Baby Classes that were worth doing??

[KnockedUpMell]

My LO is coming up to 8 months now and I've been thinking about potential classes to do with him. Would really appreciate some feedback from anyone else about which classes were the best / most useful / most fun for both you and baby.

We went for a free taster of Gymboree GymCrawlers today and it was a bit disappointing tbh- I got bored of watching him consider crawling after a ball as we do that at home all the time anyway!

We've signed up for baby swim, baby sign and salsa babies (more for my benefit really)- is there any other type of baby class that anyone found really invaluable at this stage?

Anything with nice other mums!

I think at 8 months any activity is good as long as they are well napped in advance.

Wow that's a lot of classes! I tried Gymboree when DD1 was 2 and found it wasn't really for me/us - the idea of trying to get a 2 year old to do a course of obstacles in a specific order seemed doomed to failure. I've been doing a music class since she was a baby starting at 3 months, it was more of a social thing for me really but it was worth it just for that. I tried baby sign but it was a very busy class and I spent most of the time trying to stop her being squashed by marauding toddlers.

I think the main thing is you have to enjoy it.

If you enjoy them its worth it. We did tumble tots for a little bit but DS missed to much through illness to make it worth the costs.

We havent done anything else though, mainly coz other mums have a tendancy of annoying me!

Zimbah - music was good for us too, I think it's relevant regardless of age. We've done Tumble Tots too and I do like it, but mainly as my flat is very small. If you had obstacles (furniture!) of differing sizes in a large house I wouldn't bother. Plus I wouldn't recommend it for non-walkers.

A mother and baby yoga class. The one I went to was pretty adventurous - babies fascinated by mums hanging upside down from ropes on the walls!

Jo Jingles every time. I'm such a fan, went with my now 7 yr old up until he was 3.5yrs and now go with my 2yr old. Great from 9 months I'd say. Helps with confidence and talking in a group as they do "show and tell" as soon as they can talk and just show until then. I found it great for a fun activity that we could both do together. I love that it's structured and educationally based. I love that it teaches them things like fast, slow, high, low even when they're still so little (I mean really little) and they can show off to you that they know and have fun doing it.

Singing/music. Some better than others.

We did a 5 week baby massage course when ds was tiny - like 6 weeks - but was lovely.

We have done Jo Jingles since he was 3mo (now 9mo) and I was a bit unsure at first but have grown to love it. I have made good friends there too and so it has been good for the social point of view.

I also have done swimming lessons (Puddle Ducks) since he was about 7mo - love them too! But these aren't really any god for socialising as getting changed is quite stressful!

Tumble tots when walking- my 2 yr old loves it

Jo Jingles - went from 6 months to 2.5 yrs
Waterbabies- started at 4 months and still going now at 3.5 yrs! (cost a fortune but love it....DD can almost swim!)
Made lots of friends who I now socialise with outside of activities...including our Waterbabies class.
Ballet: DD started at 2.5yrs and absolutely loves it. I get to sit with Mums at the coffee bar watching and gas for 45mins over a coffee and a muffin...bliss.

I'd recommend swimming and baby/toddler groups at this age. There are many run by local churches. They're a great way for baby to play with new toys, interact with other babies, for you to meet other mums, have a coffee and a break while baby plays in a safe environment. They're cheap too! My DS is almost 15 months and personally I am waiting until he is about 18 months (seeing how it goes) when I think he will appreciate more structured classes (but that is personal choice, of course). He do go to a swim class on occasion. I've also heard great things about Jo Jingles and Tumble Tots which I am looking forward to trying. We're also enjoying soft play areas, which often have baby areas, and play parks.

We went to a baby signing class and it was just great. We've registered for level2!
my daughter Lola (9 months old at the beginning) immensely enjoyed them (the music, the dances - the lady giving the class is Montessori-trained and also teaches kids' yoga, I guess that helped her tailor a great method and material). Lola took to signing very quickly and it was such a RELIEF to be able to truly communicate with her (no more wild guessing!). Now she's starting to build small sentences and I'd really like to carry on signing with her. Our teacher at BizzyBee.eu says it's possible and it actually helps speech development (even more interesting in a non-native-English speaking family like ours).
Aside from the fun, their website gives a lot of info on the benefits of baby signing, references, research done on the topic, etc.
I would also recommend the yoga and massage, 2 other classes we took there (the yoga with our elder). It helped us be more relaxed when caring for our newborn (didn't you have the feeling, at the beginning, that they were so frail you could break them so easily?)
What we most enjoy in this kind of classes is that there's absolutely no competition, it's all about enjoying. After years in the rat race, it made me think about how to lead a more fulfilling life, and i'm considering becoming a teacher, as they offer trainings. But that's another story! :-)