HELP!!!

[serah]

I know that all you mums out there with more than one child will go ... "ahhh.. first time mum"

I am just wondering how to entertain my son - I can not leave him on his own for barely a moment - He is 15 weeks old and rolls over on to his tummy if I put him under his baby gym, which then makes him cry cause he can't roll back. He plays with his toys if I am holding the other end of them but doesn't seem to find amusement in anything by himself - with the exception of his tiny love mobile, but I can only get away with 2 15 minute sessions a day maximum.

Am I missing something obvious? Any advice would be appreciated!

[lucykatie]

hi, i am a mother of 2 kiddies and i am not thinking...aahh first time mum about your post.

its so difficult to entertain kiddies of this age, my dd1 would be very happy on her own just looking around etc, but dd2 of 6 months would never let me out of her sight....what did i do?

well i beleive that a little bit of crying doesnt hurt them, if you see what i mean, as long as they are in no danger, they need to find out for themselves that the toys are interesting, i dont mean to leave him upset for ages, once he can roll back on his own you will find that things get easier....then he will crawl and things will get harder, then walk....even harder etc.

no real answers for you but bear with it.

[mummytosteven]

A swing?

DS loved his. Agree with lucykatie that once he can roll back he'll be a lot happier.

other thing you could do is pop him in buggy so he can watch you/you can chat to him while doing kitchen chores and even see if he likes watching the washing machine spin round!

[lucykatie]

yeah agree with mumtoseven too.....we had a swing and they are good....especially the portable ones then he can watch you ....same as buggy idea.

i still put my dd2 in her bouncy chair and just let her watch me, in the kitchen etc.

[Lonelymum]

Have you got a bouncy chair? At about 15 weeks old, I think they want to be sitting up but are usually still a long way from being able to do so, so a bouncy chair gets them nearly vertical. You then just keep them in whatever room you are in and baby watches you!

The other thing is one of those bouncers you hang from doorways. My first child loved his but he didn't get it until he was about 26 weeks old - something for you to think about for the future.

The crying when they roll onto their fronts stage doesn't last for long. They need to go on their fronts to play with toys on the floor in front of them and then to crawl, so I agree with lucykatie to let her cry for a bit - gives her a chance to get used to it.

I am a mother of four BTW but I well remember ging through waht you are going through with No 1.

[haggered]

Hi its hard I know I have ds 3 and dd 8 months and they both needed and need ALOT of attention when ickle.
Think they just gey frustrated to be bored and want to more to the next stage. Are you a Doer person [active] pre preg i was very up and down wanting to be doing all the time. Doing babies lead to doing adults so looking on the positive your baby will be an active go getter !!! tis bloody hard though I know.

[serah]

wow.. thanks for all the responses - I had started to think it was just Otto.... he has the swing - and the bouncy chair - and the bouncing doorway tigger swing (definitely have to be with him with this one otherwise he grazes his head on the straps when he eventually flops forward!) but he still needs me to entertain him in all of these. The washing machine option is out as it is housed in the outhouse, and I think the NSPCC would be interested in that!! Shame though -sounds like a great idea!

I think I might start to stuff my fingers in mine and the dogs ears when he cries soon, as you mentioned lucykatie - I do think that he might become a bit dependent on me.

Its very reassuring to know he is not the only demanding fella - and thank you all again!

[serah]

oh, and Haggered... I was still walking the dog until week 41 amd a half... cross country and all sorts of mischief - and I moved a chair into the kitchen so I could carry on cooking and stuff - he might have got it from when he was inside as I didn't really stop either - took my mind off how awful I felt!!

[Lonelymum]

Sorry none of my ideas were the answer. It's only a stage though so take comfort from that.
Whispers>

[tigi]

mine would sit in his chair and look out of the patio door for ages, until he fell asleep! He just loved the big square of a light bright colour!Boring I know, but he loved it!

[serah]

I think they are the answers lonely mum - just nobody has told him!! He's sat on my knee at the minute as he loves the computer screen, but give it 2 minutes... lol

[fairyfeet]

I have a three year old that can't amuse herself! So I hate to tell you but their crying for your attention does not stop over night!

Both my children have never been particularly good at amusing themselves and I think that yes it is a skill that they have to learn.

I got so fed up with DD1 continually crying when I put her down that I carried her about in a front/back carrier most of the time. I think that at such a young age they are not particularly interested in amusing themselves and they just want close comfort from their carers.

The front/back pack thing certainly helped to give us a quieter life although not particularly comfortable when you are trying to do housework! My view is that in the Western world we are almost too keen to get our babies to grow up and be independant. If you look at other countries they carry their babies everywhere with them for the first year or two and bedshare for longer.

I believe it makes for my confident and secure children.

[KatieinSpain]

DS1 was very similar but he would go quiet when very near plants or flowers. We had a blow up activity ring with DS2, which may solve the rolling over problem, but couldn't tell you for sure, as the cat colonised it .