How do you entertain your 7mo??

[donkeyhottie]

I'm worried 7mo is bored senseless! It's generally just me and him as DH works long shifts. We do a couple of baby groups, go for a walk when the weather's ok, he loves a bit of Go Jetters! We have plenty of toys and a bouncer. DS can sit but not 100% reliably so I need to with him in case he topples. He whinges if I try to get on with anything so we both find that frustrating.

I feel I'm constantly clock watching for the next nap, feed or meal but not doing enough to engage or entertain him in the meantime.

We live very rurally so not too easy to get anywhere, plus he hates pottering around the shops!

How do you spend your days??

Thanks!

I’m following as I’m the same with my 7mo!

Just chat to him and involve him in whatever you are doing. Everything is new to a 7 month old so even boring chores are interesting if you chat as you go.

Read to him too

I spend my days just like you! Haha :)

This is a rough idea of a day eith my 5mo (I know she’s a bit younger but she’s already sitting independently so probably quite similar in terms of what I do with her!)

8:00 wake up
8-10 sit her on the floor with toys and put nursery rhymes on tv. I potter around cleaning etc and occasionally play with her, sing etc.
10 bottle and nap (usually a contact nap)
12 we drive to my horse and spend a couple of hours pottering around there. She stays in the pram most of the time and occasionally sling and we also walk the dog

3 bottle and nap
4-6 sit on floor with toys, tummy time etc
6-7 bath bottle story and bed.

We also go to swimming class once a week and she comes with me to mummy Pilates or mummy fitness classes 3 times a week too.

Turn some music on and dance with him
Make a play tent by putting him under the play gym and draping a large sheet over it
Make towers for him to knock over
Roll a ball to him to catch
Push him in the swing at the park
Try painting / messy play
Read to him
Try some simple wooden jigsaw puzzles and talk to him about the pictures
At this age everything is new and he's learning so much, the more you can speak to him and show him how things work the more he'll learn.

Build towers from fabric building blocks and knock over
Hide toy in box and take back out
Finger puppets
Peekaboo
Baby books
Nursery rhymes
Once he can crawl it will all be very different as he will be able to go and explore on his own!

I used to pop mine in their bouncy chairs in the kitchen to watch the washing machine. Quite happy to admit that perhaps my kids are weird, but they used to love watching it spin. DS once had a baby meltdown when it finished and I had to put it back on a spin cycle for his amusement!

I used to also have them dancing - I’d put on some tunes whilst doing the housework and dance and they’d kick their legs or move their arms to join in.

Lots of talking to them, some terrible singing (made up songs and off key) a foil blanket under a blanky for them to play crinkly noises with and tickling them with my hair are the bits I remember the most.

In my defence, I had a lot of laundry to do and struggled with getting out of the house much with my DTs so had to make a fair amount of my own entertainment with them. They’re nearly 4 now and seem to be relatively unscathed so far.

I found this age quite tricky. DS’ brain was very much ahead of his body - he suddenly wanted lots of stimulation but couldn’t move anywhere to get it! He too would also get very grumpy if I tried to do any housework. I was outside whatever the weather to be honest. Forward facing sling or the buggy. Push on the swings and a few trips down the slide oh my lap. Stop at a cafe en route home to watch the world go by. So much easier than trying to ‘entertain’ him at home.

Put baby in outward facing sling whilst you get on with whatever you want to get on with

I found sometimes having a basket with toys and books and a theme helped me think of things and keep a bit of interest eg 'Animals' - animal books and toys, 'Shiny' - shiny metal toys, toys that were all a particular colour/shape, musical/noisy toys, underwater/sea related bits. He wouldn't always spend long exploring it but it would take up a bit of time!

I've got an 8 month old and found 7 months tricky, once she was crawling and pulling up it got better (though stressful!)
Pots and pans to bash
Empty rubbish from the recycling, a lemonade bottle entertained her far more than her toys
If you can be arsed bit of sensory play - rice, yogurt etc
Bath time has always worked better for me during the day as an activity rather than end of the day when she's grumpy
Loads of sling walks, if nothing else on I go change her books at the library just to get out

Personally I don't think you need to do tonnes with them, just some toys, walks etc. Talk to them lots about what you're doing, everything is a lot for them, they're taking it all in all the time. What seems boring to us isn't for them.
I find breaking the day up into morning and afternoon and planning things to do makes it go a lot faster as it can feel so repetitive from the mothers point of view but it's unlikely he is bored.

My sons the same age and I struggle I feel like he must be bored most the time. We can't go out though because he had heart surgery in December and due to him being vulnerable and with covid we pretty much have to isolate until he's fully healed which is 3 months although I can take him out for walks if the weather let's me

Thanks all! You've all reassured me that I'm doing the right things - I'm chatting away, bringing him with me so he can watch me do the boring things, silly dancing etc! 😂

Except you @buckingmad You're putting me to shame with your 3x a week exercise classes!

I think what I've realised is, in being worried that DS is bored I'm actually pretty bored myself. It seems to be a bit of an unspoken thing about parenting - as much as you love them and will do anything for them, the day to day can get a bit dull at times! I'm happy that he's happy though, and I'll get back to my silly dancing 😂👍

@Babydust13 That must be so tough. I'm sure your baby is not bored at all, but roll on Spring so we can all get out a bit easier. He's got everything he needs - you.

I loved a good dance with mine!