Daytimes with 9 week old - Ideas please

[mandymac]

I am having a challenging time with dd, she is 9 weeks and for past 2 weeks daytimes have become really hard. She won't be put down much at all, bouncy chair and swing are both out of favour. She will play on baby gym for about 20 mins only. Seems to like sitting held up on my lap watching telly .

Or being held on shoulder, but thats it really. Only break I am getting is when i manage to get her to nap in her buggy, but I have to push her back and forth for as long a she then naps most of the time. I am spending lots of time chatting to her, singing, making faces etc, but she doesn't seem to enjoy this all the time, think she needs some time to just 'play' or take thinks in at her own pace.

I have just borrowed a sling from a friend with good lower back support, so will try that once it is out of the wash.

I'm finding it hard to go to loo, eat lunch, let alone do any washing etc . Any recommendations for other contraptions we can sit her in/on with things she can play with that might keep her amused? As problem seems to be that she is very easily bored at the moment. What are those donut play things like - any good? Her neck is pretty strong now, but not totally self supporting.

Also as a side question, it is true that the evening fussiness tends to ease off at 3 months? Is it worth living in hope?

the sling is a fab idea

do not expect a baby of this age to play with anything for long .. 20 minutes sounds amazing

donut thing is too early really

she likes to sit on your lap because she's close to you .. that's what the sling will replicate

i remember that age it's really hard work isn't it. the good thing is they do change really quickly, by about 10 weeks or 3 months they play under baby gyms for longer and aren't so clingy.

best thing is to go out, all day or twice a day, walkign, baby groups, shopping, whatever. tiring and you won't get the housework done but the baby will be happier.

Agree with Fennel. Go out and enjoy yourself! She'll never be this portable again. See an exhibition, have lunch with friends, do mother and baby things if you want that sort of company (v useful for first time mums IME, but not necessary for further children). Go shopping! Have a pedicure. You will start to enjoy yourself and enjoy your baby much more. All nine week old babies are 'easily bored' - they have tiny attention spans. Life is much, much easier out of the house and the walking will get you fit. Washing...um.. get your dh to do it when he gets home and you are feeding.
And yes, it does tend to wear off (quite suddenly IME) around the 10-14 week mark.

when my baba was 9 weeks old, i took her to a baby massage and she loves it, so it was a gentle way of introducing myself and baba to other and even now (10 months old) i take her to playcentre twice a week and swimming once a week (baba didnt start swimming till she was 6 months though!)- she is having a whale of a time

let a sling and baby become part of your body - then go and do what you want

I have this problem too. Never know what to with my ds. He's 8 weeks old. Not interested in rattles or anything as he just ends up hitting himself in the face with him. He lies on his activity mat and smiles at his caterpillar friend which has mirrors on and is brightly coloured, and he loves that. He even talks to it sometimes (well i think he does anyway), a little oooh and ahhh here and there. He will do that for a good hour, which i know is a long amount of time, but then i'm not sure what to 'do' with him the rest of the time. So, i'm also on the look out for suggestions!!!

Honestly, you don't have to do anything with them! Just smile and coo and sing and feed and cuddle. At this age, they will fit into your life. I always advise people to please themselves and just take baby along for the ride. Babies of this age don't need entertaining. They're fresh from the womb where it was dark and they did zilch. Just being in the world full of light,colour, milk and new sensations is enough for them.

I actually please myself most the time, and feel a bit guilty though. In the morning he tends to sleep alot, so every afternoon we go out, without fail. To my mums 3 times a week, to see friends, go to the shops, meet dp for lunch, whatever. Just feel like i don't give ds enough attention. I shall have to make the most of it while i can

definitely make the most of being able to go out and about. your baby will be perfectly capable of demanding more attention in a few months (for many years). shopping, lunching, cafe-visiting, etc with a new baby is so much easier than with a stroppy toddler.

Gosh yes, a three year old asks approximately 6 questions per minute. You will be paying attention to your kids for the rest of your life - make the most of a bit of peace. I should think just being alive, having cuddles, food and being near your mum is quite stimulating enough for a tiny baby.

And a nine week old baby is just as happy at the National Gallery as at a mother and baby group.

bump

It is really hard to do the stuff that needs to be done around the house when they are that age. I think the sling will help - you can make yourself a sandwich or something for lunch and eat it with her in the sling, and she's probably still light and small enough that you can carry washing round the house with her in the sling.

I tried to put ds down in his bouncy chair a lot at that age so I could make supper etc but he always fussed - I wish I'd got a sling earlier.

Apart from that, make the most of her napping in the pushchair to go and do stuff, go for a walk, to the shops, meet friends for coffee etc - when they get older and become mobile they don't put up with the pushchair so easily, so you may as well make the most of it now.

Have you tried planting DD in front of the tumble drier when it's on, or even just swirtching the vaccum on? My 3 were all like this (grrrr) and that worked well for ds2 (the other two unfortunately were hopeless)

I did all the "me" things at that age - but went to lots of baby massage/parentcraft etc.

When in the house, apart from his gym, spent alot of time in babybjorn sling, doing house work, walking the dog (used to go for miles), and if he was happy and the house work had to get done -put him in his car seat and carried him around the house with me!

My dds all like to be held rather than in a chair. I used a babybjorn babysling and bf holding them in one arm to let me get on with jobs. I felt that they were interested in what was going on and just liked to be part of what I was doing. I'd say go with it - & see how you can carry her with you. My 3 dds aren't clingy at all & are very confident. My arms are very strong now!!!

It's all a bit of a shock, isn't it and probably nothing like you'd imagined? I would think of all the stuff that I should be doing, oh like washing up, preparing tea, being on the computer...give it all up for a while! I b/fed and had a b'feeding cushion so I mostly spent my days sitting on the sofa which baby on my knee, either feeding, sleeeping or bouncing. I got some reading done in the sleeping periods but that's about all. Having a sling is good too, in or out of the house but make sure it's a comfy one for both you and the baby. Baby still 'thinks' of you as an extention of themselves so is more settled when near you and it's great for bonding. And Aloha is right, forget what life used to be like and embrace your new one! Makes it easier if you do.