What do you do with 9/10 month old all day?

[Alicia870]

I'm feeling increasingly worried that I'm being a rubbish mum to my 9.5 month old.
I'm back at work part time but still have some days at home with her. She's not crawling yet- just rolling around. I take her to a baby group once a week, if ta a nice day we go out for a walk or into town. A lot of the time in between meals and naps i find it hard to know what to entertain her with other than putting her in a walker and watching tv. She loves tv but I feel so guilty having it on so much.
If we lie down together on the floor to play I just find it incredibly boring after 15 minutes!
She seems to constantly want to move from one thing to the next and no longer seems satisfied just rolling around and playing with her toys herself.

How do others fill the gaps in the day?

At that age I think I simply went about my day and child came along too (I worked part time, those days he was in day care). My son never really crawled much (rolled then bum shuffled mostly) but I got out most days, sometimes just to walk to the shops for a coffee for a change of scene!
It is frankly very boring looking after a baby. Do what you would normally do - go to the gym (crèche!), get your hair done, go for a walk, feed the ducks, do the dishes... your baby will be fascinated with all the new sights and as long as you talk to your baby ‘oo look at this pattern on this bowl! Your auntie gave us that and she’s blah blah blah’. You don’t have to entertain him as such - everything is new to him! But a bit of TV is absolutely fine if you need a break!

I used to go for a long walk, go shopping, do housework with baby in bouncy chair watching me, baby had 2 naps a day, watch a bit of tv with baby on my knee. Just that really.

I used to take mine swimming - on his own or some places do parent and baby classes. Or endless walking out in the pushchair!

It's frustrating in the bit when they really want to crawl but can't yet. Once she can crawl, she'll probably be entertained just going around different bits of the house (and you'll be chasing after her finding out what you haven't yet babyproofed :o)

Playing with her for 10 minutes at a time is fine. You don't need to play for hours. And it's good to let her entertain herself a bit too. Have you heard of Treasure Boxes? That's quite a good game where you get a small box/basket about the size of a shoe box, and fill it with random things from the house which are not toys but she isn't likely to hurt herself with and just sit her next to it and let her explore the different items. Things like a wooden spoon, a bath scrunchie, a sponge, an empty bottle, a whole apple, unpeeled orange, a hairbrush, a clean sock. DS2 is currently fascinated with a fly swatter he found lying around somewhere, and any discarded spoons he finds lying around the place. The idea of the treasure box is that you don't get directly involved, but just observe from a distance in case anything breaks or becomes dangerous somehow.

In this weather if you have any outdoor space water play is good, paddling pools are really cheap to buy and easy to set up and put away when you've finished with it.

If you do want ideas of things to do with her directly, nursery rhymes with actions are great for this age, look on youtube if you have forgotten them, or look for a book of nursery rhymes. Also starting to read board books (I used to go on trips to the charity shops/library to get new ones) especially anything with textures, holes or flaps. Rolling a ball or balloon to her is fun, also blowing bubbles for her to catch. Building towers for her to knock down is good - if you don't have anything to build I recommend a set of stacking cups, wooden blocks or mega bloks as these all have long lasting play value. Any little cups, pots or bowls are great for a game of putting things in for her to take out, or hiding items under for her to find, and peepo under a muslin or blanket. Toys with really irritating songs and lights seem to really captivate them as well.

Do you have any friends with similar aged babies you could have a coffee/playdate with?

Hi op I have one 11 month old.

Do you have a local park?

Do you enjoy baby groups? If so maybe there are more for you to go to?

Playing at home with things that arent toys e.g. banging upside down saucepans with a wooden spoon.

I'm home with 9 month old DD all the time and there a moments when time seems to absolutely drag!

I try and go out everyday. Three baby groups/classes a week, park with some other mums, a soft play near us with a baby area, or even food shopping is an activity. There was a blissful two weeks she went to the crèche at the gym and I went running but she's become incredibly clingy and screams whenever she's left with anyone else now. DP takes her swimming at the weekend while I do a gym class.

At home we play together in her play pen, she won't play alone in there. She won't go in her jumperoo anymore, since she started crawling anything that restricts her is a no no. I follow her around while she crawls, she likes to follow the cats and play with the full length mirror in the hall. She 'helps' me hang the washing up. I play baby songs on the Google home and sing with actions, read books, try and drag meal times out. Her naps vary so I can't always rely on them.

We watch a bit of TV in the evening and I have it on if her need her to sit still for a bit while I get ready to go out. I would rather not have it at all but I did not realise pre baby how much time there is to fill in the day!

Go for a bus or train ride, visit pets at home or local garden centre to look at animals/fish. Library to chew the books/free singing group. Supermarket for a ride in the trolley (DD’s first unprompted recognisable word was banana, shouted with glee in Tesco).

Rhyme time classes are great at that age - see if your local library does one. Otherwise what everyone else said. At that age with DD I swear I knew the shift patterns of most of the staff in my nearest Sainsbury’s.

Went to a soft play with a baby sensory bit, shopping, walks,read to her, nothing wrong with tv either when at home.

Ooh yes swimming is good at this age. If you're worried about logistics ask other local mums, often there is a cubicle with a little baby seat you can strap them in on the wall or a playpen in the changing area, or you can take the carry car seat poolside with you - just stick a towel in it in the changing room, wrap them up so they don't get cold and it's a safe place to put them down while you get yourself dry enough to change them.

There are also some good ideas if you look for baby specific bloggers on youtube or instagram, places like that. Pinterest too. For example:

I don't really put the TV on for mine, mainly because I just don't want to watch boring/annoying children's programmes until I have to, but I don't fret about watching some TV myself if he wants to join me that's fine :o DH plays him disney song videos which he loves.

I have a just turned 10 month old who doesn’t stop moving and/or trying to cause himself serious harm (no matter how safe you think a room is, he WILL find something dangerous) so I mostly spend the days trying to stop him killing himself. On the days we’re at home together I always try to take him out somewhere, mostly for my own sanity. The rest of the time we play in the garden or the front room. I might watch something on the iPad (he LOVES Queer Eye!) whilst he plays with his toys or some kitchen utensils or we’ll dance to music together. He loves a trip to the supermarket to flirt with old ladies. If I’m losing the will to live I usually pop him in the sling and we go for a walk to see the horses and hopefully bump into some dogs/people/farm animals on the way which seems to keep him reasonably entertained.

Instagram is your friend. Tonnes of babyplay ideas! I have an 8 month old and we do treasure baskets, messy play, sensory baths, edible painting,sticking objects to walls so he can pull them off, sensory bottles, sensory bags etc. YouTube have some great baby sensory channels too. I do stick him in front of TV with toys when I need to get on. Don't feel guilty! Xx

Thanks for all your ideas- some great inspo for stuff to do! Sometimes I do just take her to Tesco to pass the time as it's such a long day in the house all day and makes me feel that's she's getting some stimulation!
Definitely will try treasure boxes that sounds a good idea. It's awkward that she's not crawling so gets very cranky just rolling around and can't really keep herself that occupied yet!

I make the room relatively safe, leave a bunch of toys and random objects like boxes, plastic bottles half filled with water, clean butter tubs, kitchen utensils, remote control with the batteries taken out.. just anything around the house that's safe for her to play with and then I sit and read promoting independent play is a great skill to develop!

Also I know it's hard when they get frustrated just rolling around and not being able to crawl, but that frustration is the key to learning. The more opportunities to be frustrated the quicker they learn.

Oh man. I hear you. My 9 month old isn't crawling yet and is mad at the world about it! He does try really hard though so that jeeps him occupied a lot of the time. I should also say I've found maternity leave incredibly boring and I know I'll miss these early days when they're over but I can't help but look forward to him getting a little older!
Okay so here's how I fill my days...
When he wakes up he has milk and half an hour or so of playing on the floor mostly on his own unless he whines then I play with him a bit. He tries to crawl.
Then he has breakfast which takes ages.
Then more playtime. Maybe I read a few books to him or let him play in his jumperoo or ball pit.
By then it's 9am and time for his morning nap. By the time he's settled (he tries to crawl round his cot every time I put him down at the mo) it's more like 9:15. He has 45 mins and wakes at 10 (or else I wake him). Probs going to cut that down to half an hour soon actually.
Then after 10am comes out first 'outing' of the day. This might be a baby class (I go to two or three mum and baby fitness classes a week - have you heard of Busy Lizzy?) or a walk or the supermarket. Or I've just started putting him in the creche for juat half a hour so I can go to the gym.
Then when we get home he'll play on the kitchen floor while I make him some lunch. Then he ears it which takes ages. Then it's around 12:30ish and time for his lunchtime nap!!
He naps for around 2 hours, til around 2:30pm.
Then it's time for our 'bigger' outing of the day. Usually this involves going out to meet a friend or to the local farm or national trust property or to the park. For this trip I sometimes go a bit further as we have a longer 'awake' window.
We get home after 4:30 or 5. Then he has more playtime on the floor while I make his dinner. He eats dinner (again, take a a while!) and I run his bath at 6pm. He has a bath and splashes around and I get him out, give him his bedtime bottle, and he goes to sleep. Then it's my time! :)

I should explain that my son is VERY hard work. He's not a quiet easy baby. He gets bored easily , it very demanding and loud. So I feel like I need to constantly occupy him. If he wasn't like that I would think nothing of staying at home for a fair chunk of each day, maybe with the tv on. He's just not intetested in the tv though as he wants to be DOING all the time. He loves being in his carrier so we go on lots of trips and he's as good as gold then, thank god.

Basically, that's what works for us. I've found two main slots of the day which I fill with outings, and the remainder of the day he plays on the floor in the kitchen or living room. If it's nice weather we might go.outside. He has loads of toys and loves playing with them. We also have a water mat, and some sensory stuff like materials and bottles. I would feel the day drag way too slowly if I didn't go out so much and my boy would def get bored too. I honestly wouldn't have survived maternity leave without the baby groups though - for a time I was doing one every morning- so do look into them :)