What do you DO with your babies?

[GuernseyTeddy]

DS 16 weeks. Not a happy chappy at the moment; neither am I. He seems to be constantly unhappy. He's not content to sit in his chair with a rattle/crinkle toy/bell etc while I potter around. He won't lay and play on his activity mat. He HATES tummy time.

He only stops the constant, very annoying low level grizzling when I'm giving him my complete 100% undivided attention - singing, talking, dancing him around etc. which is fair enough for half an hour etc but is draining all day long.

Slings etc are not an option. I am tiny, he is not. Already feel taken over by him by the way he flings himself all over me during feeds.

Any suggestions on how you kept your babies happy without being a 24/7 entertainer??

Well - seems jumperoo is out of stock everywhere apart from our local argos for pick up. So might have to pop along there tomorrow.

Naps wise - not really. Sleeps 13 hours at night, 6pm to 7/7.30 am ish with a dream feed at 10. So only needs about 3hrs in the day.

Think I'm going to have to take him swimming more. Already take him twice a week- local pool waterbabies and a proper franchise waterbabies class too. He loves it, but may start growing gills at this rate.

Oh yes! Nappy off time in front of deal or no deal. Happy days!

He loves nappy off time ....as he HATES pooing in a nappy. Instead he waits until nappy off time and plops one out and rubs his feet in it, as soon as mummy's back is turned!

Baby groups (swimming, baby sensory, rhyme time, yoga) 2-3 times a week, for your sanity as well as the baby's! A walk every day is a must for me, it's free which is a bonus. When I'm at home I try and mix things up as much as possible, rotating toys so she has different ones each day. I alternate between, play gyms, doorway bouncer, rocker, floor, playpen, activity chair. I also use the tv and don't feel guilty about it! It's not on all day but an hour in the evening while I'm cooking dinner is a life saver, it's on in the background while she rolls around on the floor playing with her toys so it's not as if she's rotting away in front of it. When she was a bit younger it was harder to leave her to her own devices so it might just require a bit of patience. X

I'd second the swimming, lots of walks and hand him over to Oh/grandmother etc whenever you can to get a break. Have you tried baby massage? My Ds loved that.

My 15 week old DD is similar - apparently their alertness is a sign of intelligence, so just try to keep that in mind!

Some good ideas here. For me the best thing is to ensure that I have something planned for every day of the week and plan our time around that. So, even if it's just meeting up with another mum and baby for coffee I can somehow spend a few hours in the morning preparing (loooong nappy changes, ensure a good nap, etc) ant tthen actually head out in the afternoon.

Everything I've heard suggests that it gets easier once they can move independently so for now it's just a case of hanging in there....

guernsey we got a couple of cheap messy mats from early learning centre for nappy free time as dd loved it so much, we did about two 45 min sessions a day and she would happily roll around laughing to herself in the nude!

He sounds like a smart baby-those ones are hard. (So I'm told, DD was/is the same way.)

Echoing the jumperoo sentiments, and baby massage which DD loved too, as well as reading-I read the entire Beatrix Potter collection to DD at 4 months. Now 16 months, we are regulars at the library as we've read all her books at home more than once.

Also-have you tried the swing? OMG the swing. THE SWING.

And finally. ..

He's totally little enough that you can watch shows you like. He won't remember. Honestly!

Like a few others have said, jumperoo

Sanity saver. Hope you get one today OP xx

Are they heavy/bulky? Would I be able to carry one home with the pushchair??? Or do I need to wait until someone can pick one up for me to borrow?

Don't want to look like a pillock staggering home under the weight of a jumperoo

Tomorrow - not to borrow.

Although given the price of them...They do come complete with a nanny right?!

I don't think you could carry one with the pushchair I'm afraid, the box is pretty big!

Amazon reduce them every now and then, mine was £55.

We had to wait 2 weeks for it though. They said EDD was March 2014! DP complained as they were not out of stock anywhere else and it turned up 2 days later.

Jumperoo is one of the many reasons I am thankful for mumsnet.

Do you ever play music or the radio for him? I found DS would watch me potter for ages if he had something to listen to.

I don't mean baby music either, real music you like, you can experiment and see what he likes. My DS was very fond of old Johnny Cash, anything with that kind of bouncy rhythm. He liked ska, hated classical, etc.

Jumperoos turn up loads on ebay. They'll be pricey at the mo because of bloody humbugging Xmas but cheaper after I'd imagine.

Congrats gurnesy!
You have a smart lad there, and you won't regret it later, tough as it seems now.

My dd was very like this, and I just carried her for her first year: i carried her around all day long, and sang to her, and massaged her, and told her stories and talked to her constantly about what i was dojng, showed her things I was doing, fed her, and held her, and had her in the sling and just didn't put her down, even to go to the loo, even though she was 2 foot long when she was born, and I'm only 5'3", and she was heavy, very heavy!

It was exhausting, ill be honest, but I put her first and we muddled through. I learnt a lot about my self.
Basically I just gave and gave, and now that dd is older she really doesn't ask for much at all: she's very secure and self confident. Se only needed that intense level of care and attention for her first year. I'm glad I put in so much work with her and put myself second. My dd is a gifted and talented kid, in the top 3percentile. She's also a really nice easy going kid.

You will reap the rewards of putting in the work with him now - come on here to gripe about how exhausted you are, but be the best you can be for him, give him the human comfort he needs now to develop as a little human being. He's telling you what he needs, so it's your job to listen and give it to him. He's entirely dependant on you - he has no other mummy, it's just you who can give him what he needs from his mummy.

Go the extra mile with him, and you'll have no regrets. He will pay you back many fold if you put in the work with him now by being a fabulous kid, and I bet he's really smart.

Posted too soon. Meant to also say - I feel your pain and have the same problem. Indeed DS (now 5 months) is such a little .....darling...that I've been having to have physiotherapy for a frapped up neck so I feel your pain literally. We had the same though with fewer physiotherapists with dd (now 3.5) and it does pass. We didn't find the jumperoo much help with dd so haven't bothered with DS ( though of course sods law he'd probably take to it) but I know lots of people who bless the name of fisher price . Re feeding aerobics- swaddling works for my DS. I wrap him up like an angry sausage roll and that stops the wild rodeo routine at each feed, but probably looks insane.

Sorry if I missed this being suggested already but there are loads of different slings and carriers out there and people use them til their kids are 3 or 4 so don't rule it out if poss. My baby, at five months, is still umputdownable lots of the time and I find the carrier's just amazing for hands-free time!

I second swimming. Takes a load of time up and guarantees a decent sleep.
Also put your favourite cds on and singalong, and dance, with baby in arms if you can. I got through loads of endless afternoons that way.
Mine only got easier at six months, when she could spend an age chewing a rice cake...
I always thought i had a firstborn who would have preferre arriving into a family with older siblings, i just couldnt provide the busy environment she enjoyed.

My ds was similar at that age; but once he could roll & crawl he became a very happy, smiley, contented baby.

Could you try someones jumperoo first? To make sure your ds actually likes it before you spend the money. We brought him one (Amazon, reduced to £55) & he likes it for short periods, but it wasn't the amazing lifesaver everyone said it was. Also I tried it at 4/5 months (he had good head support) but he wasn't impressed, & he was 6 months
before he seemed happy in it. However he loves his door swing & will bounce in it for ages, it's much cheaper too.

I could have written your post about my 15 week old DD OP. Literally feel like I am going insane here. OH works late most nights and starting to feel very lonely. DD grizzles and cries all the time, I have tried everything. Doesn't help I am stuck inside mostly dealing with building works. Let me know if you manage to get a jumperoo and if it works! I'll try anything....

Ps it's so reassuring to hear stories that they get better!

Jumperoo! Wish we had got it sooner. My dd was the same. She doesnt even like the tv though! Was hard entertaining a young alert baby who rarely slept ( literally fought naps from newborn) now she is. 7 minths and is sooo much easier as she can crawl(well shuffle) and use her jumperoo!!

Jumperoo today!! Will post back on whether it tames my savage beast.

He was putting a spoon in his mouth yesterday. And pretending to eat. Just know the little bugger is going to be clever.

I get the bored thing. My first son wa like that from a very young age. Always needed stimulation. I found him much easier out if the house than in. It improved once he became mobile and more so once he could talk. He's 4 now and still fairly highly strung ;)