Filling the days with a 6 Month Old

[TheJourney22]

Can anyone give any ideas on how to fill the days with a 6 Month Old?

He's a Velcro Baby so quite restricted in where I go as screams if put down anywhere .....

Help... I'm bored .... I'm going nuts ....

Do you have a good sling? Ds1 was a Velcro baby so I just popped him in the ergo and went about my day, cooked things while chatting through them and letting him touch and smell the various ingredients, would wander around the supermarket, catch up with every relative, friend or baby group that took my fancy and spent a lot of time hanging out in the park on a rug with a few toys.

It gets a lot easier once they start developing their motor skills a little more, so there is incentove for them to de-Velcro for at least a little bit while they play and explore! Just a few more weeks, or a couple of months at absolute most!

Books! Stories. When's he alert, go for picture stories like the Very Hungry Caterpillar. When he's more tired, just read aloud from whatever you're reading until he goes to sleep.

Go outside! A lot. Strap him on to you/ put him in backback and set out for really long walks (maybe take the pushchair as well for when you get tired.) Walk until you get tired and need a coffee. Hopefully he'll be asleep by then so you can drink your coffee in peace. Take him to the swings on the way back. It won't be long before he can go on pretty much everything. And you meet other mums at the playpark. Don't be afraid of talking to them. Arrange to meet friends and new friends for coffee.

Find out when your local library parent and baby sessions are.

Parent and baby groups. Invaluable, even if you don't find any really good friends, it's always good to let off steam.

Good luck! It's nearly summer. This phase is hard but it's not forever. Within a few months, you'll be chasing him everywhere and wondering where the hours go every day.

Thank you ........!!! You give me hope :)

So hard!

Yes, the sling works so I'll just have to cope with it for a few more months.

He's not sitting up yet so hoping that will be a big change.

Thanks again

Oh and talk and sing to him, all the time, even in public. Point things out to him (I'm sure you do this already) and talk talk all the time.

Be sure to arrange things for you. See friends you might not have seen recently due to being a new mum. Go and meet them for lunch near their work maybe.

Also - there are some very mixed views here on mn about baby groups, but if you are bored they are great. You don't have to be best friends with all the other women, its sometimes just great to share a bit of meaningless chit chat while your baby gets to look at some new yos and surroundings, without messing up the house! I did meet a few good friends, but only because I went to a LOT of groups until finding the right ones for us. It's worth shopping about a bit to find some similar-minded people, and being open to the women you meet - yes, the initial chat will almost certainly be nappy/weaning based and a bit dull, but that's just because you don't know of any other shared interests yet.

I agree that conversation is limited at M & B groups. But you get to talk to other people, who sort of talk back. Most of them blether about nappies and sleeping, especially at the age your baby is.

But you can meet like-minded people. I made one of my best friends at an NCT M & B group- 20 years on and we're still really close.

Mum and baby groups are great! Ds won't last 5 minutes on the play mat at home, but is happy to play for at least 30 minutes at baby group. Hes 7 months and its tough keeping him entertained at home. He loves going out in the buggy and the supermarket-I give him different packets to hold. Am hoping things get easier when he gets more mobile

Try your local library as well for singing groups, I have met a couple of good friends through mine.

Go swimming occasionally? Not to a class necessarily, but try a family splash session during the day in termtime, it's normally fairly quiet then round here.

Can you go places that you are interested in? Museums and exhibitions? Would he be happy for a bit in the sling or pushchair whilst you wander round? Also, look for parent and baby cinema screenings. I know Odeon and Picturehouse do them.

It is a really difficult age, it gets easier!

Similar to smokeandfluff - dd didn't last long on her playmat at home but at playgroups/baby classes she was happy to stare at other babies/play/chew on different toys for 30 mins or longer.

My dd hated the pram (and only slightly less the sling) so, long walks weren't an option. But she loved being around new people/other babies and in groups of people singing/playing music. My local childrens centres were a lifesaver and provided safe areas for babies to play and had nursery rhyme sessions.

If you have a Sure-Start centre within reach, they often have lovely playrooms and run some really good groups as well.

Our children's centre has a great little sensory room, it's small but very well equipped and my 7month Ds loves it! I also second baby groups to let your dc meet some new faces, play with new toys etc. How about swimming too? That's fun and totally wears my boy out! Also we've had trips to the park as he's just learned to love the swings. Local farms and attractions are good too. For time at home, reading works well also music - my little man loves a bit of cheesy rock!

OP - just an idea, but I encouraged DD to sit up by filling the Moses basket with toys and sorting of propping her up at one end of that. It meant she couldn't hurl herself backwards and hurt herself and she was stimulated enough to gradually pull herself forwards to play with the toys. May not help if you have a Velcro baby, but it worked really well for DD and I felt she had somewhere safe to play - just thought I'd mention it!

Sitting up made a huge difference to my DD. She wanted to be carried all the time before she could sit up, as she was bored and grumpy and wanted me to show her things. (First teeth at the same time didn't help). Once she could sit and hold things it was sooo much easier, she was happy playing on the floor for quite long periods at a time.

I second the idea of propped sitting made above. just not for too long at a time.

Hang in there!

Try to have a few plans each week such as a weekly baby group, lunch with Nct friends etc. On the days that you don't have a plan then do something like the supermarket shopping - mine both love sitting up in a trolley! Go for walks, to the park, to garden centres, swimming etc.

It really does help to get out of the house as much as possible as it can be really hard entertaining a baby at home for hours. There is only so long they will play with a rattle or look at a book.

It usually works well to try to have a plan in the morning so you have a reason to get up and ready. The baby is usually in better form after a good nights sleep too. Maybe plan the morning nap in the buggy/sling on your way to your plans, then head home afterwards and have the afternoon nap at home so you get a bit of time to rest/read/tidy/cook etc.

You will probably be weaning soon if not already. I found 6 months quite an intense age routine wise as they still have lots of naps, lots of bottles and then you have to fit in meals too so you may find you don't have as much time to fill for a month or two til things calm down!