how to entertain/teach/play with my baby??

[missytequila]

My baby is 8 weeks old and i am at a loss of how to entertain her now that she is awake more often..

she just sits and stares and sucks her thumb...

is there anything I can/ should be doing with her for her development?
i feel guilty just sitting here watching tv....

Talk to her, pull faces, sing lots of songs. Read her stories.

I bought This book when DS was a baby as I was always getting stuck for things to do with him. It has lots of nice ideas and information about development stages too.

Talk, talk, talk..

Take her places.. little babies love looking up at the trees passing by as they lie in their prams..

Try to have her meet lots of people.. different faces, voices.. That's really all she needs right now!

Keep TV to a minimum.. it can drown everything else out

Lots and lots of social interaction. When she looks at you and makes a noise, you make one back. That turn taking is the beginning of conversation.

Let her see, hear, feel and smell as much of the world as you can. If she's interested in something give her more of it.

Baby massage, naked time, tummy time, baths,.... Anything which is stimulating her senses is good.

Also let her lie and look aroud at mobiles, trees, windows, etc. You can watch a bit of tv but try to keep a balance.

Actually you don't really need to do anything. It's a common myth that babies require stimulation - just lying and watching you is plenty! Believe me, the entertaining phase will come - give it eight months or so!

make the most of this age when she can't move and grab things - hang pretty moving things above her head to look at (mobiles or make your own version)
talk and sing to her.
Put her in a sling and carry her round
Give her a bath or massage.

I don't think she needs "entertaining" as such. She just needs you to love her and be able to imagine what life is like for her.

Thinks like playmats, rattles, flashing lights, mobiles are all interesting for a while but I found that my DD most liked to be near me, watch my face and listen to me waffling on and singing to her.

If you're watching TV and your DD is sitting with you just give her a cuddle and smile at her, chat to her from time to time and hold her close enough so she can see your face well. You don't need to be down on the playmat when she is so little.

Plenty of time for all that later (she says wryly - now off to read DD Each Peach Pear Plum for the nth time this morning, aarggh!)

The other amazing lesson I learned is that babies are wired to develop by themselves, regardless of what you do. As long as you provide a loving and nice environment and are responsive to her needs and in tune with her, it will all just happen by itself

You don't have to spend hours pushing her or teaching her - she will learn to smile/laugh/roll/sit pretty much whatever you do, provided you are generally loving and responsive. You don't need to teach her (indeed you can't - they do all these things when they are ready).

When I realised that it was a load off my mind in terms of being a mother.