What can I do to entertain my baby?

[Merryclaire]

I have a 2 month old who I love with all my heart but when she’s not feeding or sleeping I have no clue what to do with her.

It’s really getting me down and I’m dreading when she starts to nap less as I really struggle to know what to do to amuse her.

• She isn’t content to just chill and watch things going on. If I pop her in the rocker chair or Moses basket, or just sit her on my lap, she quickly starts to cry.
• She will play with an activity gym once a day for about 20 mins (ie she waves her arms around and bops the toys) - won’t do it a second time in a day though.
• She hates going out in the pram which makes going for walks a nightmare. I’m trying to persevere but today after a walk she was the most distressed I’ve ever seen her.
• She cries when I put her in a sling. Once she slept in it but then woke up hysterical (presumably realised where she was!)
• She does enjoy being held outwards and taken on a tour of the house but that only fills a few minutes.
• She enjoys being sang to for a couple of minutes but then seems to get bored - ie cries.
• She isn’t yet engaging with toys etc. Have tried holding books and puppets up but not interested.

Help! I feel sad that I can’t enjoy awake time with her.

Get her a phone! - no just kidding!

20 minutes in a baby gym is pretty good for 2 months.

Is she uncomfortable? It sounds as if she cannot get comfortable in any position. It is usually possible to find some position in pram or bouncer which is comfortable. Might be wind - does she have a good burp? Have you tried gently rubbing her tummy? - or laying her on your lap and gently cycling her legs?

It is interesting that she likes being held outwards, which makes me think that this takes any pressure off her tummy.

Please do not despair! - everything about her is new - her digestion, her perception, her sensory system. It often takes a while for everything to adjust - she is a brand new person. Well done for soldiering on. All these phases do pass.

Try music? My little guy loves it and has a favorite song that I can put on Spotify if we're out for a walk and he starts giving out. We have a playlist . Very handy.

Please be reassured that you're not alone in feeling this way with a young baby. Chat, Play, Read, Sing are the main pillars of learning for children, with a huge emphasis on chatting at this age.

You might find the following sites useful
Google @Middlesbroughfis for their Facebook page as they have photo albums with ideas.

www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people

wordsforlife.org.uk/

Have a look at the what to expect when EYFS pdf by googling it and it will five you some ideas but please don't feel like you have to use ot as a checklist - everything you do is, in as much as you are your baby's favourite toy, amazing to your baby.

This is a really old video but the information it shares about babies from newborn is fascinating and shows how everything you are doing is play to your baby

I hope this helps 💐

More upright pram position?

Have you got a sling? Babies this age just enjoy any sort of sensory input, so whatever you're doing basically. Babies love being held close, and if she hates the pram a sling could be a great option for walks. I used to pop DD in the sling and go for a walk, or just potter about the house putting washing away etc.

My daughter was pretty miserable for the first three months. She had reflux - so I imagine felt pretty pained much of the time. At three months her system seemed to catch up and she discovered her thumb - problem solved!
I don't think your baby is bored, but is feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

Hey Bear Baby Sensory on YouTube saved my sanity. The tunes are good too

Baby bouncer that hangs from the door frame. It entertains and tires them out !

Oops I read 2 months as 12

She may well be uncomfortable. She doesn’t poop very often, seems quite windy and spits up a fair bit. Spoke to the dr but he thinks it all sounds like “normal baby stuff”.

She is on infacol but no idea if it’s helping her.

She enjoys having her tummy rubbed - hates bicycle legs but I do them anyway.

Thanks @mamabluestar this all looks so helpful! I will have a good look at all of it x

I had thought that but think she’s still too young? In the bassinet at the moment but will check when we can upgrade her to the proper seat.

Yes, unfortunately she seems to hate it. Just tried it again but she seems so uncomfortable and just sobs. We are planning to buy a proper carrier to see if she is happier in one of those.

They don’t like doing much at 2 months.
our activities for the day at that age would have been - having a kick without their nappies on, being out in the pram under a low tree watching the leaves (they can’t see that far yet), both my younger two liked being in a little it of water in the bath and having a splash. Watching a mobile in their cot.

Thanks - I tried this as a friend recommended it. But I think she’s still a bit young for it as doesn’t really seem to pay attention to it and soon starts to cry when I put it in front of her.
Maybe she’ll like it in a few more weeks.

With the sling; have you been shown how to use it by someone with a child (as opposed to a random shop assistant)? If not try to find your local sling library as the person who runs it will be able to help. If it isn't set up right it'll be uncomfortable for you both.

In terms of entertainment I dragged my 3 along with whatever I was doing, any deliberate attempt to entertain them just
bored them and me

She may be ok in the next seat quite reclined. All of mine were miserable flat on their backs.

At 2 months we introduced balck and white picture books. DD loved them when we were changing her nappy. They were from Amazon in a pack of 4 and were fabric so washable.

A foil blanket like the ones they give to marathon runners after a race. Lay it out on the floor and pop baby on top so they can kick and hear the noise it makes. DD LOVED this for quite a while.

Play gym and a tummy time llama were a good buy as well.

Lots of reading to baby. I never understood why i was doing this as I didnt think DD got any benefit from it. But watching DH read the very hungry catapillar to her was amazing, she looked mesmorised! She now loves books at 11 months!

A bouncy chair. At 8 weeks they wont bounce but put them in whatever room youre in and basically narate what youre doing. They just sit there taking it all in.

If baby doesnt like the pram and is unsettled with lots of spitting up, maybe consider silent reflux?
DD had it. We couldnt take her in the pram or sling without her losing her mind.
She has CMPA and silent reflux so is medicated with Omeprazole and on prescription formula.

Excuse my spellings in the post above, its been a really long day with a sick baby!

If you have a car seat that attaches to the pram she may prefer that rather than lying flat.

Don’t worry too much about entertaining her though - everything is new and educational! So do stuff that you want to do too.

Also my DS loved lift the flap books - there are some with felt flaps rather than paper so he couldn’t rip them. He would chew on them for hours l

You might get on better with a more structured baby carrier, especially if she likes facing outwards. Then she can be entertained while you go round doing bits around the house, frees up your hands! You could try a sling library so you can try them before buying, or borrow from a friend

Black and white patterns, twinkly lights, looking at trees.....

Both mine liked sitting in a bouncy chair - just a standard type thing, not the fancy ones with music, swinging and vibration 😂

First baby had reflux and hated lying down in the pram. We moved her to pushchair seat early - it's fine as long as they can lay flat-ish and you can always pad out with a liner if it's too big.

@RedHerring24 thanks, I’ll definitely try the foil blanket. I had assumed she was too young for books yet, but will give it a go.

I do wonder about the reflux but dr says her symptoms sound normal. I might try again.

@catsnore thanks - I think we will try a carrier to see if she prefers that.

I’ll have a look at the pram seat and see if I can make it work. I tried using the car seat previously, which was slightly better, but I’m conscious they can only be in that for 30 mins.

Yes I thought mine hated the sling but it turned out he hated that particular one so I borrowed another from a library and that solved that problem.
It will be get better soon I promise, mine was much more chilled once he could sit in the pram seat a bit more upright and look at the world on walks. I got an insert to pad the seat out a bit and used it way earlier than recommended.
I second hey bear baby sensory videos on YouTube!
Hang in there

Ahh OP, it's tough at this age when they're not content to be a sleepy baby but are too young to actually entertain! Have you tried cranial osteopathy? Worked wonders on my grumpy baby who didn't want to do anything and was always uncomfortable. It does get easier though!