To have not enjoyed this baby class

[JoTheGloworm]

Won't name it but just had a taster session at one of those classes where they sing and sign at the beginning, sway a lot to music and waft chiffon scarves over the babies' heads. And give them twigs and shit to 'explore'

It made me do the dry heaves.

Worst of all DS (5months) fecking loved it so I think we will have to go back

He's 5 months, he won't notice or care whether you go again or not.

Honestly at 5 months everything is a sensory experience for them as the whole world is still so new. If you didn't like it go to something that you would enjoy (ideal time to go exploring museums, go out for coffee etc before your child is more discerning)

He's five months old. He may well quite like the squidgy feeling of squeezing poo with his bare hands. That doesn't mean you have to sit by and let him.

Do you have a Rhyme Time session at your local library? That's free and covers basically the same ground if you think he enjoyed it. Apart from that, remember at five months you have the opportunity to do more or less anything that will be an awful lot harder once he's mobile. Take him to museums. Meet friends. Go shopping. Go to the cinema.

Ah likeminded poster :)

Pussy - how did you know that's what my baby likes doing?!?

But seriously, babies don't care. He'll probably love just sitting anywhere where there are loads of people to watch.

My health visitor invited me to a play session with dd, where basically the put all kinds of food on the floor & let them roll around in it.
Boak, food is for eating not for playing with in my house.

I wasnt a big fan of baby classes either. Still, it was nice to get out of the house for a bit!

It sounds like pure fucking hell, to be honest.

I gave my babies sensory experiences by letting them listen to me sing along to CDs in the car (dd found Les Miserables especially startling) and also by having an elderly cat that they liked to cuddle and lick a bit.

They're fantastically well rounded individuals without ever having been near a chiffon scarf, mummies who refer to themselves in the third person, or babies of both genders named Jonty, which was my pal's experience of Jo Whatsits.

Thinking about it - my best ever day out when DS was a baby was a day trip (supposedly) to another capital city by easyJet. Great day (tickets cheap as booked on sale) of sightseeing. It turned into an overnighter because it snowed and our plane was cancelled, so we ended up staying in a hotel at easyJet's expense and came back the next morning. Still, easyJet's staff were very helpful and we had a great time which certainly beat sitting in a village hall wafting scarves around. Make the most of just having one child!

at WelshMenaed

My local children's centre does something similar called Baby Yoga but It's a quarter of the price, is twice as long, and you don't feel like you are on a revolving conveyor belt of clients.

Also try your local library.

Your child is not missing out if you don't wave a silk scarves at her once a week. However if it's important to you to get out and meet other mums, and you can afford it then you will probably enjoy it.

I love the music rhythm and rhyme at the library! What you had to endure sounds enough to make any sane parent go crazy- and I'm apparently a 'hippy mum'.

My friends wife runs one of these type of classes and she is a fuit loop, I once popped round to drop a card in and she amswered the door, didn't invite me in and made me stand on the step in the rain while she called Harry (her DS) then placed a shoe on the floor and said 'Harry be nimble, Harry be quick, Harry jump over the candlestick' and practically filled up as her DS jumped over the shoe and clapped him excitedly.

I've never been back.

Also, my son is currently enjoying trying to rip a nappy sack up and emptying the box of cloth wipes and nappy boosters. Sensory, free and I have MN.

Dogs that's ace!

I brought DS to something like that when he was little. It was pretty dull and DS didn't really like it much. Plus it cost £3 a session which I felt was a bit steep for 30 mins of listening to a CD and watching a woman make a tit of herself. Playgroups are far better - you can just dump your beloved child on the floor and have a chat and a cup of tea. No making a massive arse of yourself required.

oh god, scarf waving? What have I let myself into?

yanbu don't go back. Sounds like hell.

I went to a v v expensive baby class for a free trial where we were told to throw the monkeys in the air "for your babies' visual stimulation", play with bells "for their auditory stimulation" and rock them to rowrowrowyourboat "to develop their tummy muscles".
The most annoying thing by a mile is that DD2 loves it. Having said that she also enjoys emptying the nappy bin, playing with pieces of string and gurning at strangers on buses. And none of those things cost £15.
Sometimes I despair at the industry that has sprung up preying on miserable bored mothers.

We fly pretty much every month for somewhere cheap

Two adults, 2 little ones. Last flights ( 3 weeks ago) were £29 return per adult and kids free, plane half empty. We went to Copenhagen fri eve back sun eve, hotel deal off groupon was a grad total of £52 for 2 nights and included breakfast for everyone.

Friends spend ( we are in London), £20-40 per class, per child and do at least one every day ( usually Saturdays too!).

We also went to the park this afternoon in wind and rain! In full wet gear and arctic clothing and they played in a pile of leaves for half hour! Then we returned home to hot milk and made cookies. If I had to go to many more monkey in the air/ skip like a fairy/ jump like a frog/ paint like Picasso I would probably go crazy

Best to wait until 18month or so if you do want to do some..

I loved my surestart baby classes.

baby yoga was good
baby massage was good
baby sign was good
boogie babies was fab
baby sensory (lots of lights and bubbles)

all were free and great when ds was around 6mths - as a first timer I enjoyed learning different ways of entertaining him.

I go to Gymboree which 5 month ds loves, best bit about it is that it really knocks him out so we all go to the pub for lunch afterwards and most of the babies snooze in their prams.

Nice to hear a lot of you use your local library.

I've heard of many libraries looking in danger of closure recently. Mine (in Merseyside) and my sister's (in North Manchester.)

Gutted.

Maybe will start a new thread about this soon.

Wow that's cheap forever. I'd have assumed something like that to be out of our price range but I want to go now! Anywhere in particular I should look online? Is st a last minute thing? My daughter would love going on an aeroplane for a weekend !

We look on skyscanner for cheap flights

Groupon sometimes do hotel / flight package ( did Venice for £180 for 4 days including hotel/ breakfast and flights)

Last min. Com good for hotels/ b and bs

Generally a week max before hand as not entirely sure on working schedules etc..

It's best if you live close to airports though a thats where you waste time and money getting to ( we are on tube line to heathrow)

Thanks forever - I will be rethinking our plans next year to include some random trips. I don't think I'd really mind where.. just "abroad" with my daughter would be exciting.