Yes, I'm resurrecting my blog, at least for the following questions for all you parents out there:
1. We are considering getting a mobile (this mobile - plays 20 minutes of continuous music) for our ceiling-fan-adoring son. I'm wondering if parents with more experience would consider this purchase (a) a healthy part of his nap- and bedtime routine that would assist him in soothing himself to sleep; or (b) a "crutch" for nap- and bedtime to avoid - something that would best be used only as a playtime activity.
2. What toys and books did your little one love the most at this age (coming up on 4 months) - any suggestions? We're feeling deficient in what we have to offer for stimulating him right now.
Thanks for imparting your wisdom, oh parental sages!
6 comments:
Well... good question. Annibelle really enjoyed her mobile, but it only kept her happy/awake when I needed a break. Ours also projected stars on the wall/ceiling when the room was dark and she liked that. We loaned a mobile to Amberlee to use for Lily, and Lily loves it and falls right to sleep. (It's a Baby Einstein one). IF you're going to get one, I say get one with a remote so you can restart it from your bed (if you're planning on using it to get him to sleep).
If you just need something to entertain him during waking hours, I would recommend either a swing or a bouncer with dangling toys. These items could also help him with napping during the day. Annibelle really enjoyed these items at 4+ months.
As for toys, I bought a bag of the little plastic 'links' so I could dangle colorful toys from the handle of the car seat and from the stroller canopy and the top of the swing. I would buy Lamaze brand toys from Kohls that had bright colors, textures, and would crinkle when certain spots were touched. Annibelle REALLY liked these. Using the links made it so I could put the toy at any level I wanted. The links are also different colors and work great as teethers and are just the right size for those TINY hands to grasp.
I also bought Your Baby Can Read, which includes books, flash cards, DVD's, etc., along with a few Baby Einstein DVD's and books, and Annibelle LOVED them! (She's already reading letters and a few words at 18 months, so I'd say it's helped).
Anyway, I hoped this helped. (OH, maybe tape some streamers to the ceiling fan...since he likes it so much; it will provide some noise too!)
Love you!
Hi Gretel, we don't have much experience with mobiles, never had one. I agree with M, swing and bouncy seat are both great and provide lots of fun for baby. We also had a little play mat with two arches and dangly toys. Both loved them. Totally agree with M on using plastic links. We still use them--now they are fun for D to take apart. And a jumper, one of those that you clip in the door way, our kids loved those. Laurie has a good one that we used with T.
As far as books, he'll probably just eat them now, but we had a couple plastic baby books with colorful pictures and fabric books are great too.
We love our mobile but use it for entertainment not sleeptime. We also have a bouncer (lifesaver) a swing and playmat. All are used and loved. They are great especially when you need a break. For bedtime we give nice warm baths with a lavender soap to help soothe and calm baby. It seems to work pretty darn nicely.
I can't believe they make mobiles with remotes these days! What'll they think of next?
Something like this is fun for on the floor rather than in the crib:
http://www.csnbaby.com/asp/superbrowse.asp?clid=726&caid=&sku=IFO1012&refid=PG51-IFO1012
1) Go get a mobile at Kid to Kid they almost ALWAYS have a few of them, and they're like 1/3 the price! We just sold ours back for 3 bucks less than we bought it for. I'm a huge mobile fan, but we don't use it as a bedtime activity, we use it as a playtime thing.
2) Go to Savers look for some stuff with mirrors. Honestly, don't spent a mint. Our baby just played with garbage for a good portion of our trip. :)
I don't know. I've never had a mobile. I have read that they shouldn't be used to put them to sleep. But, I'm sure there are differing opinions on that. I would love a bouncer, though. I've never had one of those either. How have I survived? Sorry I'm no help.
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