Stimulating baby's development

[charcb]

Hi all! Any tips or resources to use to know how to stimulate baby's development depending on the week / month he's in? I'm not sure what I should be doing - whether using toys (and if so which), reading to him (he's only 3 weeks so seems unlikely to be needed just now?), singing to him or otherwise. Any useful mailing lists to subscribe to / apps to use / books that you recommend?

The Wonder Weeks app is quite useful for understanding the different development stages that they go through and how you can support that. You basically don’t need to worry about doing much focused development activity for a good while though.

My health visitor recommended the born to move app which is very helpful.

I think always read to them whatever age. It doesn't have to be baby books just anything. They'll get exposed to new words and get to enjoy being cuddled up to you. As they get older the stories take on meaning but reading to a child is always beneficial.

You don't need to do anything specific. Just make sure that he has time to explore and experiment with his own body, so lying flat in a cot/moses basket/floor blanket, rather than always being curled up and restrained in "devices" like car seats, bouncers, etc.

Also talk to him, it doesn't need to be constant but just acknowledging that he's there. Don't have the TV on all the time as this can obscure speech and make it harder for them to hear you.

Touch him and attend to his basic needs (cleaning, feeding, etc) and cuddle him as much as you want to!

I found at this age it was nice to show my babies different things to see how they reacted (show with all senses - so touch/sound/vision) and if you enjoy things like reading/singing then by all means do them. You won't cause any harm and it's all nice for them. But don't feel pressured to do anything special anyway :)