What do you DO with your babies?

[GuernseyTeddy]

DS 16 weeks. Not a happy chappy at the moment; neither am I. He seems to be constantly unhappy. He's not content to sit in his chair with a rattle/crinkle toy/bell etc while I potter around. He won't lay and play on his activity mat. He HATES tummy time.

He only stops the constant, very annoying low level grizzling when I'm giving him my complete 100% undivided attention - singing, talking, dancing him around etc. which is fair enough for half an hour etc but is draining all day long.

Slings etc are not an option. I am tiny, he is not. Already feel taken over by him by the way he flings himself all over me during feeds.

Any suggestions on how you kept your babies happy without being a 24/7 entertainer??

[GuernseyTeddy]

I think he's bored tbh. He's perfectly happy at baby groups and when we're out and about - it's only when we're at home that he rails at the lack of stimulation. But we do have to be at home sometimes!!

[purrtrillpadpadpad]

Lots of walks.
Baby groups where baby has interesting things to look at / listen to.
I bought a playmat but a thick blanket will do, spread on the floor and lie down with your baby. DD was horrendous for basically whining/grizzling from dawn til dusk while she worked out how to roll and get about. Now she's 6.5 months and happy as larry on the floor rolling from one end of the room to the other. Particularly if the cat is sitting still and DD thinks she has a chance of getting to grab some lovely fur (my cat always moves just when she's nearly there!)

Unpopular suggestion:

Bit of telly. Only now and then.

[rockybalboa]

How strong is his neck? Get your hands on a Jumperoo. Lifesaver... Might want to look on ebay/local FB selling sites etc as they are pretty expensive. My more money than sense childless Dsis bought ours for DS1. 5 years later DS3 is in, one of Dsis's friends used it for her baby and as and when Dsis has kids it will do them too.

[rockybalboa]

^Unpopular suggestion:

Bit of telly. Only now and then. ^

Oooh yes, DS3 is v happy when 'watching' Cbeebies with his brothers. There is a BabyTV channel if that makes you feel less guilty although DS3 was quite content with Escape to the Country yesterday...

[purrtrillpadpadpad]

Get friends over. Make use of Lamaze toys / anything that rustles, should be distracting.
But also, how bored can one baby really get at four months? How long does your baby go between naps?

[rockybalboa]

I mean of course. And that quote was supposed to be in italics. idiot

[GuernseyTeddy]

I know I sound really silly saying he's bored but he's a very alert baby. In the hospital despite the most drug addled labour ever, he was watching everything within an hour or two of his birth. The doctor even joked at his check up that he looked as though he was reading the medical notes he was making in the red book. Of course I know he wasn't but he is one of those babies.

He can't quite sit up yet supported, and gets very annoyed very quickly at not being able to move his arms and legs when propped up.

Have been thinking about jumperoo though - might just buy one to save my sanity!

[purrtrillpadpadpad]

Ooh Op you could try Cloudbabies (I was very sleep deprived when DD was 4 months, I think I watched it more for me than her, it is bloody gorgeous though) also if you have completely taken leave of your senses, you could try Baby Jake. I completely detest it personally... There's also Timmy Time. Love that to bits.

They're all good because they are short, like ten minutes, so you don't have to feel too guilty about melting your baby's brain, and it's long enough to get a wash on and make a brew.

[GuernseyTeddy]

Telly is good. But I feel so bad letting him watch it. I only do it when the alternative is handing him to any passing stranger on the street as I'm so fed up of him grizzling.

[Jiltedjohnsjulie]

Take him swimming, it knocked mine out for ages. Try to get him outside at least once a day. Put together a treasure basket for him and yes a bit of telly. My DS loved those baby Einstein ones. I know they are a con but it was one of the only ways he would stop grumbling.

The jumperoo sounds good, my DS loved his door bouncer.

If you are feeling overwhelmed when he's feeding its never too early to start with some nursing manners

[Citybaby]

My jumperoo has saved my sanity and my arms! My baby at that stage where she doesn't want to lie down on her play mat but can't quite sit up unaided yet, she's heavy and wriggly so not the easiest to carry around all the time (plus I think she gets quite bored watching me make yet another cup of tea!), but will happily be put in her jumperoo. She absolutely loves it, I haven't even put the batteries in yet so she may explode with excitement when she realises there are lights and sounds, it's been a month and honestly it has made life so much easier and more fun for both of us. She also loves to watch strictly come dancing in it

[funnyvalentine]

I have a slightly older baby who also hates tummy time and lying on his back. He wants to sit up and watch everything, so I prop him up with cushions at home and give him stuff to hold. Or just take him out and about - he's happy going for walks, or to the shops, with things to see. Luckily I also have a toddler to entertain him at home!

[Melonbreath]

Jumparoo Jumparoo Jumparoo. Total life saver. I too had an alert baby and the Jumparoo was a godsend. I couldn't have managed without it. Suddenly I could have a cup of tea and just get away with grinning along with dd and the occasional 'bouncy bouncy bouncy'

I would have died without it.

Other than that as many walks, groups etc as you can cram in. Baby screenings at the cinema were good too, I could watch a film and dd watched everything else

[lovelyredwine]

My dd was like this. I have a friend with a ds a few weeks younger than dd and she could leave him for an hour on his playmat entertaining himself whilst she washed up, tidied, had a cup of tea etc. I was so jealous. After 5 minutes my dd was whinging and starting to cry. I went on walks, took her to my mil's or my mum's house for a change of scenery, met friends, went to groups etc. I also read to her A LOT as I was knackered so wanted to sit down- she enjoyed this and still does.

It does get better, but my dd is still quite keen on us being hands on with her at nearly 3- she seems to think she's missing out if she's playing happily and we're nearby but doing other things.

[JollySparklyGiant]

Does he sleep? DS was pretty unhappy until we instituted a routine and he was getting lots of naps.

DD is 15 weeks and at the moment is up for less than 2 hours at a time. Generally I feed her, then chat to her while she poos. Then I change her. After that she's sometimes in her bouncy chair for a bit but usually in my arms. She's not keen on being put on the ground.

She usually gets grumpy for a bit 45 minutes after she wakes and needs to be carried for a bit then, but after that she calms down again. If she's particularly grumpy I put her in the sling for a bit :)

I figure she's never going to learn to roll - she's not on the ground often enough!

[catellington]

Does he have a play gym? Dd would play on that for a bit on her own at that age, it did take her some time to get into it. Hanging a mirror overhead is good.

When you say chair, what type of chair! Dd had a couple of simple bouncy chairs, the basic bright start asda one and a cheap mamas and papas one, and you can add extra toys to the toy arch when they get bored.

Dd never got into baby tv but for some reason loved sex and the city. I think she liked he close ups of people chatting and used to chat along with them!

16 weeks was a lot of effort though I remember and a lot of entertaining dd, but she did go longer and longer periods playing happily without my input over the following weeks.

She also hated tummy time but loved nappy free time, playing with any bits of fabric, songs - do you have any relatives or friends who can come over and help with the entertainment??

Agree as well on getting out and about every day, regardless of weather, will make you both feel better.

[BotBotticelli]

Yes yes baby tv!!! Sky channel 623. Animated nursery rhymes, no adverts, mostly British programmes. I know this will be unpopular but I started a threa on hear at my wits end with very grumpy bored DS when he was 4 mo.

I genuinely believe that if you haven't had a baby like my DS then you cannot possibly understand what it's like! Every time I see women out wih placid happy babies chewing their fists, for like, 20 minutes I want to scream and stamp my feet at the unfairness of it all...! My god I mean I LOVE DS but he is such such such hard work.

Here's the good news: now he is 12mo and almost waking he is much much easier. Every developmental leap DS makes (rolling, sitting, crawling, cruising) he gets MUCH happier and easier to look after. I think he just hated being a young baby. I had to do whatever I could to get through the day: lots f walks, out twice a day (at least), down the local shop in the Baby Bjorn you would think I had never read mumsnet, baby groups, rhyme time at the library from about 5 months. At 4mo I would put baby tv on for 10 mins a few times per day so I coul have a shower, have a poo, have a drink, ear something wtc etc.

Incidentally now he is 12mo and into everything he hardly watches any telly at all. Maybe 10 mins of night garden before bed. He's much more interested in pulling all the magnets off the fridge, pushing his walker round the house, playing cars, pushing a ball to me and back again etc etc.

Don't feel bad - some babies are just haaaaaard work. I am sure your baby will be a delightful toddler :-)

[BotBotticelli]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/behaviour_development/a1733709-Baby-TV

this is the thread I started 8 months ago when my DS was 4mo...lots of mixed opinions about baby TV, obviously, but also lots of reassurance that 4 months old can be a particularly shitty challenging time.

Are you living in a small flat as well by any chance OP?? We are in a small flat with DS (one open plan living and kitchen space) which basically means he spends most of his time in the house in one room....which he seems to be very bored of very quickly! Not the same as being in a house where you can change the scenery fairly often (folding laundry in dining room, cooking in kitchen, playmat in lounge, cleaning upstairs, walk round garden etc etc). None of these options available to us, and I think that has made things harder.

Or, as the ladies on the above thread say, it could just be that 4mo is a hard time, lots of developmental leaps, growth spurts, sleep regressions etc etc.

[IndecisivePramBuyer81]

I swear mine gets bored too and has done from a very early age (currently 23wks)! We go to several baby groups every week and I take massive detours walking to them. He's only happy for about 20mins at a time even in his Jumperoo..TV works well but I also feel guilty!

[teacher123]

Jumperoo jumperoo jumperoo! DS loved it!

[lilyaldrin]

I'd definitely get a decent sling, I can't believe a 16 week old is really too heavy for an adult to carry and you can put him on your back if he's holding his head up fine.

[catellington]

I found that age difficult for the sling, I had used a stretchy wrap but dd started to gave other ideas. It was ok if I walked very briskly!

[catellington]

have

[PoppyAmex]

DD was worse as she wouldn't be put down... ever.

The Jumperoo saved my sanity. Really.

[Gerty1002]

My 12 week old DS is like this too, his eyes were also wide open straight after birth and he's been very alert since.

The jumperoo has arrived as an early Christmas present from my DM, as he holds his head very well and is 17lb already (10lb4oz at birth) so sling was not an option. He is still a bit bemused by it at the moment but I can tell it's going to be a lifesaver :).