what can i do with my 5mo?

[charlove]

my 5mo dd is a very energetic baby and always wants to play. i am naturally a very organised person so have her routine down to a fine art but i feel like i need to do more. im so worried im not doing enough for her.
7:30- she gets up and has breakfast and gentle play (read a book/ abbacus)
9am- nap time while mummy gets ready.
10-12- energetic play (door bouncer/ walker/ ball pit) and lunch.
12-1- walk time. just go shops or see the ducks.
1-3: more play. tummy time. usually a nap in there somewhere so i can do housework.
3-4. bottle feed (big gap with nothing planned)
4-6- dinner time. bath. gets ready for bed.
6-7:30. last bottle and biscuit. story time and off to bed.

we have baby club monday and wednesdays and we see my g.parents on tuesday. saturday we see my parents.

i know this looks a bit busy but there are sometimes huge gaps in the day with nothing stimulating for her and i am running out of ideas so any suggestions would be sooo usefull. obvs we have days where we go swimming/ see friends or go to the park but it just doesnt feel enough.

sorry for the long, detailed post but am really in need of any help or suggestions from more experienced mamas.

[Sirzy]

Babies don't need every second of their day planning, nobody does.

There is nothing wrong with them sitting watching the world, or being carried around by you as you get on with normal day to day things.

[chattychattyboomba]

There was this baby brain stimulation thing on YouTube DD used to be mesmerised by... High contrast patterns. Sorry i can't find the link at the moment!
It gave me a few minutes to slap some makeup on. Also maybe stick her in a bumbo, in a baby pool or similar... Fill it with containers with dry rice, pasta, sand etc for sensory play. Just watch that she doesn't shove it all in her mouth.
Also give her pots and pans and wooden spoons to bang on. Anything that makes a noise.... Crunchy paper. They love ripping paper. An old magazine will do the trick.
DD loved just being out and about with me at that age. We would go shopping...feed the ducks... sit in the sand at the playground...I thought that was hard work... Now she's 2

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

I think that what you are doing is more than enough.

DD2s (5.5mo) day went something like this.

6am wake up. Lie in cot playing with monkey toy (started making yaya and dada sounds) and teether keys (her coordination is getting better by the day) and singing loudly.

7am I got up and we went downstairs. She had a bottle and then sat in her chair watching Mio Mao on TV while I did some tidying and had breakfast/got dressed.

8.30am She sat with me and we looked at her books.

9am-12pm she was tired so went up for a sleep.

The afternoon consisted of going to the shops. Rolling around on the floor while her big sister played. DD2 is fascinated with DD1 and loves watching her.

She went for another sleep around 4.30 and was up again briefly from 6-7.45 when we were out in the garden. DD2 learned that hats are horrible things that she would rather not wear. :)

8pm She had her bottle and went to bed.

She just fits in to our day. DP had some time with her today too. But we dont measure what we do. She gets plenty of cuddles and interaction.

Please dont worry about what you are doing. It sounds brilliant. Any more and she would be overstimulated. Its not a crime to leave her in her bouncy seat for a while!

[honeytea]

Your day sounds very well organised :)

My ds is 4.5 months old and our day revolves around groups, I feel I need the adult interaction and ds enjoys the activities. In the time either before or after the groups we read books, he plays under his babygym, jumps in his door hopper. We do 20-40 mins of baby massage usually in the afternoon, ds loves bubbles and playing with a blanket, I waft it over his head, play peekaboo (although he doesn't really get its supposed to be funny yet) we have little tug of wars ds sucks the blanket.

This week ds has learnt to sit unaided so we have started sitting him up at the table with us whilst we eat, he is ebf at the moment so he is only allowed to smell the food but he thinks smells are interesting.

As the weather gets warmer I hope to spend more time outside with ds.

Writing it all down I think maybe we do too much with not enough routine, maybe that is why in up in the middle of the night!

[NapaCab]

I suggest giving her a few empty cardboard boxes, empty inserts from the roll of kitchen paper, saucepan lids, electrical cables to chew on and some knives.

OK, that last one was a joke but basically ordinary household items should keep her entertained for ages. It's all about sensory stuff at this age, different fabrics and textures and sounds.

It is a boring age though, I remember, as they can't move but they're mentally alert. It's just a case of riding it out and savoring the fact that you can still have a cup of tea or make a phone call without worrying about her toddling off anywhere. Only a few short months and she'll be crawling and keeping herself amused!