation is great for them.
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| Alek |
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| Jax |
3- Do baby art. get some water-based acrylic paints and a canvas. Paint up your little one's hands, feet, booty...whatever, and use them as a human stamp to make a DIY wall hanging! Make sure you use colors that you would want to display! So much easier to incorporate with your décor than the god awful "feet butterflies" people seem to be fond of making. You know, the ones that end up crushed between the pages of a baby book. With that being said, IF butterfly footprint art can be easily incorporated into your décor, you've got bigger issues than figuring out things to do with your little one!
4- Engage in a tickle war. Mine love it when we lightly bite their ribs and blow on their stomachs. Maybe it's because they're boys and the "fart like" sound that blowing on their stomach makes, is engrained in their DNA to be funny. Now don't expect some fantastic bellowing laugh from them until they're a few months old, but when you hear that first laugh, you'll want to hear it over and over!
5- Turn on some horrible music that you love (Vanilla Ice or maybe some Soulja Boy) and hold them upright, making them dance...kinda like a puppet. Again, probably more entertaining for you than them, BUT you're getting them used to movements and they'll never know you're laughing at them and not with them ;)
6- Take them for walks. Lots and lots of walks. It's good for you and good for them. Don't be one of these moms that doesn't want to expose their kids to the elements. Dress them according to the weather and let them get out! We live in Las Vegas and it gets pretty hot here, so we "visit" the local malls and the shopping forums in the casinos to walk. If you choose to do the mall thing, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT plan on getting any actual shopping done.
7- Sing and dance for them. They don't know that you have been kicked out of karaoke bars for having a voice so bad that chimpanzees scream at the sound of it. They just know that you're smiling and having fun!
8- Let them hold different objects. It's fun to see what they like and don't like, plus it lets them get used to different textures. My monsters love to take soft blankets and rub on their faces. Now, I would never leave them alone to do this, but it's super cute when they shut their eyes and seem to enjoy it so much. They hate wooden spoons.
9- Play in front of a mirror. Have I mentioned that babies love mirrors? Hold them, so that you're both facing the mirror and lean towards it and away from it. Make faces at them in the mirror. I recommend putting some makeup on so that you don't scare yourself; that "glow" you had while preggers might not have endured the birthing process!
10- I might be pushing the envelope with this one, BUT that's what I'm good at. So... you're going to be stressed; this is a huge life changing event, you're sleep deprived, and this is a whole new "normal" that you're experiencing. Take the tension out of situations and use your best ooogly googly baby voice to say things to them like, "Ohhhh did you crap yourself?" "Did my little man sh** himself?", "Why, aren't you just the most annoying little creature!", "Can you just STFU for mama for just a few minutes?"... I find this activity highly fulfilling, and since you're using a "sweet as pie" voice, they generally just smile and laugh. PLUS, you won't be able to do this activity once they start mimicking sounds!
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