Does anyone else have "good enough" days?

[RevoltingPeasant]

By which, I mean those days where somehow you just manage to do enough to keep dc alive/ not dead of boredom?

Some days, we have a militant regime of stimulating baby group, walk/ nap, home for activity, etc etc so when DD goes to bed I know she has fed ducks, done sensory play, had stories etc.

But some days, like today, I just feel uninspired. We had a hospital appt which bored her; we went for a woodland walk during which she Did Not Nap, and in fact cried on the way back to the car; her playmat at home was evidently a bit meh; and we did playing in the garden and banging pots and pans with only moderate success.

I had to supervise plumber, talk to consultant at hospital, organise mot for car etc and feel like I spent a lot of time just parking her whilst I got on with something.

Just feel like she's had a dull day. Anyone else get this?

Personally I think you did brilliantly to get though that list! Children don't need a constant stream of stimulating activities. They can just be part of everyday life. I remember being fascinated as a little girl by plumbing garages and hospitals and books about them too. Real everyday things happening can be just as interesting if they are spaced out in the right sort of way and don't stop you having meals and sleeps.

It will continue

We had a dull day today too.

I'm full of cold and today I tried to plough on, but ended up gathering a load of toys and playing with dd in bed for a while.

I feel mean, but I don't think any groups would appreciate my snotty face today. I'm hoping I haven't scarred her for life!

I think days like yours are actually good for little ones sometimes. They watch the world and people. My LO is fascinated people watching in the sling.

The thing is, just live life. And then if and when you are feeling down you can tick the boxes of "stories sensory play baby group" but those things just generally happen when you are living life anyway..everyone needs to see people going through the same life experiences (baby group) sensory just means touching a few things and eating a few unsuitable objects and probably some fresh air if you are a baby...and as for stories. They are fun. You'll find yourself just telling them in the car to keep the children occupied. They can be stories about anything really. The day you fell in a puddle on the way to a party.

We have our "emergency protocol" days when nothing goes right. Motto is "everybody fed, nobody dead. Anything else is a bonus".

Don't beat yourself up - that sounds like a lovely busy day!

Sounds like your bad day would be my best day lol. I feel like I don't play enough with dd.
this morning she helped me to sort the washing and put it in the washing machine then did my workout with me.
Then she watched TV/played on iPad for a while as I did housework and got myself ready. Then we played with dd2 when she woke up on her play mat.
After lunch we went for tea and cake with my mum then home to dinner and bed.

Most days if I can keep on top of the washing and feed both of them and get out the house in the afternoon for a play date or a walk or the park or tea (dd loves going for tea and cake) then I think I'm doing pretty well.

Oh wow I feel like an awful parent now. We usually just play at home or go to the park 2 mins away or go shopping and that's pretty much it. I think you sound like you are be doing great :)

It's fine to have normal days. If you have more than one they have to fit in anyway.

Swanhilda, I couldn't agree more. I love the dull days... just me and ds hanging out, getting stuff done, chattering and pottering. He loves those days too. I just wish we had more of them.

Thanks all :)

DD is 5 mos old and she can't really play by herself that well yet. Sometimes if I am grabbing a quick bowl of Shreddies eating lunch or sorting out something online, I just feel like her little eyes are fixed on me, going plaaaay with meeeee Mummyyyy! Maybe she is just watching but I often feel like she's a bit disconsolate on her mat by herself.

She's a lot more lively when DH and I are both home even if we're not interacting with her. She just seems to like bustle and noise!

Funnily enough when you have two (toddler and baby) it feels easier for that reason The baby is never bored because the toddler is always doing something interesting and making a noise... Seek out slightly older children if you can and hang around their houses...

I think you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself, and it can make you feel miserable.
Children need to learn to stimulate themselves and actually find the smallest of things captivating. Washing machines going around, finding ants in the garden, watching the clouds. Don't feel you need to do a 'treadmill' of activities for it to be a 'good' day ~ just to be together on a summers day, singing and talking to them is enough. The fact you are engaged and enjoy it is the most important thing. Every day is a good day because it offers something new and different for your little ones and you are there to share it with them.

I got nothing done for myself until I realised that everything is 'sensory play' for a baby and started just including DS in what I did anyway. Making the bed is fun as you can hide and its just like the wafting things in their faces at sensory. I sing nursery rhymes and make up songs. He liked sitting in the highchair and banging things on it and loves running water so the dishes are fun. When he began to sit unaided it was a lot better as he could play with stacking cups, look through board books/touchy feely books, and also how he can just sit in the garden and feel the breeze/try and eat grass and look at the plants. There's nothing wrong with just a making baby part of your life sometimes, they just want to be with you and look around. When your DD is moving and older you'll have much less ability to get on with your own stuff so take advantage! 6 months became easier as DS could sit, play and also mealtimes took up a lot of time so the day has more structure, play then breakfast, play then nap, some kind of group, lunch out and then shopping or something and then next nap, play, eat and a little bit of Cbeebies (massive Iggle Piggle love!) and then bath. Not crazy amounts of 'structured activities'.

Your dull days have woodland walks in!?! Well I feel like shit. That's a good day for me. A bad day involves clumsily wiping high chair with screaming infant jiggled on bad hip, putting laundry on then having no time to hang it out thanks to a poonami...

Children don't have to have structured play all the time and normal boring day to day stuff is also teaching them and enriching them. They absorb the world even with a face like thunder. Many child development courses emphasise some "bored" time is good for developing imagination and observation skills (she says with the scraping of brain cells that can still remember her training).

Gosh op she is 5 months she is tiny she barely knows more than whether or not you are nearby or someone nice is smiling at her and she is too cold or hot ! You are really over thinking it.. you love her that's what matters. ...

Normal life is what babies for millions of years have had...All this baby group stuff and stimulation especially for them. ...its a modern invention....as someone said. ..If your bad day has woodland walks in it I think you are setting the bar very high!

At 5 months?! Bless you, but that's not a dull day. If there is plenty for them to see, that's enough - whether that's going to groups or just out with Mummy to somewhere stimulating.

DC1 is currently playing playing Lego while I feed DC2. We ate lunch at the park on the way back from preschool. We blew bubbles. That's a standard day here. Hope that makes you feel more positive about your version of a dull day!