Hello! This month might start to be a bit difficult. I only say that because at 7 months your baby might be starting to pick up different things you do. They might start to notice how you treat people, what you eat, how you treat your body, what you say, what you watch, and most importantly how you treat their family. If there are some habits you have been meaning to change, now might be the time to do it. With that being said if you want to comment below and share what you want to change I will hold you accountable, if you want me to. :)
Here is the good news: your baby is also picking up on those good habits you have too! I have personally tried to work out while my baby is awake so he sees it as a normal thing mommy does. My husband and I have also been trying to not bring electronics to the dinner table and for about a half an hour after dinner so we can have family time before the baby goes to bed. At first it was awkward to eat without the TV but our nights go a lot more smoothly and we enjoy the time we have together more than we used to.
Roller Derby
Whether or not your baby is crawling they are working on those skills. You can help them and keep them entertained at the same time! Get a bottle or something that rolls well and put things inside it like rice, bells, brightly colored puff balls, or really anything your baby finds enticing. You can also put things on the outside that your baby likes. Or if you are really lucky, your baby might find that the plain old water bottle is exciting how it is! Show your baby how to roll it and push it along to help them chase after it. If they aren't interested you will need to spice things up with colors, sounds, and textures. When they are motivated by their new toy they will try that much harder to scoot, crawl, and roll to their heart's content.
Lullabye
Its no secret that I love the Beatles and I love Rockabye Baby. I love this song because of the bubble sounds. They remind me of playing Mario when he is in the water. :)
Octopus' Garden
"Octopus's Garden"
I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus's garden in the shade He'd let us in, knows where we've been In his octopus's garden in the shade
I'd ask my friends to come and see An octopus's garden with me I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus's garden in the shade
We would be warm below the storm In our little hideaway beneath the waves Resting our head on the sea bed In an octopus's garden near a cave
We would sing and dance around Because we know we can't be found I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus's garden in the shade
We would shout and swim about The coral that lies beneath the waves (Lies beneath the ocean waves) Oh what joy for every girl and boy Knowing they're happy and they're safe (Happy and they're safe)
Can you believe its been 6 months already?! There is a lot of physical milestones your baby might achieve this month, let's see what we can do to help them learn.
Selfie App
While I'm not a fan of taking selfies I have noticed that the bright light from any technical device just calls to my baby. He loves my phone, and always wants to touch it. My husband found this app called Baby Selfie that allows your baby to not only look at themselves (like a mirror) but also take a picture whenever their little hand touches any part of the screen. Its quite funny and you end up with a couple good pictures of your baby.
Clapping
Have you tried clapping with your baby yet? I'll be honest, I haven't. Now that I know its something they can learn at 6 months I'm going to start trying it out. I found this cute song you can use to help them clap their hands, among other things. Its to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Clap, clap, clap your hands Clap your tiny hands Clap, clap, clap your hands Clap your tiny hands
Additional verses: Stomp, stomp, stomp your feet… (and so on). Pat, pat, pat your head... (and so on). Rub, rub, rub your tummy... (and so on).
Sign Language
Its never too late to start teaching sign language (if you want to) to your child. I only do a few signs such as eat, more, drink, all done, and I love you. I will add more as he learns and grows so he can communicate better with me.
If you aren't convinced or don't know where to start click here and watch a short video about teaching sign language and the benefits (along with watching a toddler sign--so adorable!!).
Brushing Teeth
Oral hygiene is very important and when is a better time to teach it than when your child starts getting teeth?! It is recommended to brush twice a day with a little toothpaste approved by your pediatrician. A lot of babies and children in general like to be the only ones allowed to touch their mouth so to help with the stress you can have a timer, countdown like a rocket (10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..BLAST OFF!) or a song that you sing every time. This way the child knows the teeth brushing will come to an end and will most likely decrease the stress around this task.
Smell the Spice Rack
It always seems that babies need you most when you are cooking. If you are able to take a quick break from cooking you can take them to the spice rack and let them smell different spices and herbs. This will help them learn different smells and help you learn what spices they might like. This will also help you when you start feeding them solids as they might recognize different spices and herbs in their food and enjoy it more. That might be wishful thinking, but its worth a try!
Bubbles-fun for the whole family and the dog
Who doesn't love bubbles?? Go outside, or inside where you don't mind getting bubbles everywhere and start blowing bubbles! Your baby can track them with their eyes, try and get them by rolling, scooting, or reaching out to them. This is also a great tummy time activity, as long as the bubbles aren't popped by the time they get to the ground ;).
Click here for some homemade bubble recipes.
Chasing Game/General Play
Momster and Babester is my son and my favorite game to play. The best part is anyone in the family can join in and they will continue to play this game basically the rest of their life.
Momster and Babester is a regular chasing game and I like to switch out who the monster (chaser) is. That is why there is the Momster and the Babester. Whether your baby is on their tummy or back you can always get on your hands and knees, growl, and say, "I'm gonna get you!" Your baby will be able to continue to focus on where sounds are and also get a sense of play. If they can roll around they might try to use that as a way of running away from the Momster.
I also like to switch the roles and have the baby become the Babester. I playfully scream, "Oh no! He's got me!" as I put my baby on my chest and act dead for a second or two. It's playful, it's silly, and your children will hopefully have a fun time with it.
Play is crucial for children's development. It helps them develop: Socially; they learn how to interact with others and not poke other's eyes all the time. Emotionally; they learn to feel different emotions like happiness, sadness, frustration, excitement, etc. as the interact with others. Physically; they work on their milestones of rolling, sitting, and soon to be scooting and crawling. Cognitively; they learn how to look at different playing situations to find a solution. For example, if you are chasing them they quickly learn where they can go to escape the big, bad Momster.
General play helps you as well because as quoted from babycenter.com "The more he laughs, the less he cries" and we all know what the infectious laughter of an baby does to us. :)
Tummy Time
If your baby is struggling with tummy time you can strengthen their muscles and make them more comfortable. All you need is a towel or blanket. Place the baby on their tummy on the blanket or towel. Gently lift the top and middle of the towel with one hand on each side so the baby's tummy and head are slightly above the floor. Gently roll the baby back and forth from one side to the next. Your baby should stay on their tummy the whole time, just rolling on their tummy. You can also add a funny sound that they like. An, "Oops!!" or "Uh-Oh!"could make it more fun for them as they roll from side to side.
Lullabye
This month is also not a lullabye but also another song that keeps my child entertained while I'm changing his clothes or diaper.
Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam
Jesus wants me for a sun-BEAM
to shine for Him each day.
In every way try to please HIM
at home, at school, at play.
A sun-BEAM! A sun-BEAM!
Jesus wants me for a sun-BEAM.
A sun-BEAM! A sun-BEAM!
I'll be a sun-BEAM for Him.
*Each time you sing a capitalized word you jump with them (if holding them), or get really close to their face (if changing them).
I'm back! After a long break to move my family to England I have started the blog back up. Let's get to it shall we?
Here are some activities and helpful hints in understanding your 4 month old.
Floor time
Spend time with your baby on the floor. They will learn all about the floor and its contents over the next couple months and I'm sure they will love when you get down at their level, especially to play. This will also help them feel comfortable as they learn to roll.
Play
Help your baby explore sounds, colors, and work on hand eye coordination with rattles, crinkled up paper (I don't know what it is about plain white paper but babies love it!), and stuffed animals.
You can also play a game called "Can you top this?" from babycenter.com. Try on different "hats" whether it be an actual hat, a cooking pot, a pair of leggings, a clean diaper, really anything and ask your baby, "Do you like my hat?" (Does that remind anyone else of the book Go Dogs, Go!?) your baby will think it's pretty funny and your other kiddos can get in on it too!
Song
This post's song is not a lullaby but a just a regular song to help in stressful times. My little guy hates getting clothes on and off so in order to help me keep my cool and both of us to stay happy I like to sing "Once There was a Snowman" as I dress and undress him. I've found that if I have a go to song during stressful times that I can keep us both calm longer.
Once There was a Snowman
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Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman
Once there was a snowman tall, tall, tall (You get taller as you say tall, tall, tall)
In the sun he melted, melted, melted (You start to get smaller as you "melt")
In the sun he melted small, small, small.
Congrats on making it out of the newborn stage! Personally I'm a little sad about it but at the same time things are just getting better so its still exciting, fun, and wonderful. :)
There is so much development going on right now! Here are some games/fun ways to bond with your little one as they develop.
Laughing
This one is probably about as individual as every baby. Try making your baby laugh by saying things in a funny voice, playing peek-a-boo, getting up close and saying, "Hey" over and over again (that's what got my little guy to show those pearly gums), and showing them themselves in the mirror. Laughing and smiling has been proven to release endorphins so laugh and smile more not only to bond with your baby but also to help you and your baby be happier!
Gross Motor
Your baby might be using their hands more to grab at the air but you can also place a rattle, their sock, or something else on their belly while they are laying down. Watch as they move their hands to grab it or knock it off. It's pretty cool watching your little one maneuver their tiny hands around in order to do something.
Tummy Time
I hope tummy time has been getting better and longer. You might even hear a couple squeals of excitement from your baby! Get on your tummy too and talk to them, laugh with them, and show them how to roll over. You can also take a rattle and shake it to the side of them. This will help not only their brain to determine where the sound is coming from but also to move their head while on their tummy. That's like triple duty!! Man, your baby is learning so much!!
Temporal Lobe (with the Lullaby)
Your baby's temporal lobe is really starting to develop. The temporal lobe is in charge of remembering visual memories as well as storing new memories, processing sensory input (understanding what they are seeing, feeling, smelling, hearing, and tasting), emotion, and comprehension of language. SO MUCH LEARNING AWESOMENESS!!
Let's break down what processing sensory input looks like:
A lot of learning disabilities are caused by the inability to process information correctly. By practicing some of the activities below you are helping your baby input information correctly. For example, pretend the brain is like a filing cabinet and each time you touch their hand and say, "hand" their brain is putting in an index card with the word "hand" into the "hand" file. Eventually they will look at their hand, retrieve the index card from the correct file and recall that this object on their body with 5 little things sticking out is a hand. If a person didn't work on developing the temporal lobe then it will be as if the brain is a messy filing cabinet with incorrectly labeled files and index cards in the wrong places. Memory (both short and long term) wouldn't be accurate, memorization would be very difficult, you could have trouble reading because your brain is misplacing the sounds/spellings/words which would then affect your comprehension. Math and science could also become difficult/inefficient as you couldn't accurately memorize facts, formulas and steps. And as you can tell a messy filing cabinet not only affects the input processing but also the memories, understanding of emotions, and comprehension of language. But don't worry, no complicated learning activities here, you are probably already helping them develop just with what you do everyday!
There are many things you can do to help the temporal lobe rock in it's development. You can read to your baby. Describe the pictures, the plot or lesson (although in some books its really hard to find it), the characters, and the feelings of the characters. This helps with the comprehension of language and understanding emotions. You can also read the My First Words and other similar books that are basically quizzing books. Those are great for helping to store new memories.
Talk about your emotions and your baby's emotions. I like talking about my and my baby's emotions because it is helping me get into the habit of talking about my emotions with my child. I want to be able to tell my child what emotion I'm feeling and reacting in a positive or at least constructive way so they know they can do the same AND so they understand that other people feel those emotions too!
Is this a good time to start sign language? You betcha!! Baby signs are found all over the internet and books (I even found a pop up book that taught sign at a grocery store the other day!) This is awesome for the temporal lobe because it works the sensory input, memorization, and comprehension of language!! You can start small with signs for eat, sleep, and change diaper and move to other signs as you wish! And as an added bonus sign language baby babble is the CUTEST thing in the world! You won't see a lot of them signing back to you for a while because the temporal lobe is working on input not output but I promise you that they will sign back to you someday. And it'll be the cutest thing in the world.
Continue talking with your baby, especially describing the things you see, hear, and feel. Your baby is not only figuring out what these things are, but that they have an effect on him/her! That's the sensory input processing working away! You can sing songs like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", and one of my favorites that combines listening, feeling, and comprehending is "Tony Chestnut". Listening because your baby listens to the word you are saying, feeling because they feel the body part you are touching and comprehending because there is an actual story in the song. This is a great song because you can act it out for/with your baby and have you other kids join in too! I'll admit, the youtube video is a little interesting, but I love to sing this song and act it out with my son.
Lyrics:
Tony Chestnut knows I love you
Tony knows
Tony knows
Tony Chestnut knows I love you
That's what Tony knows
Tony
Tony
And his sister Illene
And Ilene loves Neal
And Neal loves Pat
But Pat still loves Bob
And there's Russell
And Skip
This song is silly
But it's hip
How it ends
Just one man knows
And guess what?
Its Tony Chestnut
At 2 months old you might be noticing a little more personality in your little one. You also might notice that they are more awake during the day than they used to be. John loves looking at my face and cooing but that only lasts for so long. He usually is awake for 45 minutes to an hour so I've been looking for some things to do to help him learn and enjoy our time together. I find that if I have a plan then I don't get too overwhelmed or frustrated when I don't know what to do.
So, lets see what activities we can do with a 2 month old. :)
Eye Tracking
Hold a piece of tin foil (its shiny), a brightly colored toy, or stuffed animal in front of your baby. Move it from side to side, up and down, and close to their face to keep them tracking it.
You can also practice while sorting laundry. Hold up a piece of laundry and wave it side to side and ask who it belongs to. Older kids can join in too and it could be a fun way to bond and get some chores done (if you play around and put a piece of baby clothing in your pile).
Singing
I know I talked about this a lot last post, but I really enjoy singing and dancing with my little guy. John seems to calm down more when I sing and I have gotten over the awkward phase of being embarrassed to sing loudly when my husband is around. Some people go to great lengths just to get a baby to smile. :)
Here Comes the Sun-The Beatles
"Here Comes The Sun"
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
It's all right, it's all right
Its interesting how 7 weeks old seems so old and yet so young. I feel like John's birth is just a story now, it doesn't feel like I actually gave birth anymore but that's probably because I feel completely healed, at least physically.
At 7 weeks old babies are continuing to work on learning the tasks from previous weeks. And at this point I feel I should define 2 words: learn and master.
To me, to learn is to continue to work on a task or behavior. It may not look like I can complete the task or show the behavior and that's because I am still learning. Learning takes a lot of time and I personally need love and support while I learn something new.
To me, to master a task or behavior means you can do it correctly about 95% of the time. Everyone makes mistakes with what they have learned so there's that 5% buffer. To master a task or behavior looks like I can do it or be it! So please don't get frustrated or give up when you feel your little one isn't learning because I guarantee they are, they just haven't mastered it yet. Remember these 2 very important definitions and teaching your child anything will become easier because you are more understanding of where they are in their learning path.
Let's see what fun activities can help these babies learn this week:
Language
Its no secret that the best years to learn language is 0-3 years old but did you know that babies can't tell the difference of languages for the first 6-12 months of their life? According to Brain Rules for Babies babies are born being able to speak any language. BUT their ability to distinguish differences in language stops by the time they are a year old. What does this mean? Have you ever seen Goonies? In the movie a Japanese kid named Data points out that there is a "booty trap". Another kid corrects him by saying "booby trap". He responds, "That's what I said, 'booty trap'!" Data wasn't exposed to the 2 words "booty" and "booby" before he was 1 year old and therefore didn't hear that there was a difference. If you have learned a language I'm sure you can think back to a word or sound that you just didn't understand, well that means you weren't exposed to it before age 1. Interesting huh? It gets better. According to a study done by a guy named Kuhl (talked about in Brain Rules for Babies) the only thing that can expose babies to other languages is social interaction=real people. Language DVDs don't work, recordings don't work, only social interaction (aka physically talking with the baby) helps the baby to learn a language. This means while I was watching Saved by the Bell and thinking that it was okay because my baby was learning language I was WRONG. The only way babies learn language (including their native language) is through social communication (aka talking). Interesting huh?
So, go on a stroll with your baby and tell them what you see, point out things you see, hear, and feel, (and smell?). Cook something with your baby (make sure they are safe of course), tell them what you are mixing together, where the food comes from, and what the smell or texture of it is. You could be raising the next Rachel Ray or Bobby Flay, who knows?
Hand Eye Coordination/Gross Motor
Hold up a white and black object in front of your baby. Move the objects around and see if your baby tracks the objects with their eyes. This helps with hand eye coordination!
Sing "The Eensy Weensy Spider" (sorry if that's spelled wrong) as you do the hand motions, "Patty Cake" with their hands or feet, or "This Little Piggie" as you play with their toes. This helps them start to learn about their hands and feet and with hand eye coordination.
You can also pedal with their legs or do the can-can, do the Y-M-C-A with their arms and hands, or just dance with them! A dance party is a great way to get the other kiddos involved and even if you feel silly dancing in front of them DON'T! They think you are the bomb.com no matter what you do (well I guess that depends on their age... and what dance you are doing. You might not want to "drop it like it's hot" with your youngins around).
Lullaby
Yes, yes it is. It is "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. Who doesn't love singing this song with the most absurd voices and dance moves? I'm sure you and your baby will have a blast with this one. :)
And if you really want to sing along with words that you didn't make up (or think are made up) here are the lyrics: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality.
Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see, I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low, Anyway the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.
Mama, just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, Pulled my trigger, now he's dead. Mama, life had just begun, But now I've gone and thrown it all away.
Mama, ooh, Didn't mean to make you cry, If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters.
Too late, my time has come, Sent shivers down my spine, Body's aching all the time. Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go, Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.
Mama, ooh (anyway the wind blows), I don't wanna die, I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all.
I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning, Very, very frightening me. (Galileo) Galileo. (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro Magnifico.
I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me. He's just a poor boy from a poor family, Spare him his life from this monstrosity.
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go? Bismillah! No, we will not let you go. (Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go. (Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go. (Let me go!) Will not let you go. (Let me go!) Never, never let you go Never let me go, oh. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, mama mia, mama mia (Mama mia, let me go.) Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me.
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye? So you think you can love me and leave me to die? Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby, Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here.
(Oh, yeah, oh yeah)
Nothing really matters, Anyone can see, Nothing really matters, Nothing really matters to me.
