Will my 5 week old get bored....?

[Romilly70]

My DS (5 weeks) has started to become more alert and is really noticing and "kicking" and "punching" all the little Lamaze toys I have put round his playmat.
He now has awake time after feeding and changing and I am wondering if he is bored / not stimulated enough, as he doesn't have a playmat / mobile / babybouncer yet and v few toys.

We live in france and we are going back to the UK for Xmas, so I didn't buy too much stuff on my last trip for DS's entertainment as I thought he would be too small and note need them before we headed back to the UK. Also all my family have asked me what DS would like for Xmas so I have emailed them a list of activity toys such as playmats etc which he will get in a month's time

Basically I need a bit of reassurance that he won't become too bored as I can't afford to buy all this stuff he will be getting in 4 week't time (not to mention the space to store it.) and it is not all easily available in our rural bit of france.

Also we are heading back to the UK in 2 1/2 weeks, so any amazon deliveries may not arrive in time.

So what should I be doing to amuse DS and make sure is not bored or understimulated....?
(PS first time mum, so please excuse me if I sound over anxious...!)

[Romilly70]

• sorry that should have been "all the little Lamaze toys I have put round his changing mat not playmat

[TheSugarPlumFairy]

at 5 weeks i am sure he is fine just with the toys he has. DD used to love staring at the ceiling beams (they were black) at that age.

I think the playmat etc will probably be arriving just about the right time for him.

If you really want to stimulate him, show him these pictures.

baby.zorger.com/baby.zorger.com.newborn.pdf

enjoy him. My DD is 7 months now and i miss her being so diddy.

[Ragwort]

Please...................... relax. Your baby will be fine. What are you doing for yourself - you are getting far too anxious about the boredom levels of a five week old.

I've heard it all on Mumsnet now .

[mamsnet]

Those images are brill. Would have loved them when mine were newborns.

OP Even changing where your baby is in the room, so that he sees something different.. changing the light..

Really, all he needs is love and cuddles! Enjoy!

[babybear5]

just to say that at 5 weeks age and for a few weeks after the best toy a baby can have is his mother's face and anyone else of interest. They just love expressions etc.
Giving you the perfect excuse is to relax and enjoy your little one [smiles]

[pozzled]

Agree with Ragwort and babybear5.

Don't stress- he will be getting plenty of stimulation just from looking at all the exciting things around him (such as the sofa, the wall...) and what he will enjoy most is your face and the sound of your voice.

[Al1son]

Absolutely agree with previous posters. Your baby is learning from everything he senses in every way all day. The world is his playground.

You are his most fascinating, interactive and educational toy so make sure he gets to play with you lots. Other people are pretty good toys too.

Anything he touches is an opportunity to learn about textures so give him lots of variety in terms of fabrics, wood, metal,etc. Let him feel them at different temperatures, with different parts of his body and use your voice to reassure and encourage him to explore them.

Give him lots of different things to look at and sounds to hear.

He won't get bored by the lack of a few bits of bright plastic. There is so much more to his world than that. Sit back and try to imagine the world from his point of view and you'll realise that he has so much to find out about just now that he could never be bored if he has you and a changing environment to explore.

[Romilly70]

Thank you all, feel a lot better.
I will continue doing what I am doing then, ie kissing cuddling and telling him how gorgeous he is all the time

[acebaby]

awwww - I remember DS2 at that age was totally fascinated and stimulated by the label on his car seat, and DS1 would gaze at the banisters for ages!

If, on the other hand, you get bored, perhaps reading something like this with your DS would help!

[stickersarecurrency]

IME at this age with some babies it's easy to overdo it and expose them to too much stimulation. Babies didn't evolve with the ability to cope with traffic noise, radios, tv, lights etc, let alone toys. When DS was that tiny I had to take the toys off his bouncer because he got so overwrought he'd get really upset. As others have said, lots of carrying and talking is fine.

[FossilMum]

He will be JUST FINE. Give him cuddles, sing him songs, chat randomly to him about what you're doing as if he understands. Smile a lot.