I Don’t Get Baby Sensory

[SlyAvocado]

And I’m not sure my baby does either

We spent twenty minutes thanking the sun for shining on us and the corn for feeding us, and everyone else seemed to know all the sign language.

I don’t actually like corn so I didn’t particularly want to thank it, but the other mums seemed to really be appreciative of the corn and the other things in the song. The only sign I got to grips with was waving.

My baby didn’t give a toss anyway and spent most of the class staring at a bottle of hand sanitiser.

Then we waved some scarves over our baby’s faces, while the instructor danced around blowing bubbles to ‘Morning Has Broken’

My morning was broken at 4am anyway by my crap sleeper of a baby, 10am is practically afternoon for us.

I am new to the area so I tried to be jolly and talk to the other mums but they weren’t interested, I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t thank the corn.

I wore my Tears For Fears t-shirt with a sequinned blazer which might have been an odd choice but I thought, sequins are sensory aren’t they? The instructor asked if I was off to an 80’s party and I said no, I’m on my way back from one.

We will finish the course because I paid £65, so it’ll be like that time I got drunk and signed up to Zumba classes and made myself keep going even though I hated every minute of it and was rubbish and was asked to stand at the back by the fire exit.

Is there something I’m missing, are all baby sensory classes like that? Do I need to learn all the sign language?

I’m not overly bothered from a friendship point of view because we go to a music class too in a different area which is held in a pub and the parents are really friendly at that one. The baby also loves to shake a maraca like Bez, so I think he prefers it too.

[quote Twonkers]@DrSbaitso

What a bizarre thing to say.[/quote]
Why?

You walk into a room looking down on everyone there, why would they not pick up on it?

I’m with you OP. I’m only going as I’ve paid the money - I spend most of the session with a quizzical baby needing hugs through most of it. The first one I went to I was running late so didn’t have a coffee before - that was a huge mistake. You need to be highly caffeinated just to deal with the kids tv presenter energy of the organiser, let alone the rest of the class. I’m over halfway now though - only two sessions left!

@SlyAvocado I could have written this, except two years ago just before Covid and I was wearing a Led Zepplin T shirt and acid yellow converse 😁
It was like falling down a rabbit hole of pointlessness 😂
The saddest thing was I continued doing some of the things I learned there during the first lockdown out of sheer boredom.

[quote ZazuMoon]@SlyAvocado I could have written this, except two years ago just before Covid and I was wearing a Led Zepplin T shirt and acid yellow converse 😁
It was like falling down a rabbit hole of pointlessness 😂
The saddest thing was I continued doing some of the things I learned there during the first lockdown out of sheer boredom.[/quote]
Not so pointless then...

I also renamed the song ‘say hello to my bum’ as everyone there seemed to be talking out of their arse about all the arts and sensory stuff they did at home with their non-mobile babies. 😁

@ZazuMoon 😂👏🏻

@thewhatsit

Oh and I think when people say how good the classes are for babies, this is bullshit. The classes were great for ME and my mental health. I went with my friends, it was a reason to get dressed in the morning, often went for coffee after…

The class I found the most mental was Hartbeeps. Now that was bloody weird.

I did two terms of Hartbeeps, did actually make a mummy friend although had my NCT gang too outside of that. After term two I was a bit bored of ‘zoom zoom zoom we’re going to the moon’ 😂 so didn’t sign up again. I enjoyed the time it gave me and DD together.

@CrabbyCat

My friend with a deaf child left baby sensory after the first lesson because as far as she could tell it's something Baby Sensory made up. It's certainly neither makaton nor BSL which are the two sign languages used in the UK, so I wouldn't worry too much about learning it....

My DS found it so overwhelming he burst into tears at 3 months old, he really enjoyed exploring it all at about 12 months though.

I'm fairly certain it's American Sign Language.

@Twonkers

Wow! I just came on here to start a thread on this topic, having been traumatised by a baby sensory class this afternoon.

With my first, I went to a children’s centre where they prepared an environment that was age-appropriate for babies, it was drop in and the environment was baby-centred. My child learned to reach, sit up and crawl there, among many milestones. It was diverse, it was for all types of carers and, most of all, the people running it had expertise.

With my second (now), the children’s centres are standing empty, and my only choice is to go to these dreadful groups run by out of work actors where a select group of very similar sorts of women sit on beanbags with their babies held on their laps like ventriloquist’s dummies while the person organising spends the first ten minutes making everyone a hot drink (to put on the floor next to your baby . We were invited to scrunch up a chiffon scarf to dab on our child’s body parts while singing heads, shoulders, knees and toes, and then the person running it dressed up in neon disco clothes and gyrated at us.

What’s more, we now seem to have a generation of mothers who can’t do the Hokey Cokey, can’t wind the bobbin up and who don’t know how to bounce their babies to ‘Hop Little Bunny’. I tried to demo it last week for them, but this week I just felt sad, and exhausted by the bubbles and the Al Green ambient music.

This is where a decade of Toryism has got us.

😂😂😂😂

Brilliant and accurate

Going to a group will prep you for the future. Getting your baby ANd yourself on-time. All the bits and bobs you both need for it or the day etc... It is Good practice should you want/ need to go back to work or someone else looking after your LO.
In time LO will start to engage with other babies... after all humans enjoy social interaction. Definitely expose children to this

@Suzi9989 I’ve absolutely no problem getting out the door on time!

The baby and I do all sorts, get on the train to visit family, meet friends for lunch, go to central London. I definitely don’t need Baby Sensory to prepare me for all that.

The only thing it’s preparing me for is being bored out of my skull for an hour.

There’s no coffee there, which is bonkers. In the break you can weigh your baby on a scale, though.

I hadn't heard of that when mine were little but I used to like things like that just for the company and getting out and because I thought it would be nice for the baby to hear and see stuff someone else had arranged. My favourite thing when dd was little was Nature Play because the other mums were nice and we got to sit at the side and chat while the babies explored loads of different objects the leader had put out. Obviously I could have done the same at home but I loved the company and getting out. I cried in the car after my last session as I had to go back to work. It wasn't running in my next mat leave unfortunately as the leader had moved away

You obviously have your shit together and a good support system, family to visit etc

These groups can be good for those who don’t, who don’t know anyone with a baby, who are feeling low and need routine etc

Yes it’s not exactly thrilling and mentally stimulating for adults but it serves a purpose you don’t actually have to go, you can continue with your exciting trips to London and have coffees etc and avoid it all it’s not compulsory

I feel like you’re all living in too trendy places! Head to a small northern town and you’ll definitely find more mums winding the bobbin up and far fewer gyrating group leaders… a beanbag sounds nice though

This has had me in stitches

@Just10moreminutesplease exactly.. think everyone on mumsnet lives in Motherlandville

*I found it a bit dull to think of things to do with baby

What do you mean? You dont do anything with a baby. You cart it round with you and it enjoys hearing you chat, watching you shop, smiling gummily at the checkout staff, fiddling with your keys, rummaging in you handbag and chewing on your purse etc*

Yes but you cant go out shopping etc all the time, especially when they get a bit older. At least that was my experience.

I feel like you’re all living in too trendy places! Head to a small northern town and you’ll definitely find more mums winding the bobbin up and far fewer gyrating group leaders… a beanbag sounds nice though grin
So true!

@Severntrent

*I found it a bit dull to think of things to do with baby

What do you mean? You dont do anything with a baby. You cart it round with you and it enjoys hearing you chat, watching you shop, smiling gummily at the checkout staff, fiddling with your keys, rummaging in you handbag and chewing on your purse etc*

Yes but you cant go out shopping etc all the time, especially when they get a bit older. At least that was my experience.

Exactly, my DD hates going shopping. Or maybe I hate going shopping with DD, she always seems to poo on the way so I have to get her changed before I even start thinking about shopping, sometimes in the boot if I've gone somewhere like Aldi that don't have customer toilets. I have to the entertain her on the way round because she's only content looking about for a short while, I hate having to use one of the humungous trolleys to accommodate her or hurt my back having her in the sling, and then halfway round she wants feeding because she's emptied her belly doing aforementioned poo! I have avoided it as much as possible since she was born but am going to brave a potter round the charity shops this week.

One of my friends said why don't we buy some coloured scarves and wave them over the baby's face and save ourselves ££££

If you can make friends with any of the other mums and persuade them to have a pub lunch afterwards, its a bit more bearable

Baby sensory is great here. We have a really nice teacher and we're about to start our second term. The hello to the sun sign language was confusing at first but you do pick it up. My baby loves going to classes. His favourite class is definitely gymnastics though he absolutely loves it 😄

@SlyAvocado I am DYING laughing as this was exactly my thoughts and experience of it ,too

Cliques of unfriendly mums, how did they know sign language? Was I dressed inappropriately? I also was “thankful” for the Sun shining on meee….”
Thankfully I’d only paid for one class. And never returned. Baby actually fell asleep through it.

Baby goes to a free baby group now. And that’s it. Every cinema/swim /day out - I just go Baby and I? I don’t know why I have to pay someone £200 to teach him to swim?
Some of the mums in the baby group were a bit shocked that I hadn’t signed up for Baby Yoga/Baby Massage/Baby French Lessons/Baby Tax Returns …
We had a lovely day at the park feeding birds and squirrels and then went on the swings: buzzin’

I often book little random “dates “ for baby and I.
And if I see a new mum in the park or in the baby group- I always make an effort to speak !

Ha! Yep, didn't like baby sensory BUT one of the other mums told me about a free trial she was going to of tinytalk so we went along and we loved that! Started when DS was 5 months and continued til he was 3. I made 3 great friends there too and we still meet up regularly and are in touch all the time.

OMG I literally could have written this post about 2 years ago. I took my son to baby sensory near us. I was 32 at the time so not young by any stretch of the imagination...but I was from what people would say was a rough area of the overarching area we live in. I'm by no means poor but a lot of people were somewhat posher than I am and I tried to make friends but no-one would talk to me and I just felt deflated, plus my son was getting nothing out of it and I gave up and went to Bloom instead. We were starting to make friends...then boom Covid!!

I did these things to get out of the house. I didn't do it because I thought an 8 month old needed it at all.
I don't like anything that's sold playing on mums emotions. It's what put me off tumble tots. It's fun, but it's not essential