~*~*~ *November 2006 Mamas ~*~*~ Welcome to April ~*~*~* - Page 8

[twogreencars]

Originally Posted by Sap

Anyone else eating their toes yet? Hana is fascinated with her feet at the moment - any time she's laying on her back she's got her bum in the air and her feet in her hands (or her mouth!) it's adorable! (and makes diaper changes easier )

DD also *LOVES* doing this! Absolutely adorable!

[twogreencars]

How do you play with your baby? What toys does s/he play with on their own? What toys do you play with DC with? What other things, eg. baby gym do you use? What games do you play with DC, eg. "superbaby" (flying through the air)? What does DC like best?

I'm asking because I'm sure there are * A LOT * of things I could be doing with DD that I just haven't thought of yet...

DD loves flying through the air, loves being above our heads. We have a lovely wooden baby gym which DD loved playing with, but not sure if she likes it anymore. DD has a giraffe which is just the right weight for her to hold and bang against things. We got out our bead rollercoaster toy and apparently 4+ month olds like it when you move the beads, but we haven't tried that yet. We've got tons of toys from DS and DD#1's babyhoods, but she's now just getting into them. We also have a Music Blocks music thingy - from nearly 7 years ago (!) - which DD loves listening to.

What about you?

Cross-posted in Life with a Babe so we can get even *more* ideas!

[CAUCmama]

Originally Posted by twogreencars

DD also *LOVES* doing this! Absolutely adorable!

DD is also a foot muncher...some days it seems like her only goal is to eat her feet or coo and giggle when I pretend to...she likes to hold her foot out for me to nibble.

[Sap]

Most of my "playing" with Hana is singing to her and talking to her, playing finger games, naming/touching her parts (this is your head, your nose, etc.) and doing the same when she touches me (today I even said "you're eating mommy's nose!" oh what fun lol). We sit on the floor together and read her books, play with her toys etc.

She lately is loving blankets. If I need to put her down for a while and get something done (like pack a diaper bag or make a phone call) I just lay her on the floor with a blanket over her. She chews it and kicks it off of her and rolls around on it. It's quite fun to watch actually. She also has an attraction to burp rags (usually the cheep preflolds). She chews them and waves them around.

We don't use a play gym usually with her anymore. We did, and she loved it, b ut then started getting bored when she learned how to grab the toys and they were attatched. We just bought a water gym for her, we'll see how that goes tomarrow. We did get her a jumperoo sort of thing which she absolutely loves.

When she plays on her own it mostly learning how to put everything in her mouth. It's a lot of fun to watch. She also likes the flying through the air thing, and standing, and larning how to sit.

[co-op mama]

Magnus has really been into chewing on his hands, blankets, his clothes etc. We play peek a boo that really makes him laugh. My older daughters like to play pat a cake and he really likes and recognizes that as we've done that since he was born. He likes a few little rattle type toys but mostly we play with him over our heads, blowing raspberries, tickling his feet and neck, getting him in the crook of his neck. He loves his feet.

He talks to himself when he wakes in the morning. He also puts his little hands on either side of my face, he gives us kisses(or at least I like to think he does)He does a repetitive growly type of noise when he gets tired and is about to fall asleep. He babbles alot and I swear that sometimes he mimics the sounds that we make.

I made a video today on the camera and I got him laughing and tooting it was really funny.

This is a really fun age.

M

[CableGirl]

As much as I love playing with MJ and I think this is a great age, if she doesn't learn how to roll from her tummy to her back soon I'm going to go insane. She instantly rolls onto her tummy as soon as I put her down for sleep or a nap. fine. When she's asleep that's fine, but if she wakes up on her tummy she gets very upset. I don't think I got more than 2 hours sleep all night last night. :

[twogreencars]

Originally Posted by Sap

. We just bought a water gym for her, we'll see how that goes tomarrow. We did get her a jumperoo sort of thing which she absolutely loves.

What's a water gym?

[Sap]

It's one of these
http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Play-.../dp/B000066666

We tried it out today, she really likes it! We don't usually get toys like this, but this one actually seemed useful - she can feel the water move, see the shapes moving when she touches them etc. Plus it keeps her happy on her tummy, which is a miracle. She really liked it! We layed on the floor for almost a half hour together pushing the shapes and feeling the water move, it was great.

[twogreencars]

Originally Posted by Sap

It's one of these
http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Play-.../dp/B000066666

We tried it out today, she really likes it! We don't usually get toys like this, but this one actually seemed useful - she can feel the water move, see the shapes moving when she touches them etc. Plus it keeps her happy on her tummy, which is a miracle. She really liked it! We layed on the floor for almost a half hour together pushing the shapes and feeling the water move, it was great.

Ah. We had one of those for DD#1...think I kept it for the last 9 years...now...where the heck is it???? I''ll probably find it when she's 5 years old!

[One Art]

Talia munches her toes a little, but mostly just loves to grab them and play with them... she is also doing what I call her "cricket rub" where she violently rubs her feet together... it almost seems like she does it to get her socks or booties off (and it works!) but she keeps doing it with bare feet too.... her eyes haven't settled quite yet, but they seem more and more green all the time, which would be exciting, because dd1's eyes are brown like dh's so I want a girl with my eyes! hehe. Anyone else's babe having a hard time sleeping suddenly? I am really hoping it is teething, as opposed to a change in sleep pattern!

[twogreencars]

Originally Posted by emilyrose

Anyone else's babe having a hard time sleeping suddenly? I am really hoping it is teething, as opposed to a change in sleep pattern!

yeah - we went through this a couple of weeks ago...

At the moment, my DD is going to be around 8pm. Waking up to nurse, be changed at around 11pm...Sleeping until 5am or so and then nursing...Then sleeping until 8 or 9am for a feed and a change...

Is your DC doing this...or something else????

I don't know about y'all - but I am *STILL* soooooooo exhausted...

[babymakesthree]

DD is having even worse sleep than usual. She was sitting up by herself today for a little bit. : Oh my, where does the time go. I am hoping the sleep thing is just a new skill/teething issue and it settles back down because even her good sleep is pretty bad. She goes to sleep anywhere from 9-11 then wakes up about 4 to 6 times then we are up for good at 8-8:30. This morning she woke up at 5 and didn't go back to sleep til 6. I had to actually get out of bed to nurse her in the rocking chair because she wouldn't settle back down. DH is playing with her on the floor right now and she is desperately trying to crawl. It is going to be a long week.

[CableGirl]

Originally Posted by twogreencars

I don't know about y'all - but I am *STILL* soooooooo exhausted...

Hahaha... I have come to the conclusion that I will be sleep deprived until DD is at least a teenager.

[cmg]

Originally Posted by CableGirl

Hahaha... I have come to the conclusion that I will be sleep deprived until DD is at least a teenager.

.. at which point you can stay up late waiting for them to come home!

Anybody else feel like their baby is regressing and going back through the sleep stages they went through before? We had the thrashing, the waking up and not going back to sleep, now we're on to mom-can't-move-or-I'll-wake-up again.

On playing... DD's favorite things to do are to go for a walk in the sling and to watch people. Toys are fun, but only if we're sitting up. Pulling bowls and plates off the table is also fun. She really likes crinkling the wings on her large stuffed dragon. I sometimes try to play the piano with her in my lap. I need to learn some kid's songs!

[jchizever]

Originally Posted by babymakesthree

DD is having even worse sleep than usual. She was sitting up by herself today for a little bit. : Oh my, where does the time go. I am hoping the sleep thing is just a new skill/teething issue and it settles back down because even her good sleep is pretty bad. She goes to sleep anywhere from 9-11 then wakes up about 4 to 6 times then we are up for good at 8-8:30. This morning she woke up at 5 and didn't go back to sleep til 6. I had to actually get out of bed to nurse her in the rocking chair because she wouldn't settle back down. DH is playing with her on the floor right now and she is desperately trying to crawl. It is going to be a long week.

OMG I could have written this! Yes, TWOGREENCARS - I agree, I am SO tired!! She also is not napping - which is so much fun...she says sarcastically. It is a fun age but it seems to have gotten harder. From 6 wks until 4 months it was good and got easier - now it has been difficult again and I am just about at my wits end. I love her and she is just so darned cute - but SO much work!! She does not like to be put down - more so than when she was younger. I have to hold her ALL the time and she is getting very heavy - now a little over 18lbs!

DD also right now is still more interested in people than toys. She is just now starting to grab toys and still has not rolled over. She really does not seem to have much interest in it yet. I am trying not to compare.

I am so grateful for this thread. It is so good to hear I am not alone. Thanks everyone!

[CableGirl]

wow, cmg, your dd will sit still on your lap while you play piano? that's wonderful. MJ is going through a *very* squirmy stage. hate siting still but can't move yet.

[Dov'sMom]

Originally Posted by emilyrose

Talia munches her toes a little, but mostly just loves to grab them and play with them... she is also doing what I call her "cricket rub" where she violently rubs her feet together... it almost seems like she does it to get her socks or booties off (and it works!) but she keeps doing it with bare feet too.... her eyes haven't settled quite yet, but they seem more and more green all the time, which would be exciting, because dd1's eyes are brown like dh's so I want a girl with my eyes! hehe. Anyone else's babe having a hard time sleeping suddenly? I am really hoping it is teething, as opposed to a change in sleep pattern!

Cricket rub -- that's a great name for it! DS does that too, except that I think he does stop when his socks are off, so I think he's doing it to get rid of the socks.

We're also having sleep issues. DS is going down at 8 or 9 and then waking up at 11 to play until 1:30. Today I haven't let him go to sleep yet, so hopefully when I put him down he'll stay. He did nap from 6 to 7:30 though (I fell asleep and didn't notice ) so we'll see.

It is so wonderful to watch how he has things going on his head. Like he decides he wants a particular book that's two feet away on the bed. He kicks and "swims" till he gets there. If I interrupt by picking him up onto my lap he twists around and throws himself at the book. If I give him somthing else, he pushes it away in quest of the first thing. Or tonight he decided he wanted to suck on DH's hair. So he grabbed DH's shirt to bring him down to his level. Then he grabbed DH's ear and yanked, hard, to bring his head down, and swung his other arm around the top of DH's head to move his face down and his hair to his mouth. That's a series of steps he couldn't have done a few weeks ago, mostly because in between he would have forgotten what he was after and gotten distracted.

[twogreencars]

Originally Posted by Dov'sMom

. Or tonight he decided he wanted to suck on DH's hair. So he grabbed DH's shirt to bring him down to his level. Then he grabbed DH's ear and yanked, hard, to bring his head down, and swung his other arm around the top of DH's head to move his face down and his hair to his mouth. That's a series of steps he couldn't have done a few weeks ago, mostly because in between he would have forgotten what he was after and gotten distracted.

[mom de terre]

[QUOTE=Dov'sMom;7892302]

We're also having sleep issues. DS is going down at 8 or 9 and then waking up at 11 to play until 1:30. .

I/QUOTE]

Aaah!! That's exactly what's happening around here. This week A has been so hard to get to sleep and she wants to play in the middle of the night. It seems like she's been waking up every hour afterwards, too. Plus, she usually sleeps in a cosleeper, and recently she has been waking up whenever I try to move her into it. Sigh...she only wants to sleep hooked up to the tap. I know some of you mamas can sleep that way, but not me.

[Dov'sMom]

Well, keeping him up from 7 to 11 pm worked! He slept through until I woke him up at 7:45 to eat before I left for school.

Well, not through through -- I distinctly remember not getting up for my 5 am alarm because he was nursing. So I don't know how frequently he nursed last night, but there was none of that "Hi, I'm UP! Let's play!" business at 2 am.