Hello! It's been a while, and it will probably be a while yet before I post regularly again, but I thought I'd do a quick newborn update.
Newborn goals:
- Face to Face Time - we try to make sure we spend some time making eye contact and talking to her (and how could you not want to have lots of chats with your new baby?). We smile at her often and she's starting to smile back, especially if I use a silly high pitched voice. Her brothers love getting in her face (probably a little too close) and chatting with her. Surprisingly, she particularly seems to like when Archer chats with her, despite Xander being much calmer and gentler with her.
- Stimulating both sides - she's too little to truly do a lot of activities that cross the midline, but I do make an effort to stimulate both sides of her body and encourage her to practice turning her head. I rub her head, arm and leg on while I'm nursing, and then do the opposite side when she nurses on the other side. We shake rattles on one side of her head until she will turn towards it and then try the other side. She's not ready to follow with her eyes directly, but we will get there.
- Tummy Time - We do a lot of tummy time on a family member, which she seems to prefer. We also get some tummy time in on the crawling track or just on the floor. The amount of time she will be content there varies, so we just follow her lead. Also, she has started rolling from front to back, so it is now harder to keep her on her tummy. I also try to make sure she is barefoot, if not barelegged so she can get that sensory input and grip into the surface better.
- Visual Stimulation - we try to provide lots of high contrast "interesting" things to look at. She has various black and white cards and toys to look at. She also really seems to like looking at windows or being walked around the house in the evening to see the different light fixtures.
- Freedom of Movement - so this is where we are kind of mixed as far as early learning goes, at least for this age. Ideally, she would always have freedom of movement for her arms and legs. While I do avoid "baby holders" for the most part, we do swaddle her at night. Without it, she just can't stay asleep and she's too cranky to enjoy her awake time (and so am I). She also really likes being worn in a wrap, which holds her pretty snugly against my body. I tend to wear her when we are out and about, since it is safer than keeping her in the infant car seat. I also wear her during the day if she's cranky and can't seem to calm down for very long. To me, it is about balance.