Question for SAH Moms with infants- how do you play with/entertain baby all day? (Seeking ideas)
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Anonymous
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Hi! I am sincerely seeking advice and ideas. I have a 5 month old at home and I WFH full-time (very flexible schedule). Baby will be home with me until at least January if not longer.
Baby is generally easy going and happy but seems to get bored really easily. I’m looking for at-home activities or toys that will keep her entertained. I’m able to actively engage with her most of her awake time and get my work done when she is asleep but something she can look at/play with for 10 mins or so while I jump on a call would be awesome too. Just wondering if you all have new ideas- there’s only so many times I can sing Itsy Bitsy Spider per day and she seems pretty bored of her baby gym. We have a jumper but I don’t want her in that for more than 10 mins or so per day. |
Anonymous
| Just get a mat she can lay on and roll around with some toys |
Anonymous
| Tupperware! Empty water bottles. Shiny spoons. A colander. |
Anonymous
This. Babies don’t need you to constantly sing to them or do patty cake. They are quite content exploring the world around them, holding objects, looking at them, banging them. Chewing toys. Napping. Eating. Playing. As long as baby in near you. You can put her in a play pen when she becomes mobile. |
Anonymous
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It's the rare baby who can do anything at all for 10 minutes.
While the weather's nice go outside as much as you can. When the toys on the picnic blanket get boring, there's so much to see, hear, and smell. |
Anonymous
| I don't. Go out with your friends and tote baby along. Babies don't need constant attention. Let them cry a little on their own and get used to being alone too. |
Anonymous
You don't need to do this. In fact, I would say that you should not. Babies don't need "active engagement" or entertainment all day. They also need some time to just chill out and take in the world around them. Babies don't really get bored, but they can get overstimulated, and they cope with that by turning away, disengaging, etc. Babies find their own toes thrilling. They can also be entertained by watching a ceiling fan, shadows moving on the wall, looking out the window, crinkly paper, measuring cups and spoons, tupperware, a dishpan with a little water in in, etc. |
Anonymous
| At that age, one of my babies could spend 10-20 minutes happily on the play mat. My other baby, I could place toys in the floor around the room and she would scoot, squirm and/or roll her way around to get to everything. They both really loves bouncy seats. |
Anonymous
| Different zones. When you need to make a call switch to a new baby friendly part of the house with different things to lay on/sit in/look at or touch. |
Anonymous
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Concur that you don't need to be actively engaging with her all day. Do your stuff and set her up so she can watch, participate, and imitate (the last one will be a bigger thing later). I would put her in her bouncy chair while I cooked or baked or cleaned. I'd set her on a mat next to me while I worked out. I'd take her to a park with a stack of board books while I read my own book or did work. Get used to checking in with her every few minutes, but then go back to your thing.
And sometimes you can just set her up with some stimuli and let her play on her own while you do something else. Create a little play area (some people will get those play pen things but I personally didn't find them necessary) with a blanket, some board books a couple toys, maybe a stuffed animal or two. Then just let her play while you get work done, again, checking in periodically. As she gets older, you may need to spend more sustained time with her before letting her free play -- maybe read her a book or two and then let her flip through them on her own for a while, or show her how her toys roll down a ramp for a bit and then return to your work. Also, being on a schedule helps a ton at this stage. Make sure she's getting enough sleep and eating so that her awake times can feel relaxed and easy. If she's getting cranky frequently, you may need to increase eating times (this will be even easier when she starts some solids and you can set her in a high chair with food, which is an extremely easy way to entertain a baby), or move up the timing of her naps. At 5 months, my daughter was going down for her morning nap super early, like around 9am (after a 7:30am wake up). She'd sleep for 90 minutes and I could get a ton done before our lunchtime meal and playtime (then another nap). She was also held onto a late afternoon cat nap until she was 8 or 9 months, which made bedtimes easier. It gets tough for a while after they drop that third nap because they are very tired at bedtime. But then they adjust and regulate. |
Anonymous
OP here and thanks to everyone that is saying I don’t need to be actively engaged with her all the time- I think this is my guilt of having her home and working. I don’t think she would be getting more 1-1 attention at daycare with a 3:1 ratio but I still feel guilty when I have to focus on something other than her for a bit. I’m glad to hear that this is overbearing on my part... 
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Anonymous
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At that age, I would put mine in his pack-n-play and offer a few small toys, though he was also content scooting around and moving all over the room on his belly (so that might be around the corner for yours too).
The toys he liked best were probably the baby links, ring stacker, nesting cups and a large stuffed animal that rattled. He mostly enjoyed just throwing them around, but I do think the pack-n-play setting (throwing them against the mesh) made throwing more fun. He would play with these particular toys for a lot longer than he would out of the pack-n-play. So that might be one way to go. |
Anonymous
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You don't! Make sure she's getting enough food and sleep and she should be content to play alone/calmly look around at least a little bit. Or just wear her while you go about your business.
If you constantly entertain your baby, you're probably going to end up with a toddler who won't play alone at all. |
Anonymous
Yes. Good you asked though. We all make mistakes with our first babies. Let her look around. When she is looking for social life she'll let you know. Make sure she has time alone and chances to observe other people. |
Anonymous
| My mom looked after my baby when I was working from home. She basically spoke to the baby, named things for her and basically talked to her and let her observe. My kiddo cooed back to her and babbled all the time. I was there only to nurse her. My baby was also given infant massage several times a day by my mom and bath once a day. After a massage and a diaper change, she would nurse and go into a deep sleep and wake up very happy. I had around 10 baby books and I would just read them aloud when I was nursing her. My baby grew up to be a very happy child who loves to read. |