Baby Games (early play)

So I know alot of this stuff is considered duhuh but honestly I really dont know how to play baby games so Im compiling a list of baby games to play with little Connor

Face to Face Games

Peekaboo. Hide your face behind your hands or a book, menu, pillow (you get the idea…), then uncover your face and say, "Peekaboo! I see you!"

So big. "How big is baby?" That's the burning question. Your answer: "So big!" as you help her spread her arms as wide as she can.

Clap hands. As you sing those words over and over, guide your baby's hands in a clapping motion. This works pretty well with feet too.

Puppets. Hand and finger puppets are wildly entertaining for babys dont be discouraged if they seem uninterested at first they will be giggling cooing and reaching for mister socky before you know it.

Faces/Noises. make different expressions and noises for baby to explore stick with things that interest not startle watch as he reacts responds or even imitates.

UFOs. Hold a soft toy up in the air and slowly bring it down close enough for baby to see. Use the tone of your voice to whoooooooo.... going up.... and then down.... to associate the movement with the sound.

Tummy Time/Floor Play

Heads up. Lay your baby on her tummy. Hold a colorful toy near your baby's head, just a little higher than you normally would, to encourage her to raise her head to see. Give her lots of praise when she lifts that heavy head - she's working hard!

Beach ball Rock. Get a beach ball or an exercise ball, deflate it slightly, place your baby on the ball TUMMY DOWN. While supporting him (you can hold his sides, legs or thighs depending on how well he/she can control her body), roll him back and forth and side to side. You can sing or talk at the same time.

Ball Time. place a ball by babys feet let them kick and roll it (this may seem pointless at first baby is kicking and hits the ball only because you put it there but continue the practice). As they get older they will be able to pass it up to their hands and roll throw ect.

Supported Crawling. While baby is tummy down place your palms behind their feet so they can push off.

Other 

Water. water is fun to splash grab or feel sit in a tub or kiddy pool with them or fill up a bowl (just expect it to spill so have towles down or do it in the yard) add floting toys drop things in the water so it makes noises ect.

Sensory Play. baby's love to touch feel taste explore So let them Better yet encourage it any texture sound ect is new to them so collect things magazine pages, rice, fabric, leaves ect. seriously anything pretty much goes as long as its not toxic/dangerous and always keep an eye out especially with smaller items or baby's who are starting to grasp/chew rather then swat at.   

Dance. Dance for or with baby move baby so he is dancing on his own give your voice a rest and dance to some beats move babys arms or legs to music while he lays down simply play different types of music and let him react on his own. 

learning from birth

Babys whole lives revolve around learning so why wait to start teaching things until school. what if every day was a learning day not a special time set aside for "school stuff" not a boring crap workbook of age appropriate activity's like the oh so not the least bit enjoyable tracing the letter A 700 times by we make children hate their lives incorporated. yeah Workbooks have their place yes when he starts school we probably will have a set aside homework hour but introducing knowledge enjoyable makes it way more likely that kids will continue to enjoy it.


Point things out from the get go
at the start it may only be practice for mommy to get me in the habit or so I have something to keep me sane but you never know what he is picking up and the truth is I will need the practice. Instead of droneing through the isles of a store or the side of the road or anything else make it an adventure.

 things to point out

Whats it made of (chicken/cotten/plastic)

what is it (tree/sheet/plushie)

Whats it called (hot pocket/playdoh/duvet)

What color is it (red/grey/green)

What shape is it (round/square)

What does it have pictures of (Food/locations/animals)

 Whats it for (dinner/playtime/keeps us warm)

 

 Add in concepts

we are getting this becuse........

this one is cheaper.......

this one is bigger......

we want/need/enjoy/have to have

Hard/soft/fluffy/smooth/rough

Ask questions

~especilly once they are talkers dont drill things make it a game~

can you find something red?

do you know what this is for?

what kind of animals do you see?

think outside the box 

~dont just practice factual things let them practice imagination thought process and planning (it might even end up being something worth trying)~

What would you make soup with? 

what chould make this better?

what chould you do with this?

 which do you prefer?

Advance the content

dont forget to add concepts as he starts grasping things look at the big red truck is only informative for so long. got the basics down move on to ideas and concepts add in prices and mathematics at the store let him make some of the shopping decisions.

Story time

Reading is huge to me and it is about so much more then teaching him words or concepts or anything else story time is a time for us to bond some of my best memorys are books and that something I really want to pass on to Connor so im doing it from the start.

Hello Library we will become good friends. hundreds of options for little ears and eyes years of materials and no wasted money. if its a crappy book we get another one if hes not interested we get another one if it becomes his passion I can go buy it and build A collection He actually enjoys. bed time stories day time story's read along time I honestly think I will be disappointed once he is a proficient reader Im looking forward to digesting some non digital material again. 

Sneaky mommie 

so far though my number one plan for teaching Connor things is not telling him Im teaching him things. I know you guys have seen learning games especially if your a Pintrest freak like me lately. 

So play them try them even if you dont think they will work 

do a color based scavenger hunt

make shape puzzles

matching games 

coin counting board games

use playdough for math

educational busy books

sensory bins 

Animal Walls

heck even come up with a monthly lesson plan if its your style but dont make it a huge deal dont stop play time to learn or say things like now we are going to practice letters. (at least not at first obviously as they get older they will need some specific "school work time") just do it. HEs not going to fight something He doesn't know is boring. Once hes already been doing it for a while it will be easier to introduce the more boring aspects because he is already interested in the concept.

  

 

Mommy's Temper (achieving anger free discipline)

Keeping myself calm is one of my biggest fears of being a parent. I'm not a very patient person and the last thing I want to be is the screaming irrational parent whos children grow up to think hates them. More importantly the best way to teach anything is to live it so here is my keep your cool formula. 

Maintain

keep yourself healthy- eat sleep & exercise

keep up with the house- the more there is to overwhelm you the more overwhelmed you will be

Keep a to do list- just don't stress if it doesn't all get done

Breath

dont focus on the bad- anger builds dont help it

step back- is it actually bad or just not how I would do it

take a time out for yourself- sometimes its best to walk away

ask for help- If a 5 min breather wont cut it get some back up

What Not To Say

stop crying/ hurry up/shut up

your so *insert negative attribute

leave me alone

get over it

Try Instead

ignore it- if its not dangerous or destructive or inappropriate let it play out

offer alternatives- redirection when appropriate Is more constructive then constant scolding

A hug- sometimes your both just stressed 

If punishment is necessary stay even and firm try that hug again it will let the LO know you dont hate them. If you really cant keep your cool make it clear that the child is out of bounds that the behavior wont be tolerated and send them to wait for you. Try your best to make sure the punishment fits the crime.

I Want This--------

Not This----------

How to keep your child from pushing your limits

these are the things I will be trying to do so that we arnt visiting punishment row 40 times a day & so I dont have to worry about pulling my hair out every waking moment. More importantly these are the things Im going to do so that when my kid grows up they will be a decent adult.  

Teach them their emotions and how to express them- this is what your feeling here are some good ways to handle that

teach them proper behavior- this is whats expected & this is why

have clear rules and follow through- this is what happens when we break the rules (and actually do it) be firm and consistent.

treat them like people- kids are humans respect them and they will respect you

notice when they are good- if you only pay attention when they are bad there's no reason for them to be anything else

think about why this is happening- What is happening? why is this not except-able? can we think of why we are upset? could we solve this in a better way? Let them come up with the answers even if they aren't “good ones” explore the responses.

Use natural consequences when possible- its easier to make a link and actually learn from it.

lead by example- seriously no one listens to a person whos full of crap if im not living it or at least trying to then the whole things a waste. 

Communicate- really listen to your kids dont nod and forget or lecture talk communicating means listening and speaking.

Dont be a police state- the best way to lose your child is to control your child they will fight back its inevitable impart tools not tracking devices. 

 

Starting The Routines Early

So I live in a pretty small place and alot of the time I find myself putting things off its not that big a deal. until there is 7 loads of laundry and not a single clean plate. granted its really not that much still it takes me no more then a day to get everything back into place organized by height facing the right direction and "retail displayed" as my boyfriend calls . k it might take me more then a day right now but that's just because Im pregnant and have to take a nap every 30 min. however the baby is comeing and somithing tells me stacks of dirty dishes and nasty floors are not what im going to be needing to deal with nor will I have a full day to dedicate to them so Iv started a cleaning routine.

Every Day- compleate the tasks

wash the dishes
Clean up food scraps
pickup wrappers trash and pet disasters
take out the trash 

Assigned Days- do any necessary touch ups to assigned room (organize vacuum baseboards ect)
Monday- kitchen
Tuesday- hall
wendsay-bathroom
thursday- bedroom
friday- closets

Weekly- do at least one load of laundry a week (pre baby that's actually all the laundry we have Im sure it will have to be adjusted post poo dispenser arrival)

Monthly- check for household repairs, pests, and skeleton closets (like my IDK where this goes drawers and the other half's corner of disrepair)

This is sitting inside a page protector On the front of the fridge with a dry erase marker next to it I just strike through the task when ever it is completed It doesn't really matter what time of day. As long as its done each day it stays under control and its been super helpfull.
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After Connors arrival Ill be adding a changing and feeding chart. Not really a schedule just a way to mark it down and keep track so we can notice if anything goes off kilter.

Then once I get settled in with baby im going to start working out again nothing big Im thing about a mile run and a basic arms legs abs routine each day but it will just be on a list of daily activity's along with Connors tummy time and maybe even special pet time and daddy time just to keep myself from forgetting. Not actual assigned times just something to remind myself to get off my ass and do something special each day. also it feels surprisingly good to literally mark something off the list each day.

I think starting to get myself in order is pretty important anyway if Connor grows up seeing mommy doing what needs to be done it will be so much easier and more effective to tech him responsibility then sitting on the couch and screaming about how he needs to pull his weight.  
 

First Timer Basics

So as a first time mother and generally non baby person one of my biggest fears once Connor gets here is not knowing how to do anything and I mean anything. Baby people tend to forget that a true first timer knows nothing. When I ask for info on changing diapers I mean start from which direction it goes and how do I not throw up not debate the advantages of cloth or how to make homemade wipes. So basically I stopped asking I felt retarded going um yeah can I have the preschool version of that please. No I didn't know that all strollers fold I thought it was a special feature No I wasn't aware that babies had to be sponge bathed until the umbilical cord healed and no I'm still not exactly sure how to use the sling part of my infant to toddler tub. Swaddling still confuses me and I downloaded a freaking diagram for it. so this is my list of baby basics that I have compiled to have in one place so I'm not trying to Google things mid diaper change or something. its mostly common tips for myself honestly.

Bath Time- http://www.babble.com/baby/baby-care/complete-guide-to-bathing-your-baby-bath-baby-baby-bathtub/bath-how-to-bathe-tub-3/

Diapering- http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/diapering-a-baby-9/slideshow-diapering

Swaddling

Breast Feeding-  http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-breastfeed-a-visual-guide_1439783.bc


Burping-  http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-burp-your-baby_10363676.bc

Basic care- notes to self

don't forget or fear the face
when washing don't skip the face your not going to break it (just be careful to keep suds out of eyes) 
use cotton balls soaked in warm water to solve gunky eyes
dont let noses get clogged up there's a reason for the snot sucker in your baby kit

Sensitive skin
skip the fragrance the lavender cucumber blend wont matter when he breaks out in hives
dry baby off trapped moisture on soft skin can cause rashes especially in the diaper zone

Trim it 
Trim their nails your not going to chop off any fingers

Ding-a-ling
keep it covered and pointed down