Ideas for entertaining an 18 week old?

[aimzxd]

Hi everyone. My DS (13 weeks corrected as he was premature) is getting a bit frustrated in the evenings and becoming quite crabby. I think a lot of it has to do with boredom. He doesnt like repetitive play in the same day. For an example of how our day usually goes, yesterday looked like this:

6am - BF and back to sleep.

9am - BF and bottle top up with gaviscon (he hates syringe!), play in a little 4 in 1 activity seat for 20 mins (he sits up really well and has strong neck muscles.

10am - bath, then some floor play with nursery rhymes, head, shoulders, knees & toes, etc.

10.30am -nap.

1pm - BF followed by bottle. Play time on my bed with tummy time (not keen on it) and rolling front to back. During tummy time we usually have a chat where I try to get him to copy words and he loves it when he manages to get it right.

1.30pm usually go out a walk. He may nap but is nosey so prefers to look around.

2.30ish - back home, some hand play with sensory toys (trying to teach him how to hold objects and control them ie bring to his mouth (still struggles get them there and ends up licking sleave!).

3pm - short nap if Im lucky. He fights his sleep in afternoon.

4pm - BF & bottle, 15mins or so on playmat or jumperoo (he cant bounce yet but likes it when I swing him).

Now the evening is where it gets tricky. He gets crabbit really quickly with everything we try, and we're running out of ideas. He will lie on a mat for a bit and have some 'quiet time' where he yaps away to himself. This gives us a chance to have tea. We end up having to walk him round the house, letting him look out the windows, in the mirrors etc. He also has spells where he's fine on his own during the day where I squeaze in breakfast or lunch. But in the evening till about 7.30pm/8pm he's so crabby and I dont know what to do with him. From 7/8 he'll feed then go down for the night but until then he's a bit of a nightmare and seems to get bored with activities/interaction very quickly. Any ideas for age appropriate activities or might it be something else? I thought it may be teething as he chews his hands and bites anything put in his mouth but its been 2 weeks and no teeth. Any suggestions appreciated!

I think they just develop a lot around that age and are starting to learn so much about the world around them that they're unsettled, I know a lot of people dont like or believe in leaps but there's a big one at 19 weeks which could explain it a bit. It sounds like you are doing loads of great stuff, I found at that age DS was fascinated with his reflection (although guessing he had no idea what it was!). There's a good fabric book called 'faces' which is black, white and yellow (great colours for that age) with a mirror on the front and crinkly pages- he still loves looking at it now. Also on YouTube there are some hey bear baby sensory videos, some are very calming and also settled DS when he was a bit antsy. I always said I wouldn't do screen time too early, but 15 mins or so made the world of difference, and did no harm. If he can hold things yet (I cant remember age ranges for doing stuff) then matchstick monkeys are great to play with and also for teething.

It can take a while for the teeth to peek through, I would follow your instinct if you think it's teething, but keep an eye on temp in case and also any tugging of the ears; ear infections etc can be quite common and present similarly (but aren't anything to worry about, and it probably isn't, but just in case for the tiny chance it is).

Thank you both. I'll def look into that book, Youtube videos and monkeys.

No tugging of ears but he rubs his face a lot and his cheeks get really rosie at times.

He's probably knackered by then. Looking at your day he doesn't sleep much. They need at least 16 hours sleep in 24 at that age. Put him to bed.

He wont nap forlong through the day at all. He does get 10 gto 11 hours at night though. I do try to settle him after his sleep cycles but it doesnt always work. Sometimes he'll nap all morning but is still ratty in afternoon/evening so I dont think its tiredness

Have you thought of an evening bath.
My lo was bath , bottle then bed.

Sounds like an intense day. I agree with Herc. He's probably exhausted! Remember he is only 18 weeks old, relax a little with your expectations of hitting those milestones.
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He has no trouble going down in the evening. I picked the morning for his bath as it seems to help him nap. I could try it to pass time in the evening I suppose.

Ok. I'll try to dial it back but he does seek the attention I don't force it on him. The hand play was a suggestion from HV dept as he is behind.

I think as long as you are following his lead on the attention side of things it’s ok. My first like to ‘do’ a lot of things to and would only really nap in the carrier once a day.

We had a sensory bag of toys that came out only in the evening and she absolutely loved that. We got ours from Rainbow Sensory Gifts (can drop me a message for a discount link).

I think having something different in the evening helped as it was a bit more of a novelty.

I really think by the evening he wants something different. We have a few sensory toys that he is starting to take an interest in. I'll try that, thank you.

Lots of babies get fractious in the evening. We all get a bit grumpy the tireder we get.

If the HV said do the hand play because of development keep doing it.

Walk round holding him, point to and name things using single words. They love this. Nothing special. Lamp, TV , Shoe , washing up brush. Etc.

Hold him and look in the mirror. Pull faces. Make sounds. Stick a hat on your head then his head. On off with the hat. Say the words. Hat on , hat off.

Just so fun simple things. No order to them. Just grasp the moment.

But babies and toddlers are often grumpy in the evening.

Treasure baskets can be good with that age. Doesn't need to be fancy- I did one with a silky scarf, wooden spoon, tea strainer and a nail brush. Lots of ideas online.

Could you look youtube for a mum and baby yoga class you could do? My DS loved that at that age.

My DS went through this stage, evenings were always difficult. He sounds similar in that he slept well at night but daytime naps were difficult. He is now 20 weeks, naps longer and is more settled in the evening. For naps I have to have the room dark and quiet, like at night. Activity ideas, do you have a play arch? Mine will lie underneath kicking/grabbing at things and it uses up some of his energy. He likes playing with pieces of fabric, he holds them, I wave them, drop them so he can watch them float and play peak a boo. Do you have a garden? Past couple of evenings iv been taking my DS outside. He lies on a blanket and watches the clouds. Also, I recently got a high chair delivered and he likes sitting in there watching me in the kitchen. If he really won't settle il put him in his cot with his mobile on. He loves the mobile and it really calms him.

Chill out a bit more.
Sounds a busy and overstimulating day. Might be (partly) why he isn't sleeping

Mine would sit in his bouncy chair in the kitchen whilst I carried in with cooking/cleaning etc, and would chat to him.
I would give him things like a piece of greaseproof paper to hold and rustle. Or a banana to hold.
Life is sensory, no need to over stimulate them, especially at 13/18 weeks.

If he's cranky in the evening, it's because he's tired. Just have some calm time, with him maybe in your lap and you chatting to him or reading.

My first thought was the same as a pp, there doesn't seem like much sleep for a 4 month old. My LO was having 4 or 5 naps a day at that age (although she was an exceptionally sleepy baby!), but 5 hours seems like a very long awake period for a 4 month old and may be why he's grumpy in the evenings?

How long does he nap for in the mornings? And in the afternoon if he naps? Is the pram still set up for a newborn? If not, try to keep it laying flat with the sun shade down to minimise how much he can look to help him to nod off.

It really sounds like he would benefit from going to bed earlier rather than being entertained with more activities. Babies can get overstimulated surprisingly quickly! Especially if he naps poorly. My baby was terrible at napping but at 8 months she’s finally getting the hang of it.

It’s very normal for babies and small children to get grouchy in the evenings, many people call it the witching hour.

He's completely over tired. At that age they need to sleep about every 1.5-2 hours. If he's had a morning nap no wonder he's cranky by the evening. Of course he's grumpy and cranky by the evening!

Babies in my experience have a witching hour in the evening, where nothing can please them and they are grouchy and crappy. It's the pre bed sleepiness/ over tiredness.

Sleep promotes sleep! Mine wont settle upstairs so we bought a vibrating rocking chair for him, fights it but within ten minutes he is out.

Goodness what an intense day (for you and him!) my DS slept every 3 hours at this age I believe. I think he is probably really tired.

where I try to get him to copy words and he loves it when he manages to get it right

He's 18 weeks. He's not saying words🤣

I’m another one voting for over tiredness. Mine is 18 weeks old too and our day is

730 up, 945-1030 nap, 12-2/230 lunch sleep, 415-5 nAp, 7 bed. We aim for four hours of naps in the day but I’d happily let him have up to five.

If he has any less sleep than this, he is miserable. With this schedule, we have no witching hour and he self settles for his sleeps without any crying. He also sleeps 7-10 then 11-730 at night.

Our LO goes in his gym for one session, does yoga with me for one session and singing for another play session. We also do rolling/tummy time and object/word practice. All activities are wound down as we approach nap time so he’s not so stimulated when trying to sleep

Obviously I’m not saying I have this 100% right (definitely not!!) but encouraging more sleep has really sorted our days out. LO was so crabby and had a limited attention span before but is now so so much better.

Good luck

My DS is 19 weeks and we generally do up for 2 hours down for 2 hours. Even then by the time he reaches 1.30 sometimes he’s already tired and if he’s feeling invincible and misses a nap but 2 and half hours he can barely cope

I think he needs to do ‘nothing’ a bit more. All this activity must be exhausting for a tiny baby who is still trying to work everything out. Time in a sling is great for strengthening neck and tummy muscles and babies usually feel close and secure, without having to be constantly entertained. He might even drop off to sleep!