entertaining a 3 month old

[Anonymous]

How do you do it? What do you do? Every morning he wakes up, kicks around his crib swinging at the mobile for 20 minutes, stares at himself in the crib mirror for 10 minutes then gets fussy. So I take him out, rock him, talk to him, feed him, change him. 30 minutes. (He is an efficient eater, only eats for 5 min total). Then I put him on the activity mat, he bats at the hanging figurines for 20 minutes, gets fussy. So then I take him downstairs, do some tummy time (5 minutes tops, hates it), then try the bouncy seat. Lasts 10 minutes. Then try the swing. Immediately wants to get out. So then here we are, we've been awake for maybe 2 hours and I've exhausted my activities for the day. He naps 2-3 times a day for 30 min to 1.5 hours max. Wakes up at 7 and goes to bed at 9. That's alot of hours to fill. I am worried that he's bored and I'm understimulating him. What else can I do to entertain this child? He's very squirmy, always trying to sit up, stand up, windmilling arms and legs, looking around. hates to just sit; in fact, he won't do it. I can't even hold him lying down, he has to be upright and facing out so he can see what's going on. I sing to him, talk to him, make faces at him but I can't do that for 12 hours straight. Is this normal? Should I be filling his ritalin prescription now? What else can be done???

[Anonymous]

Get out of the house! It's hard to fill those hours of the day. My DD loved being out and seeing new things at the mall, grocery store, playground, around the neighborhood. I put her in a soft carrier and took walks all the time. We also took classes here and there so we would have places to be, things to do!

[Anonymous]

My 3 mo. old sounds just like yours. She, however, can sit in her bouncy seat for awhile. Sometimes I'll set her up in the kitchen to watch me cook, while I talk to her...sometimes she'll fall asleep there, but she doesn't take any real naps during the day, maybe 2 naps for 45 min. or 1 hour if we're lucky. But the tradeoff of sleeping through the night is a good one! I try to get out w/ her once each day whether it be for a walk to the park or to a store for errands. In one month we will do a music class one day a week to mix things up. It is hard, I agree, 3 months is sort of an in-between age. They are not yet independent enough to entertain themselves, but also past the age where cuddling/holding/feeding is enough.

[Anonymous]

Sounds just like my three month old! You're not alone, OP!
My son is with my mom all day and what seems to do the trick is that she talks to him all day long. A lot of talking! He's not a big napper (you're lucky in that regard) so there is in fact, a lot more time to fill. He loves his mobile, though. Oh, another thing that keeps him occupied for awhile is a regular old mylar balloon. Get one and see it it works. Wrap the string around his pinky---that way he won't get it in his mouth when he puts his hand in. He'll like "controlling" it and hopefully it will keep him entertained. You can also wrap it around his ankle. It's been working for us (touch wood!). Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I feel your pain! I have to agree, get out of the house, and try to go somewhere where there are a lot of things going on! DS loves me talking to him when it's quiet, but loves to watch people even more. Bonus points if there are children around - he just sits and laughs.

But, I know exactly what you mean about trying to not go crazy!!!

[Anonymous]

Put him in a Bjorn (or similar) and talk to him as you go about your day.

[Anonymous]

I have a 3.5 year old. Our daily activities are similar to yours, and I worry about under-stimulating him too:

Eating, of course.
Play on what we call our "laugh mat" (just a mat on the floor where we goof off while he smiles, talks, kicks, etc)
Walk around the house, stopping to look out all the windows.
Sit in bouncy while I tickle his toes and give him kisses.
Take a shower while he waits in the bathroom in the bouncy. Then, put him in crib with mobile going while I get dressed.
Wash bottles, with him watching and me talking.
Go outside in the yard to check the weather and look at the trees and other plants.
Go for long walk (about an hour) in the morning and sometimes a second shorter walk in the afternoon.
Read to him.
Sing songs.
Hand him toys to grab and suck on - general playing
I have to say I usually skip tummy time - he HATES it
Naps - My baby sometimes naps several hours during the day.. and some days only cat naps

I do these things over and over and over again. Sometimes we go out to run errands, but I don't like to lug him around on errands too much because he seems happier at home and tends to "shut down" when we're out. We did go to Starbucks the other day though and he really enjoyed people watching.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the responses! I know, I should get out of the house more. However, the baby is so unpredictable- I never know when he'll want to feed, or sleep, or for how long- he's so erratic that it makes it hard to plan for outings. Just last week he pretty much shut down the Pentagon city food court with his howls. *Sigh*. And I am too chicken to brazen it out- I literally fled the mall. Oh well. All the suggestions were great, I especially like the one with the balloon. Good luck to everyone struggling with the same issues- although I feel for all of you, it is nice to know we're not alone!

[Anonymous]

You don't need to go to the mall to get out of the house - a walk around the block in the morning and afternoon should help break up the monotony. If your baby cries, needs a diaper change, is hungry, turn the corner and walk back home.

Sit on a park bench at a playground and allow your baby to 'watch" the world go by (although I'm not sure their sight is that developed yet).

Fresh air does wonders.

[Anonymous]

My DD was fascinated watching me do chores - vacuuming, cooking, dusting, organizing, emptying dishwasher, etc.

Enjoy the time now since your baby is still not mobile - before you know it he'll be rolling over followed by crawling and you'll never have a free moment to do anything

[Anonymous]

I just went about my usual business when DS was that age-running errands going out with friends with kids and shopping. They are so easy when infants. Now I have a 2yr old and you REALLY have to work at keeping them entertained.

I really never cared if he cried while in public nor needed to be fed-I just fed him (BF mom here) or changed him or did whatever he needed at the time. I find that people tune out the cry of a baby. I sure do, I never notice babies crying, unless it's mine!

[Anonymous]

Just last week he pretty much shut down the Pentagon city food court with his howls

I have a three and a half year old and a nine-month old. I agree with the PP who said to not worry about him crying in public, but if you haven't discovered them yet, the women's lounges in the ladies' rooms at Pengaton City are a good place to take a baby who is overstimulated, hungry or tired.

[Anonymous]

My DS was like that too. He's now 18 months and I've learned (i) everything is a stage and (ii) it was a sign of his personality. If it's any consolidation to look ahead, DS is now pretty independent (although still wants Mommy around), very funny, energetic and affectionate and overall a great toddler! But, 0-9 months was tough. Some ideas:

- Now that the weather is nicer - lots of long walks are great
- A planned class to get you out of the house and breakup the routine such as swimming (infant classes can start at 4 months) and baby yoga
- A planned playgroup - babies won't play but may be interested in looking at one another & again this will get you out of the house/breakup routine
- Running errands - this probably doesn't sound like fun, but even a trip to CVS became a way for me to break up the day.
- Singing - buy some upbeat toddler songs and sing along. Will drive you mad after about 3 months of doing so, but was fun (well, relatively to remember the words to some childhood classics.
- A jumper - your DD may be a bit too young now at 3 months, but if she's energetic like my DS she'll love this around 4-5 months. Like everything else, though, it's a about a 20 minute break - with my DS he'd love it when I'd jump along with his during this period so was also great exercise for me!

Good luck - I know it doesn't seem like it, but this stage will pass...

[Anonymous]

hmmm...it seems like you are also suggesting he tends to be fussy throughout the day?

I'm thinking he may not be sleeping enough. How much does he sleep at night? He may still need about 5 hours of daytime sleep spread over several naps. Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child? I'm not a fan of Weissbluth's approach to sleep but I think his description of sleep physiology, when the naps develop, etc...is really helpful and may help you get a handle on your son's schedule. Also, I totally get that you may have trouble getting him to sleep 5 hours during the day (I'm on my second short napper child), but sometimes you have to take extra efforts to get them that sleep, like walking them in the stroller while they sleep.

My first child didn't sleep much and I was also scrambling to find things to do during the day. I found he would sleep in the stroller IF I kept moving, so the mall was great, but I had to keep walking or at least pushing the stroller back and forth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hmmm...it seems like you are also suggesting he tends to be fussy throughout the day?

I'm thinking he may not be sleeping enough. How much does he sleep at night? He may still need about 5 hours of daytime sleep spread over several naps. Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child? I'm not a fan of Weissbluth's approach to sleep but I think his description of sleep physiology, when the naps develop, etc...is really helpful and may help you get a handle on your son's schedule. Also, I totally get that you may have trouble getting him to sleep 5 hours during the day (I'm on my second short napper child), but sometimes you have to take extra efforts to get them that sleep, like walking them in the stroller while they sleep.

My first child didn't sleep much and I was also scrambling to find things to do during the day. I found he would sleep in the stroller IF I kept moving, so the mall was great, but I had to keep walking or at least pushing the stroller back and forth.

Thanks for mentioning this. My 3-month old sleeps a fair amount throughout the day, and I was starting to think maybe there was something wrong with him since other moms posting here seem to have babies that are much more wakeful than mine.