Your new little squishy is here, you’ve mastered nappy
changing, feeding and adjusting to sleep disturbed nights. Your baby is
starting to become more alert during the day, napping less and you’re wondering
what you can do together. Here are my top 10 ways to interact and play with
your baby, this list is by no means exhaustive and I welcome you to share your
ideas with me and other readers in the comments.
1.
Black and white pictures (sight)
Babies can see high contrast images much
better than anything else, so black and white images will get their attention
and aid their visual development.
Do a google search for black and white
images or easily make your own on a computer, you could even draw them if you
wanted, there’s also free downloadable images at this blog.
Once you have your images printed you can
place them on a wall near baby, hang them from a mobile or a baby gym, or
simply hold them out in front of your little one.
2.
Water play- bath time (touch/sound/sight)
Water is always a winner for sensory play
and is one of the easiest. There are many ways to play with your baby using
water but the most obvious is to have a bath, you can either use a baby bath or
fill your own bath and take baby in with you (make sure the water is not too
hot by using a thermometer – remember babies skin is super sensitive). Trickle
water over different parts of you baby using a sponge or small cup, make
splashing noises, let/help your baby splash, rub a wet sponge or cloth over
their skin, there’s loads you can do.
3.
Tummy time (touch)
Allowing your baby to lie on their belly is
always a good idea as its great for their muscle development but you can add to
the sensory experience. You can lay your baby on a soft, fluffy blanket, you
can lie them on something that’s noisy like an emergency blanket, and
you can rock/roll your baby using an exercise ball. You could introduce smells
by using scented sprays on the blanket.
4.
Baby massage (touch/smell)
Touch is one of the easiest senses to
develop with your baby, and using baby massage is great for bonding. Massage
can also help your baby to feel relaxed, aid trapped wind and help babies to
sleep better. There are loads of free classes for baby massage that you could
do to learn more, or just simply use a little pure oil, like olive oil or
coconut oil, and rub your baby’s feet, hands, arms etc. You can choose to use a
pure essential oil within your oil base but please be sure that it is safe for
babies and do a spot test a day before to check for a potential allergy.
5.
Making faces (sight)
Right from birth babies are social
creatures and you are instrumental in helping to develop their social skills.
As early as 1 month old babies start experimenting with their facial features
and they will love watching your face and trying to mimic you. By 2 months old
your little one will be smiling and will start initiating ‘conversations’ with
you by flashing you a smile, join the
conversation and pull as many faces as you can.
6.
Singing (sound)
Even if you think you can’t sing I can
guarantee that your baby loves the sound of your voice, and will love the rhyming
tones when you sing. Studies have shown that babies remain calmer for longer
when you have sang to them than when you simply talk. I can personally attest
to this as my lg would only be calm in the car while I was singing to her. We
attend many baby/toddler groups that encourage singing, the repetition is
really great for speech and language development. If you’re not confident with
your nursery rhymes you could buy a children’s cd like this one ,or just
sing whatever’s on your radio, it really doesn’t matter.
7.
Read to them (sound/sight/touch)
Just the same as singing this encourages
speech and language development and your baby is never too young to start good
reading practice. At first your baby will just like listening to the sound of
your voice but as they get older, they will remember the stories and it will
encourage their imagination. There are loads of really fantastic books out
there for babies and toddlers and if you have an actual story book with you
that will also stimulate their sight and touch senses too, especially if the
book is a touch and feel book like the Usborne Thats Not My... Books
8.
Baby games (movement/sound/sight/touch)
You can play with your newborn! Just
because they don’t ‘do’ an awful lot at the moment doesn’t mean that they won’t
enjoy you playing baby games with them, and again repetition is great for brain
development. You could try; ‘Round and round the garden’ played on hands, feet
and belly; ‘This little piggy’ is great for feet stimulation; blowing
raspberries is great for hearing and touch, play peek-a-boo and encourage your
baby to join in (my lg loves this game); bicycle legs is good for muscle
development too. If you think of any more, please leave a comment at the bottom
for inspiration to others J
9.
Naked time (touch)
When you’re little one is naked they will
experience the world in a very different way, when they are lying wriggling
around they are learning what air on their belly feels like exposed to the air,
and how their body interacts with the ground (touch and pressure). All this
floor time lays the foundation for motor development such as rolling over,
sitting up and eventually walking. You can further encourage sensory development
during this time too, you can stroke your baby’s skin, caress them with
feathers and different materials, and gently blow across them.
I would also encourage you to
have some naked time too, skin to skin contact with your baby at any time (not
just straight after birth) is great and will calm your baby. Cuddling without
clothes on feels very different, allowing your baby to feel your skin, your warmth
and to hear your heart beat are all great sensory experiences.
There are a few things that should be
considered when having naked time. Babies pee and poop wherever, whenever and
you should take this into consideration when planning your naked time. A puppy
training pad underneath your baby will absorb any ‘accidents’ and if you lay
your baby to one side of the pad, once they’ve had one wee you can simply move
them across to the other side of the pad to keep playing. You can also have a
small flannel or muslin cloth available to ‘catch’ any upright wee’s when your
baby is on their back (particularly with little boys). You should also make
sure the room is warm enough for a naked baby and that they are lying on
something comfortable and not too hard.
10.
Kisses and cuddle (Everything!)
This sensory experience is the one I would
encourage the most, you should kiss and cuddle your baby anytime, anywhere and
as often as possible. Love and touch stimulate the release of oxytocin in both
you and your baby, not only is this a lovely feel-good hormone but it also
develops healthy pathways in your babies brain and encourages neurone
development, and who doesn’t love that!
Kisses and cuddles stimulate every sense,
your baby sees you, they can smell you, they can hear your heart and breathing,
they can touch you and they can even taste you on their lips.
These 10 things are just a guide to get you started, you can
combine most of them for example, while having tummy time you can sing, while
doing baby massage you can pull faces. Have a go and see how your baby reacts,
which was their favourite? Which was yours? If you have a favourite thing to do
with your new-born that I haven’t mentioned please leave me a comment below and
share with my other readers.
And finally, none of these suggestions lose their worth as
your baby gets older, they simply grow with you and your child, as they have
the ability to do more, develop the activity i.e. encourage dancing with
singing, encourage pouring activities in water.
Always Have Fun
xoxo
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