Two Months! It doesn't sound like that long at all, but I still feel like keeping a tiny, helpless human alive that long is an accomplishment. Babies are hard, but SO worth it!
We still haven't started any sort of formal early learning plan yet (although, I just ordered some PlayWisely home curriculum and am excited to start). We just kind of do "learning" activities depending on his mood (although, honestly, at this point, he's learning no matter what he does).
Social/Language Development:
Archer is so much more fun now. He makes good eye contact and will often light up when he sees me. He becomes very engaged when I sing him songs, particularly ones that have arm motions (itsy bitsy spider, the elephant song, etc.). He also really likes it when I sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes to him and point to his body parts along with the song. Sometimes, he likes being read to, but only if I'm very animated. I also try to narrate or describe a lot of what I'm doing, partially for vocabulary exposure and partially because it is weird to be interacting all day with someone who doesn't speak.
He wants SO badly to talk. He is getting better at cooing, although, sometimes you can see that he really has to struggle to get the sounds out. His little brow will furrow and he'll scrunch up til he can do it. We're working on turn taking, where he'll coo and then we'll respond and so on.
Physical Development:
He still goes in his crawling track, just not as much as he "should." Spit-up is still an issue. In general, I'm trying to avoid putting him in baby "holders" all the time. Unless he's sleeping or we're out and about, I try to either be holding him or have him on the ground. That way he can move and learn how to use his arms and legs. I'm definitely not perfect, though! The bouncer has gotten us through a lot of meals.
He loves looking at his mirror. It is one of the things I can do to make tummy time more tolerable for him. Looking at his stimulation cards can also hold his attention for a while. My friend got him some baby paper, which is awesome. I put that down next to him to encourage him to use his hands while on his tummy. He's also got a couple of the Taggies crinkle toys.
Archer does seem to really enjoy his baby gym. He's working on being able to hit the toys on purpose (he does it on accident a lot).
Visual Development:
We use the crawling track and baby gym for this a lot too. I usually prop some books up for him to look at while he's in there. He really seems to like his book of animals, which surprised me, since I thought it might be a little hard for him to make them out. I try to do either black and white images or real photos. Cartoons are just such an abstract concept, that I try to avoid them when I can.
We've also been working on eye tracking. I use a toy or something in which he is interested, then move it back and forth for him to track. I also go up and down. He is getting so much smoother and rarely goes cross-eyed anymore!
I've noticed that when we do these kinds of focused activities, Archer is so much more content. Maybe he gets bored if he doesn't have enough stimulation? Regardless, we're having a blast watching him learn and develop!
I'd love to hear what activities your babies have enjoyed at this age.
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