things to do with a 2 month old. - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

agentbluesmurf · 09-04-2004, 08:21 AM

hello all.

My daughter is 2 months and a few days now. I try to different things with her every day. Example. I feed , change, then we try to do some tummy time. She hates that. I will read her books. Make funny faces, sing to her. and am always rocking her. I let her play on the floor, we play patty cake and peek a boo. She is just starting to explore her voice so she is coos more now. she likes to stick out her tounge. We go for walks and i show her around the house. I move her arms and legs, I try to imatate her.
My questions are : What else is there to do with a 2 month old? also when you have things to do where do YOU put the baby? I usually put her in the swing or vibrating chair? is this bad to have her in there lots of times? I do spend lots of time playing with her in there.
I there anything i can do to help her use more muscles? Any other activity to do with her. OH YES ALSO: IS it bad to have her watch t.v? she loves to look at the screen, so when i have things to do i put her infront of the t.v in her chair. is this bad ? i feel guilty that i am not playing with her and she is just staring at the t.v. I feel that she could be doing something more useful but whhat?

any help or advice is really needed here thanks .

Chrissi · 09-04-2004, 08:52 AM

you are being way to hard on yourself!!!
it sounds to me like you are an excellent mother and it is fine for her to sit in her swing/seat while you get some work done! my DD is about 11 months old and i used to let her watch the tv screen *not for hours* but just a while so i could get things done.....*now she cralws everywhere and i cant do that...lol* take advantage while you can....
if you are concerned about the tv thing get some educational videos *my DD loves "elmos world"* that way when you cant stimulate her brain then "elmo" can...lol
goodluck and dont be so hard on yourself, you are doing great!

ohh and the best thing for muscle stimulation at her age is tummy time....and you said you do that so dont worry!

1sttimer · 09-04-2004, 08:58 AM

Sounds good to me. (we have a 3 1/2 mo. old.) Make sure she has mirror time too (she might like her own image better than what's on TV!) We have lots of bouncy seat and swing time, it took baby Thad a few weeks to get used to it. Don't fret. Hope this helps! (Also, try Baby Einstein DVD's)

Broadwaygirl03 · 09-04-2004, 08:01 PM

You're child's lucky to have a parent who is so into interacting with their child! Reading is wonderful to do! I know some people think reading to an infant isn't really nesessary but it's very important. What's also important for motor development is the dreaded tummy time. Now with more SIDS knowlege, babys sleep on their back constantly. Most kids now are going straight to walking because they don't learn how to crawl because they're so uncomfortable on their stomachs. Perhaps you could wait until your daughter gets a little better muscle control and try to do some tummy work, it'll definitly help her development.

TV for infants I don't see as a really good thing to persue. I've read that every hour spent infront of the TV before age two or three can add to ADD chances. A little bit won't hurt though. Try the Baby Einstein videos, they're wonderful. Just don't let her watch the whole two hours at one sitting :-)

Another thing I would recommend are a book set. They're called "snappy little colors" and the books come in all sorts of versions, Snappy little numbers, Snappy little farm, etc. They're amazing pop-up books that can move, they're so colorful that young children just love them. I really enjoy reading them to the little guys.

You sound like an awesome parent. Don't be too concerned that your baby isn't constantly doing something or you're not doing something constantly with her. She's so lucky to have someone like you, who really cares about her. I just can imagine the fun you'll have with her once she's old enough to do things like the zoo or the park :-)

Platinum33 · 09-04-2004, 10:12 PM

Hey, it's me again! lol

You really are being hard on yourself. I know that my little girl is three months old now, and one thing I've learned...she isn't bothered by repetition. We play the same old games throughout the day, and she still loves it. Every once in a while, she'll look at the tv, but it never holds her attention for longer than a few minutes, and that's all she needs. You are actually lucky, because my baby doesn't like her bouncer, or the swing that my grandfather got for her...which we returned for diapers. So I was out of luck when it came to putting her down to play with something...until we got her a walker. lol She is only three months, and she loves standing up and having help walking. She hasn't figured out the concept of the walker just yet, but she loves being in it, playing with the toys on it, and looking around the room.

Don't let her watch more than a half hour of tv a day, but don't stress yourself out either. It's not like it's going to scar her for life if you let her watch more, lol. But think about it...there are 24 hours in a day...your baby can't walk...she's going to have to spend a good amount of time SOMEWHERE right? So whether she's swinging, bouncing, or being swaddled in your arms, she'll most likely spend a lot of time there.

You're ARE doing a great job, so don't worry one bit.