Free Fun

Isn't it true that most babies love the wrapping paper and bows more than the actual toy or gift?  That was true for Henry this Christmas.  Although, he does love his toys now that the pretty wrapping and bows are long gone.  He also loves his "bucket of lids" as I like to call it.  It is actually an empty plastic baby wipes case and a bunch of random lids.  That's it.  And it entertains him for hours.... okay not real hours but at least 15-20 minutes which is like hours in baby time.  This "toy" is great for fine motor skills {picking up the lids, opening the container} and maybe a little gross motor if they are like Henry and like to pick up the container and dump it out or to lift it to his mouth to chew on.  

The yellow lid is his favorite.  It came from one of those snack "puffs" containers

He likes to empty the container, and then fill it back up again.  As you can see I used random lids from {milk jugs, Gatorade bottles, apple juice bottles, and baby food jars}

As your child gets a little older they can work on their fine motor skills a little more and try to fit the smaller lids {milk/juice} into the slot.  This also helps their intellectual/problem solving skills to think about getting that little lid into that little slot.  Also trying to figure out how to get the lid open.  Henry likes to push the little button and see the top pop open {He doesn't always remember how to do it so its fun to watch him "re-learn" to do it} There are endless ways for a child to play with this "toy".  Hours of free fun I tell ya!  You could even use a utility knife and cut the hole a little bigger to fit the larger lids.  

This activity also reminds me of some other fun ones that are similar.  You can get a bunch of different hinged boxes like ring boxes and hide little trinkets in them for your child to find {be careful of choking hazards of course}.  Kids love opening and closing things {Henry particularly loves to open and close doors & cupboards.  This also provides hours of entertainment for him} so the hinged boxes and wet wipe containers are a great alternative!  

Start saving your lids and empty containers so you can have lots of Free Fun for your little one!

We have a 10 month old

I go a little overboard taking his monthly pictures.  It's easy to do when he is just so darn cute!  

Henry LOVES his Dad!  Good thing Clark was home for lunch and could get Henry to smile.  

Henry is a pro at cruising around the furniture and stooping down to pick something up and then standing back up {while holding on of course}

Still loves his soccer ball and Dad 

Love that face

We often find him doing this face and breathing out of his nose to make a funny sound.  

Tired of picture time.  I can't blame him.  I took about 100 photos.  He is obviously the first child.  He was also mad that he couldn't touch the electrical outlet.  We really need to "10 month old" proof our house.

He had a little piano time to make him happy after the "photo shoot"

Love the tongue.  Maybe he will take after his cousin Max and stick his tongue out when he is concentrating.  

He found my "skier" tree.  My Grandma Emmett has a skier tree and she leaves it up during the winter so I'm doing the same. The pink snowflakes were made by my Great Grandma Fife and they seemed "Valentiney" to me so it's perfect to leave up through February.  After this picture he pulled the tree over and two of the skiers broke... Time to bring out the super glue!

Only because I want to leave something "educational" for you I will list a few milestones babies should be doing in this time frame.  The range is from 8-14 months so some babies will be doing things slower or faster.... It doesn't matter as long as they are doing some of them.  If you see something you think your child should be doing, just take a few minutes each day and work on it!  They will pick it up in no time!  

Milestones: 8-14 months

Language

• Responds to own name when called
• Responds to "no" sometimes
• Responds to simple requests sometimes
• Listens for a few minutes to rhymes and songs
• Looks at books and points to familiar pictures named
• Understands 10 frequently used words
• Points, gestures, or makes sounds to indicate wants and needs
• jabbers
• Tries to say a few words, including dada and mama specifically (Henry says dada WAY more than mama)

Intellectual

• Examines small objects and details
• Experiments purposefully with objects to discover the effects of his actions (ie. a light switch)
• Repeats acts which have produced interesting effects (Henry likes to roll his wooden balls on the wood floor)
• Remembers the location of hidden objects (we can't hide the remote or our phones from him anymore.  He knows!)
• Places a round shape into a shape sorter

Social-Emotional

• Knows the difference between familiar people and strangers
• Gets caregivers' attention and wants to be near them
• Shows parents when needs help
• Plays simple imitative games such as "pat-a-cake" and "so big"
• Shows affection, annoyance, anger, surprise (Henry definitely shows annoyance and anger when he can't have something)
• Observes and imitates the actions of people
• Shows satisfaction with own accomplishments; smiles
• Feeds self with fingers
• Tests caregivers reactions (like when Henry pulls on the blinds after I've moved him away and then he looks at me like "what are you going to do now Mom!")

Motor

• Pulls self up to stand
• Cruises
• Lowers self to sitting position
• Stands alone (Henry can sometimes stand for 3-5 seconds)
• Walks with assistance
• Climbs stairs and other low objects
• Turns pages in a stiff book
• Tosses or throws without control
• Bangs two objects together (Henry's favorite thing)
• Stacks 2-3 blocks
• Uses pincer grasp to pick up tiny objects (or gross things on the floor!)
• Uses index finger to point

 I got this information from the Parents as Teachers curriculum that I used as a Home Visitor.  Sorry it's not online anywhere.  Websites like Parents.com or babycenter.com have milestone trackers you can look at.  I would like to caution parents about looking at the milestone sheets too often.  Not every baby will be doing the exact thing the sheet says they should be doing.  So don't freak yourself out and think your baby is developmentally delayed.  They most likely aren't.  And if you are concerned ask your pediatrician or other child development expert.  Also I would like to point out a common misconceptions some parents have.  When I was working with parents a lot of them thought their child should be talking by age 1.  That is generally when a child says their first word(s) but that doesn't mean they will be saying full sentences.  Even at 14 months they won't be saying sentences.  From 15-24 months is when their language will start to develop more rapidly.  But they will still use "jibberish" mixed in with some recognizable words.  If they speak clearly about half the time then they are fine.  Also, children UNDERSTAND a lot more than they can actually say.  If you feel like your child isn't talking as much as you would like, take inventory of how often you talk to them throughout the day (and not the TV talking to them).  I would always encourage my parents to talk to their child, even if it is a tiny baby and you are "talking to yourself".  Tell them what you are doing like "Mom is folding the laundry" or "let's go get something to eat for lunch".  I also feel like people think its a "race" to have their child walking before they are a year old.  That's great if your child has awesome gross motor skills!  But it's also great if your baby doesn't walk until 12, 13 or even 14 months old.  That is completely normal.  As a parent you always want to compare your child to other children their age, but that just isn't fair to your child or to you.  Every baby develops at their own pace.  But I do like to use the milestone sheets as a reference to "activities" I can do with Mr. Henry.  

I hope someone found this helpful, and you were able to understand my ramblings!  I'm not an expert by any means, I'm just using what I've learned in college, work, and real life.  

The Happiest Baby on the Block

Has anyone else out there heard of the book or the DVD "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Karp?  He is like the baby whisperer.  I learned about this gem while working at The Child and Family Support Center as a Home Visitor/Parent Educator.  Luckily for me I was pregnant and also had pregnant clients so we learned about the 5 S's together.  And lucky for you, I will share the magic of the 5 S's.  The DVD is better because it actually shows him doing these techniques on little crying babies and it ACTUALLY WORKS!  He is a miracle worker I tell ya.  The DVD is a little pricey so I wonder if you could check it out at a local library.  I would recommend it if you have a little baby that cries a lot or if you are pregnant and you want some helpful resources for when your soon to be baby won't stop crying.  So this reminded me of a time when Henry was about 2 weeks old and he was just sad and crying and it felt like we had tried everything.  Well turns out we did everything EXCEPT check his diaper.  The poor little guy had been sitting in a wet/dirty diaper for probably an hour.  Sometimes its something so simple that will stop the constant crying.  The 5 S's will come in handy when the "cure" isn't so simple.  

The 5 steps to a calm baby {I'm taking this word for word from the book The Happiest Baby on the Block} The book includes pictures which is helpful.  

The 1st "S"-- Swaddling:
Don't worry if your baby's first reaction to wrapping is to struggle against it.  Swaddling may not instantly calm her fussies but it will restrain her uncontrolled flailing so she can pay attention to the next "S" that will turn-on her calming reflex and guide her into sweet serenity! 

The 2nd "S"-- Side/Stomach:
The more upset your baby is, the unhappier she will be on her back.  Rolling your infant onto her side or stomach will make her much more serene.  Just this simple trick can sometimes activate a baby's calming reflex... within seconds. 

The 3rd "S"-- Shhhh
Shushing crying babies magically makes them feel at peace and back home, but you've got to do it about as loud as your baby's crying and close to her ear...or she won't even notice it.  Use this super-effective "S" to keep her calm throughout her fussy period by using a radio tuned to loud static, a tape recording of your hair dryer, or a white noise machine.  {I'm sure not many of us out there have a tape recorder anymore!  Old School! I have an app on my iphone that plays all sorts of noises like white noise, the ocean and even a hair dryer!}

The 4th "S"-- Swinging
Like vigorous shushing, energetic jiggling can turn your baby from screams to sweet serenity in minutes...or less.  As you support your baby's head and neck, wiggle her head with fast, tiny movements, sort of like you're shivering.  Once she's entranced you can move her swaddled into a swing for continual, hypnotic motion. Make sure the strap is between your baby's wrapped legs, the swing is fully reclined, and it's set on the fastest speed.  

The 5th "S"-- Sucking
This last "S" usually works best after you have already led your little one into calmness with the other "S's".  Offering her your breast, finger or a pacifier will be the icing on the cake of soothing.  You can teach your baby to keep the pacifier in her mouth by using "reverse psychology"-- the moment she begins to suck on the pacifier, gently tug on it as if you're going to take it out.  She'll suck it in harder and soon she'll learn to keep it in her mouth even when she's cooing.  

There you have it.  Simple right.  Okay maybe not so simple when you actually have a screaming baby.  Just keep calm and remember the "S's".  

Things that worked for Mr. Henry:

• The "shhhh" worked pretty well for him.  You really do have to get right up by their ear and make the "shhh" noise.  Henry would stop crying and look at me like "what is that noise!" 
• Henry also liked the "swinging".  He didn't actually like his swing, but he liked the "energetic jiggling".  I would just put him on my legs and hold his little head and wiggle my legs back and forth.  9 out of 10 times it would put him to sleep.  We had a little rocker chair that would vibrate and Henry loved the vibration.  He slept in that thing a lot.  We would also rock him in his cradle at nap time and at night.   
• I never remembered to do the "side/stomach" but I've seen other babies who love being held like a "football".  I'm sure if I had done it with Henry it would have worked.  I mean most people aren't comfortable lying flat on their back so why would a baby?  I actually like sleeping on my back, but I have to bend my knees.  It's kind of weird.  
• Henry never really learned how to keep a binky in and I even tried the "reverse psychology" when I would try to pull it out.  But it didn't matter because he started sucking his thumb around 3 months old and he would soothe himself. 

Dr. Karp says one of the reasons babies cry is because they are born "too soon".  During a training for work we watched a National Geographic Vide called The Science of Babies and it talked about how babies are born before they are fully developed.  The first few months of life a baby is still considered a fetus.  It is a really cool video, and I found it online so you can all watch it too!  Don't you just love educational videos.  I will warn you that some parts are a little hard to watch, at least they were for me.  Especially the part when a baby is born and isn't breathing! Scary.... but I will ruin it for you and say the baby is just fine!  So you don't have to worry when you watch it.  

Henry sleeping on my legs after I "jiggled" him to sleep.  He fell asleep like this a lot in the first few months!  I miss him being that little and just sleeping all the time.  What a fun stage {but also really hard too!}

Can we all agree that Henry has luscious lips.  Very kissable!

Here is a picture I took with my phone of the 5 "S's".  Not the best, but the text is what I already typed for you.  The pictures might be helpful.