How much do you do with your 1 year old?

[AbbeyRoadCrossing]

DS is just turned 1 and I'm pregnant and struggling a bit at the moment.

I was wondering how much you do with yours? I'm not back at work between maternity leaves so he's not at nursery or anything. We go to things some days such as rhyme time, but he usually has his nap when most groups are on. If it's nice (seems to rain every day right now) we play outside or go to the park. But most days he's at home or just on trips with me to shops etc.

I'm just worried he's going to be bored, or not stimulated enough? And wondering what's a normal amount to get done?

Dc3 is 1 end of next month. I'm with you on the baby & toddler groups. They all start at 930 /10am here. Ds naps at 10ish. So I don't bother with any of them yet. He's always had to fit in with the school run, so we tend to get back and potter (mostly him watching me tidy after breakfast , then a bit of play before his nap.

After nap we either go out to the shops / visit dad (in care home) or potter about again, then lunch. Usually go out for a walk 2ish, which ends at the school 3pm, then again 330pm (ds1 in juniors, dd in infants). After school it's park or garden or more pottering depending on weather. Lots of pottering.., he does love watching ds1 and dd and they interact well with him.

He's not on the move yet, but I suspect things will change when he is, but I work around the general structure of meals and naps. (He's in process of going from two to one naps, which is why we go for a walk at 2pm, then he can drop off in pram if tired).

I'm Thinking we'll start swimming once a week and a library group after half term, once his nap is a bit later in the morning. And try one of the toddler groups...

We have stacks of toys left from ds1 and dd but I limit what's out at any one time.

I used to worry about this with DS (he's 2.7 now) until I realised he loved, and still does love to be around the house. Pottering, pottering, pottering! Don't forget at that age EVERYTHING is interesting, and will be over and over again - the hoover, emptying drawers, the garden, the shops, don't worry they DO NOT get bored - you might though! Didn't really go to groups, was put off by how mucky the toys seemed as if they had never been cleaned! Think we got heavily into crayoning, then stickering, play d'oh (bit young - got to watch them with that, but it'll entertain you). Just try to enjoy watching him, it won't be long before you're run off your feet! I've got a 3 month old now as well so I've had to adjust my expectations of what I can do in a day. Best of luck

Thank you for your replies yeah I think he's fine,I just feel a bit guilty being so tired all the time!

Oh yes, the utter tiredness of pregnancy and a toddler was what broke me and CBeebies became my best friend for a while. Once dd arrived, I had an activity box for DS, which I kept next to the sofa for him. So when I was feeding dd, he would choose something from the box (sticker books, colouring/doodle pad, story books, magazines etc and just rotate every so often).

But there's nothing like that pregnancy exhaustion. I never got that full of energy 2nd trimester boost people go on about either!

Ds1 and DS were both full time In School when I was pg with ds2. But by that time I was looking after my dad before we moved him to a home. He has advanced Alzheimer's, but was very fit and active otherwise, so that was even more draining (emotionally as well as the 2 mile walks every day!)

Best wishes and I hope you have a lovely stress free pregnancy. I would love to do it all again!

OP I am in the exact same position as you, I have a one year old and I'm 4.5 months pregnant and geeze I'm tired, I'm lucky if I can make it to the shop! X

DS1 is 13m and I worry about this at times but I'm back at work so he's in nursery 3 days. When it's just me and him, all we do is potter! He has a toy/play area in the lounge but he likes to just follow me about. I'm pretty relaxed with him emptying cupboards, drawers, unravelling toilet roll etc as long as it's not dangerous and he seems happy enough. To be honest he'd rather play with anything that isn't his toys!

Same here, we sit on the sofa and read books, go for a walk (a cuppa in tesco or to the park) and play with some toys. Mostly though Im pottering around in the kitchen while he chases the cats, empties the washing machine, presses buttons on the tumble drier or dishwasher and bangs the cupboards! Ive bought him a second hand play kitchen from gumtree as its his birthday soon and he LOVES it, it holds his attention for longer than anything else we have ever had!

Dd is 17mo and I make sure I have plans for most days as she gets Soooo bored, she goes to childminder on a monday, Tuesday is happy feet playgroup, Wednesday is swimming lessons, Thursday visiting friend/family, Friday park, shops ect; so stones we go to the library. Also we have a membership for a local park with indoor and outdoor play areas. Weekends we do stuff together as a family