What do you do all day with a 2 month old? - Page 2

[jess5377]

Originally Posted by Rowansmama

When DD was that age, I did pretty much whatever *I* felt like doing (as opposed to now, when she's 2, and we have more of a structured day of routines and activities).

I went to the bookstore a lot with her in a sling and just sipped coffee and read magazines. I went on lots of walks. DH and I would go out to dinner and she'd hang out with us. I went to mom's groups where we'd chat while the babies napped. And of course we snuggled a lot and you know, looked at baby toys and books and stuff.

I have a 6-week old and we're pretty much the same. I just bring her along to whatever I'm doing.

And try to find a mom's group in your area! It doesn't have to be LL, check community centers, birth centers, or even call your pediatrician's office as they might know of some.

[Xavismom]

well, shoot, I was going to suggest you check out the API website to see if they had a support group listed but Utah isn't even listed, which is strange.

I am SO not suprised at this. I dont know anyone IRL that:

Had a natural bith
Breastfed past a month
Does NOT use CIO
Babywears
Co-sleeps

My work friends all think I am a nutjob. I worked in a dayspa, and I remember one of the hairstylists told me about this woman and child that came in. The kid was about 2 yrs old, and was squirming for a haircut, so the mom nursed him so he would stay still and could get his hair cut.

She was like, " I hope you arent going to be that wierd "

And I replied, "Dont worry, I'll wait until I'm done nursing my toddler before I have you cut his hair"

And I seriously wish I could have met this woman while she was there!! I have never ever seen anyone nurse in public here before.

Just know that the more times you try something, the easier it becomes. I tell myself that constantly.

Sometimes psyching yourself up for something like a walk or a meeting can help...or you can always PM me and know you are talking with someone who is going through the same things!

Thats a really good way to look at things. I WILL go to the next LL meeting..! I think it'll be way easier after I get past the first time.

Too bad we dont live near each other!!

Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement Mamas!

[Plarka]

There's this great book by Glenn Doman called How Smart Is Your Baby. Strange title, I know, but it has tons if ideas of things to do with babies up to about one year old that help their brains develop, and explains a lot about development in babies. I have it and it seems we will be a lot busier and have more fun with this next baby (due in a month) than with my dd when she was tiny. I was really bored and would've loved to know more to do with her.

There's a lot about vision, black and white, colors, focusing, crawling.....it's really cool and I can't wait to start with my baby!

[hildare]

nekkid kickky time

hm... my 9 week old dd loves most of all, more than anything
to have her diaper off and kick her legs as hard as she can go. she flaps her arms, too. sometimes she likes to have us "kick" her legs for her.. her daddy has a routine with different kicky things for her. i usually rub her feet or read to her while she kicks, but she seems content kicking on her own sometimes.
other than that, she likes for me to wear her while we walk around and just look at stuff. you have to remember that everything in your house is a new sight for the baby and fun to look at... we took her to the home depot the other day and it blew her mind a little.. all those lights and things to look at. her little expression was hilarious- open mouthed staring at the ceiling..
sounds like you're doing great entertaining your little one.
maybe take your babe in a sling to the library? they have baby storytimes most places -- i think they call it "read to your baby" or "laptime storytime" in many libraries; babies seem to love to be in the sling to look at just the patterns of books on the shelves or other older kids running around!

[Xavismom]

Originally Posted by Plarka

There's this great book by Glenn Doman called How Smart Is Your Baby. Strange title, I know, but it has tons if ideas of things to do with babies up to about one year old that help their brains develop, and explains a lot about development in babies. I have it and it seems we will be a lot busier and have more fun with this next baby (due in a month) than with my dd when she was tiny. I was really bored and would've loved to know more to do with her.

There's a lot about vision, black and white, colors, focusing, crawling.....it's really cool and I can't wait to start with my baby!

This book sounds awesome!! I will have to go look for this!

[Pandme]

Re: napping. Get an exercise ball! /bounce him to sleep. Man, do I wish I'd had this thing with my son!

My daughter needsa nap after ever hour, hour and fifteen minutes of waketime. It's super easy to get into a routine....her naps are short, and I hold/nurse her the whole time. Then when she wakes I take her along for chores, get something to eat, diaper change, playmat time, rocking chair and book reading, and then before you know it, it's naptime again.

She's 3.5 months. It's a good age. I make sure for naps I have my computer, phone and remote control handy.

[Yuba_River]

Re naps-- I agree about the exercise ball. I used to put on music, put ds in a sling and then rock/dance until he fell asleep. If he is waking after 10 minutes but is fussy, he may just need help falling asleep again.

[MeredithK]

Originally Posted by Xavismom

Thats a really good way to look at things. I WILL go to the next LL meeting..! I think it'll be way easier after I get past the first time.

Too bad we dont live near each other!!

Good for you!! It is too bad we don't live closer...we could get out of the house for a change of pace! I took some of the advice here and took a ride with DS even though I thought he would hate it and it was pouring out. I wish you had a car....

[BlueWolf]

I want to also recommend more naps. DD was like your DS at that age... I was lucky to get one nap in. She was chronically tired and that just made her fussiness that much worse. Now I offer a nap every 90 minutes and she almost always goes down for 20-60 minutes. She's still a high needs baby, but is much much more happy when she gets enough sleep. However, she will only nap in her swing. I know some babies that will only nap in their bouncer... so you just need to find what works for your DS.

I really hate winter because I feel so closed in having to be inside all the time. The weather warmed up into the 30s and I totally took advantage of it to get outside. It made a huge difference in DDs day just to get some fresh air.

Oh, and I give DD a bath every night since she was about 2 months old. It's the start of our bedtime routine and one of her favorite parts of the day. She loves baths. To avoid dry skin, we have a baby rub session after the bath. I rub her down with Cetaphil. She did not like massages at first, but I just put it in our routine, ignored her fussy at first and just kept doing it every night. Now she loves it.

[Harmony96]

Originally Posted by aiyasmama

You can wear him around the house while you do housework, talk on the phone, etc. This will get easier around 6-7 months when you can wear him on your back.

I just wanted to mention that you don't have to wait that long to wear DS on your back. There are videos all over Youtube and tutorials on The Babywearer of how to safely get even a newborn on your back. I wouldn't do it w/ the Sleep Wrap though b/c IIRC that one is a stretchy wrap, and you want something non-stretchy for back carries. But you'd wear him high up on your back and he can either fall asleep (like my DS does, nearly every time while we're grocery shopping) or he can watch everything you're doing as you go about your day.

[pangirl]

My DD was born in the middle of summer in Georgia, and it was just too hot to wear her outside, I felt suffocated. So we went for walks in the air-conditioned mall, in the morning when the building was open but the stores were still closed. It was just us and these speed-walking seniors. She'd sleep and I'd get time out of the house. Having an "outing" to look forward to often kept me from feeling blue.

[littlegreenlady]

I just have to say your amazing!

I am the oldest of 9 children so I figured I had an advantage.................
I was so wrong. You have come up with stuff I'd never even heard of (the black and white book, and tummy time).


my son is 3 months old now and I still get nervous when it's time to leave the house, but it seems to get easier every time.
Learning how to get him to sleep during the day more was helpful (the bouncy ball is great and if you use your abs to bounce it's also a great workout)

but the main thing I learned is that when I take care of myself things are a lot easier.

[Xavismom]

I want to say, thanks again, for all the ideas and encouragement Mamas!

We went outside for a small walk yesterday. Didnt go too long because our air is really bad right now and it was aggrivating my asthma, I didnt want it to bother DS.

Today, he seems to just want to nurse constantly, so thats fine! I've had an internet day lol.

Tmrw is grocery shopping day, which I actually really enjoy anyways, so I'm looking forward to that! DS just naps the whole way through in his wrap.