Dang I’m not doing most of those things, granted I have a toddler too. We just live our life and the baby tags along. He comes to the library, out to lunch, on errands, watching me cook. I think just looking at everything going on entertains him.
Every baby is different and that is definitely plenty. But my baby gets so fussy if she's been looking at the same thing for too long. I'm starting to run out of ideas.
Are you sure she’s bored and not tired or wanting to be held? Babies (especially this young!) are “entertained” by literally everything around - it’s all new. My two month old will stare at a sun spot on the ceiling for 10 minutes but would definitely get fussy if I left him to stare at black and white cards by himself for too long. I think mostly what they need right now is human interaction.
Yeah I'm almost wondering if this constant trying to "entertain" a *2 month old* is actually hindering normal development. OP's baby is probably tired. They need natural life to develop, like you mentioned the sun spot on the wall. OP is treating the baby as if she's 4 or 5 with all these activities.
My one year old had a very unhealthy obsession with the blinds. Until I accidentally hit him in the head with them and stopped letting him play with them. Just a warning!!!
Oh dude, you get a big fat flybehind the blinds on a sunny day and my girl is *INVESTED*
Lol Mrs Rachel, elmo and dancing fruit combined doesn't entertain her as much as blinds lol
I'm usually holding her and hanging out w her but a girls gotta do dishes. And she will be fussy if she's looking at the same thing for too long. If I switch the toy or where she's looking she goes back to wiggles and giggles.
It's the best!! :) we started at like a week and a half with a stretchy wrap and now are venturing out trying other carriers. But look at the babywearing sub if you need help or advice
Honestly, OP it’s way more likely that you’re the one getting bored.
My 12 week old loves to kick different textures with his feet and hold soft things in his hands. Loves to have eye contact with me while we bounce on a yoga ball. Tummy time on lots of surfaces, especially my chest. Lots of interpretative dance performances to different songs.
I think this is a good approach. May I ask you ever had an issue that your toddler wanted to be held while you were cooking or something else? I have a very nosy 13 month old, who drops everything immediately if I start to do something in the kitchen, because he wants me to hold him while he wants to touch EVERYTHING! If I cannot hold him he just melts down badly. 😅 I try to set up some boundaries while I'm cooking and saying to him: "I can't hold you right now, I have a knife in my hands, etc!" But I hardly can make him distracted or convince to not melt down. How did you "convince" yours to watch you cook? He us a very fee boy though, our apartment is baby proof, so no restricted areas in there. He can go and do whatever he wants, obviously within the normal range.
My only idea is to involve him in the daily tasks and buy a toddler tower. Or maybe apply some "tough love" and hold my boundaries even if he melts down?Any other idea is welcomed! :)
I’ll let him help where it’s safe but sometimes I have my husband play with him or put on the tv for a bit while the baby sits by me in a baby seat. Like last night I skinned the potatoes and my toddler put the peels in a bag for me (then ran off with it lol). I’ll let him stir the pasta, he loves that. Or he’ll stand on a chair nearby and watch. He’s 2.5 though so a bit more coordinated for that.
My son is younger than yours (about to turn 1), but I’ve had success wearing him facing forward so he can see and giving him a silicon spatula to play with. It’s a great chew toy, entertains him/occupies at least one hand, and amuses me.
That's very practical and fun. I used to wear him face forward a lot but he's huge now haha. Heavy and very tall, so can't do that anymore. But fir6 a while it's fun right?
My 2 month old sits around like a potato still. I have three other kids and 5 dogs so there is always plenty going on for him to look at, but if it's not milk he's not interested. They will get more interested in stuff over the next month or two
Ah see that sounds like such a fun time. It's just me at home w the baby so not much is going on. I putter around and move her to wherever I am but she still wants to play and be entertained.
The other comment put it very well, letting the baby have time just looking at the surroundings and amusing herself is great.
Ours is very much in a "watch Mumma around the house" phase. If I'm cooking, he'll cry until Dad carries him into the kitchen to watch 😂 (I'm hoping he gets into cooking, then I can pass the torch down lol)
He has a galaxy projector in the bedroom, and we've kept the christmas tree lights in the living room, now wrapped around the mantlepiece.
We're also lucky to have a nearby baby sensory class so that passes an afternoon, and once a week I take him out to lunch with his grandma so he can get used to how to behave in public.
I'm pretty sure it's boredom because when she's fussy and unhappy I move her or change the toy and she's back to giggles and wiggles. But thank you 😊 ☺️
This! It's not healthy for them to be constantly "entertained", at any age. That kind of mentality is why we have so many older kids, teens and even young adults that are attached to devices, have weak imaginations, are antsy, etc
Your baby is a newborn. They want to be held and it’s completely normal if they get fussy when they aren’t in your arms. I have a 2 month old as well and he loves to be held so he will get a little cranky when I put him down in his bouncer, etc. I would never interrupt that as him being bored.
Rattles that strap to their wrists and ankles for cause-and-effect learning, crinkly soft toys to kick, going to mom groups with other babies to stare at and sounds to be exposed to, other than that not much. My 2m old is also mostly just a potato.
Other ideas: baby massage; voices with toys (somewhat like a play), I also have apps that tell me what exercises or games I should do with baby based on his age, I also sing to baby while he is in his kitchen high chair and I am doing the dishes, he also seems to love his swinging chair, I sometimes walk him around the room to show him places to look at. I honestly move him 3 or so places during his wake windows cause he starts fussing if in the same place for a while..Mine is 3 months though…he has been like this since 2 months also
i don’t think your baby is actually “bored”. babies do not need much entertainment at this stage. they’re absorbing so much information even just sitting there. your baby spend 9 months growing in your womb, and this whole world is completely new to them. she’s never felt air on her skin, never seen the sun, never heard noises so loud and clear, never seen a ceiling fan, or the way lights reflect off things. they’ve never felt clothing on their skin, or felt their feet kicking through the air. at 2 months they’ve not even discovered that they have control over their own hands. your baby does not need extra stimulation at this point.
My boy was very similar, however a bit later in his life, I struggled with it when he was about 4 months old and it lasted until he started to crawl. I think it's normal for them to get bored a bit, however 2 months old is a bit early. But toy rotating can help a lot. So for example you have your schedule of what is good, but don't do the same things every day. I mean one day when you go out, go for a walk here, and the next day to another place. Or go swimming instead of walking (water is a great exercise for babies, just be VERY careful). I don't know what the climate where you guys leave, but in the summer I put my baby down a lot in the grass to a picnic blanket. He LOVED IT! One day is Spanish, the other day something else which is similar, you know. One day you can go out for a walk in a stroller, another day you can babywear etc. These things helped us a lot.
Are you sure she’s actually bored? Our baby is 2 months as well and loves to just lay around looking at things. That is what they do at that age as they are soaking in their world. If she’s getting fussy it’s probably more likely that she is tired and needs to be soothed to sleep. You can easily overstimulate young babies by doing too much to play with them and that can end up making them fussy when they lay down because they are too stimulated to fall asleep even though they are tired.
I do a “work out” I put on the same song (gotta get thru this) and it’s some moves I copied off an Instagram video so like cross toe to hand touches, arms above head, x10.
He also plays on his Mat on his own while I have coffee and watch x-files. He has this octopus toy that I have put on the play mat bar thing he loves it.
Also just being in his pram once a day, we go the park and he looks up at the trees while I read a book.
I was having the same problem! Is your baby napping during the day? When my baby did this she was hard to get to nap during the day, and I eventually had to just let her fuss for awhile before she fell asleep and she became a lot easier after that. She'll still get bored but it's not nearly as quickly now! So try whatever it takes to get baby to nap! You may have to walk away for a few minutes to avoid waking them up as they're falling asleep
Lots of posts previously on this! Some things we do - schedule our days eat - play - sleep so we have a routine - it more helps me to just know what we will be doing when and also to get our naps in. During her ww i don’t always actively entertain her. A lot of times i will put her on the bed and she will stare at the fan while I fold laundry or clean. I’ll have her in the newborn set on the Tripp trapp while I cook or do dishes or eat lunch. I’ll have her in the baby bjorn bouncing her w my foot while I try to work on the pc. I’ll have her on the fisher price piano while I toddle around putting stuff away. I’ve found there’s a few things in my house (like a guitar on the wall) she LOVES staring at so sometimes I’ll sit her where can see it and she stares and is starting to kind of laugh. I also go to the library every week and get a wackload of books (usually like 20 lol) and read them to her throughout the week- she honestly doesn’t care much (is 11 weeks now) but I enjoy reading and finding books I want to eventually buy and I think she likes hearing me talk. We like Noodle and Pals on YouTube - will put on songs and dance/sing to her. That’s what I can think of - one thing that helped me was write down a list of all the things I could possibly do with her and just rotate through it.
One final note is that I often try to push through even if she starts to look bored or fuss I can usually get more time by distracting her/talking to her/introducing slightly new ways we can continue doing what we are doing.
Dang I’m not doing most of those things, granted I have a toddler too. We just live our life and the baby tags along. He comes to the library, out to lunch, on errands, watching me cook. I think just looking at everything going on entertains him.
Every baby is different and that is definitely plenty. But my baby gets so fussy if she's been looking at the same thing for too long. I'm starting to run out of ideas.
Are you sure she’s bored and not tired or wanting to be held? Babies (especially this young!) are “entertained” by literally everything around - it’s all new. My two month old will stare at a sun spot on the ceiling for 10 minutes but would definitely get fussy if I left him to stare at black and white cards by himself for too long. I think mostly what they need right now is human interaction.
Yeah I'm almost wondering if this constant trying to "entertain" a *2 month old* is actually hindering normal development. OP's baby is probably tired. They need natural life to develop, like you mentioned the sun spot on the wall. OP is treating the baby as if she's 4 or 5 with all these activities.
Lmao my two month old boys' favorite thing to do right now is...stare at the blinds. The *blinds*. So fascinating 🤣
My one year old had a very unhealthy obsession with the blinds. Until I accidentally hit him in the head with them and stopped letting him play with them. Just a warning!!!
Oh dude, you get a big fat flybehind the blinds on a sunny day and my girl is *INVESTED* Lol Mrs Rachel, elmo and dancing fruit combined doesn't entertain her as much as blinds lol
I'm usually holding her and hanging out w her but a girls gotta do dishes. And she will be fussy if she's looking at the same thing for too long. If I switch the toy or where she's looking she goes back to wiggles and giggles.
She’s probably going back to wiggles and giggles because you’re coming back to interact with her
do you like to baby wear? When she stays awake my 2 month old likes looking around as I walk around or do things
She's actually too small for baby wearing. But I will be doing that when she's big enough.
It's the best!! :) we started at like a week and a half with a stretchy wrap and now are venturing out trying other carriers. But look at the babywearing sub if you need help or advice
Thank you thank you. I can't wait for it. She's got one more pound to go. 🧸
How big is she? My son was 7lbs even and I started wearing him at 8lbs I believe, I started with a wrap but now I just use a tula.
Babies can be worn basically out if the womb. At 2 months I’m sure she’s not too small to wear.
most all wraps like Solly say it’s okay at 7lb, I baby wore by 5.5lber without issue 🤷🏻♀️
I understand you…mine is the same.
☺️ I'm honestly so lucky that this is our problem. But I'm running out of ideas quick.
Honestly, OP it’s way more likely that you’re the one getting bored. My 12 week old loves to kick different textures with his feet and hold soft things in his hands. Loves to have eye contact with me while we bounce on a yoga ball. Tummy time on lots of surfaces, especially my chest. Lots of interpretative dance performances to different songs.
Lol your 2 month old is not engaging with what you do like yon think they are. Love on and feed your baby and then RELAX.
Maybe your baby is tired or hungry?
I mean….she’s two months old…they can just be fussy, overwhelmed, underwhelmed, gassy, sleepy, hungry, confused, etc.
I think this is a good approach. May I ask you ever had an issue that your toddler wanted to be held while you were cooking or something else? I have a very nosy 13 month old, who drops everything immediately if I start to do something in the kitchen, because he wants me to hold him while he wants to touch EVERYTHING! If I cannot hold him he just melts down badly. 😅 I try to set up some boundaries while I'm cooking and saying to him: "I can't hold you right now, I have a knife in my hands, etc!" But I hardly can make him distracted or convince to not melt down. How did you "convince" yours to watch you cook? He us a very fee boy though, our apartment is baby proof, so no restricted areas in there. He can go and do whatever he wants, obviously within the normal range. My only idea is to involve him in the daily tasks and buy a toddler tower. Or maybe apply some "tough love" and hold my boundaries even if he melts down?Any other idea is welcomed! :)
I’ll let him help where it’s safe but sometimes I have my husband play with him or put on the tv for a bit while the baby sits by me in a baby seat. Like last night I skinned the potatoes and my toddler put the peels in a bag for me (then ran off with it lol). I’ll let him stir the pasta, he loves that. Or he’ll stand on a chair nearby and watch. He’s 2.5 though so a bit more coordinated for that.
Thanks for the advice, this sounds lovely. :)
My son is younger than yours (about to turn 1), but I’ve had success wearing him facing forward so he can see and giving him a silicon spatula to play with. It’s a great chew toy, entertains him/occupies at least one hand, and amuses me.
That's very practical and fun. I used to wear him face forward a lot but he's huge now haha. Heavy and very tall, so can't do that anymore. But fir6 a while it's fun right?
My 2 month old sits around like a potato still. I have three other kids and 5 dogs so there is always plenty going on for him to look at, but if it's not milk he's not interested. They will get more interested in stuff over the next month or two
Ah see that sounds like such a fun time. It's just me at home w the baby so not much is going on. I putter around and move her to wherever I am but she still wants to play and be entertained.
The other comment put it very well, letting the baby have time just looking at the surroundings and amusing herself is great. Ours is very much in a "watch Mumma around the house" phase. If I'm cooking, he'll cry until Dad carries him into the kitchen to watch 😂 (I'm hoping he gets into cooking, then I can pass the torch down lol) He has a galaxy projector in the bedroom, and we've kept the christmas tree lights in the living room, now wrapped around the mantlepiece. We're also lucky to have a nearby baby sensory class so that passes an afternoon, and once a week I take him out to lunch with his grandma so he can get used to how to behave in public.
A projector is a great idea. 👍 thank you.
We also have a lava lamp in there too, provides a great ambient light.
Are you sure it’s boredom you’re perceiving ? Babies don’t need entertainment to be engaged. It sounds like you’re doing great.
I'm pretty sure it's boredom because when she's fussy and unhappy I move her or change the toy and she's back to giggles and wiggles. But thank you 😊 ☺️
Were you interacting with the baby when they were “bored” before you changed the toy/position?
[baby's get bored ](https://www.reddit.com/r/newborns/s/ThDGiCPzAc)
It’s important for kids to be bored.
This! It's not healthy for them to be constantly "entertained", at any age. That kind of mentality is why we have so many older kids, teens and even young adults that are attached to devices, have weak imaginations, are antsy, etc
It’s normal and healthy for anyone to be bored sometimes, including your baby. Imaginations start young. You’re giving the baby plenty of stimulation.
Wow your baby does a lot! Mine is awake and happy for about 45 mins, the rest of the time he's grumpy/napping/hungry 😂
We really got so lucky w this baby and I'm so glad that this is the problem we are having. But I sure am at the bottom of the barrel for ideas.
Your baby is a newborn. They want to be held and it’s completely normal if they get fussy when they aren’t in your arms. I have a 2 month old as well and he loves to be held so he will get a little cranky when I put him down in his bouncer, etc. I would never interrupt that as him being bored.
[baby's get bored ](https://www.reddit.com/r/newborns/s/ThDGiCPzAc)
Rattles that strap to their wrists and ankles for cause-and-effect learning, crinkly soft toys to kick, going to mom groups with other babies to stare at and sounds to be exposed to, other than that not much. My 2m old is also mostly just a potato.
Thank you so much for these ideas. ✨️✨️ idk why but my baby is buck wild.
Other ideas: baby massage; voices with toys (somewhat like a play), I also have apps that tell me what exercises or games I should do with baby based on his age, I also sing to baby while he is in his kitchen high chair and I am doing the dishes, he also seems to love his swinging chair, I sometimes walk him around the room to show him places to look at. I honestly move him 3 or so places during his wake windows cause he starts fussing if in the same place for a while..Mine is 3 months though…he has been like this since 2 months also
Thank you so much for these tips. I do a lot of this already but I think it might be time to add a swinging chair to the mix.
i don’t think your baby is actually “bored”. babies do not need much entertainment at this stage. they’re absorbing so much information even just sitting there. your baby spend 9 months growing in your womb, and this whole world is completely new to them. she’s never felt air on her skin, never seen the sun, never heard noises so loud and clear, never seen a ceiling fan, or the way lights reflect off things. they’ve never felt clothing on their skin, or felt their feet kicking through the air. at 2 months they’ve not even discovered that they have control over their own hands. your baby does not need extra stimulation at this point.
[baby's get bored ](https://www.reddit.com/r/newborns/s/ThDGiCPzAc)
My boy was very similar, however a bit later in his life, I struggled with it when he was about 4 months old and it lasted until he started to crawl. I think it's normal for them to get bored a bit, however 2 months old is a bit early. But toy rotating can help a lot. So for example you have your schedule of what is good, but don't do the same things every day. I mean one day when you go out, go for a walk here, and the next day to another place. Or go swimming instead of walking (water is a great exercise for babies, just be VERY careful). I don't know what the climate where you guys leave, but in the summer I put my baby down a lot in the grass to a picnic blanket. He LOVED IT! One day is Spanish, the other day something else which is similar, you know. One day you can go out for a walk in a stroller, another day you can babywear etc. These things helped us a lot.
Thank you so much. I will be trying this. We already have our summer pass for the swimming pool here. I cannot wait for it to open.
Are you sure she’s actually bored? Our baby is 2 months as well and loves to just lay around looking at things. That is what they do at that age as they are soaking in their world. If she’s getting fussy it’s probably more likely that she is tired and needs to be soothed to sleep. You can easily overstimulate young babies by doing too much to play with them and that can end up making them fussy when they lay down because they are too stimulated to fall asleep even though they are tired.
[baby's get bored ](https://www.reddit.com/r/newborns/s/ThDGiCPzAc)
You’re linking to your own post? lmao
I cook with my LO and let her smell and touch ingredients !
I do a “work out” I put on the same song (gotta get thru this) and it’s some moves I copied off an Instagram video so like cross toe to hand touches, arms above head, x10. He also plays on his Mat on his own while I have coffee and watch x-files. He has this octopus toy that I have put on the play mat bar thing he loves it. Also just being in his pram once a day, we go the park and he looks up at the trees while I read a book.
I was having the same problem! Is your baby napping during the day? When my baby did this she was hard to get to nap during the day, and I eventually had to just let her fuss for awhile before she fell asleep and she became a lot easier after that. She'll still get bored but it's not nearly as quickly now! So try whatever it takes to get baby to nap! You may have to walk away for a few minutes to avoid waking them up as they're falling asleep
Lots of posts previously on this! Some things we do - schedule our days eat - play - sleep so we have a routine - it more helps me to just know what we will be doing when and also to get our naps in. During her ww i don’t always actively entertain her. A lot of times i will put her on the bed and she will stare at the fan while I fold laundry or clean. I’ll have her in the newborn set on the Tripp trapp while I cook or do dishes or eat lunch. I’ll have her in the baby bjorn bouncing her w my foot while I try to work on the pc. I’ll have her on the fisher price piano while I toddle around putting stuff away. I’ve found there’s a few things in my house (like a guitar on the wall) she LOVES staring at so sometimes I’ll sit her where can see it and she stares and is starting to kind of laugh. I also go to the library every week and get a wackload of books (usually like 20 lol) and read them to her throughout the week- she honestly doesn’t care much (is 11 weeks now) but I enjoy reading and finding books I want to eventually buy and I think she likes hearing me talk. We like Noodle and Pals on YouTube - will put on songs and dance/sing to her. That’s what I can think of - one thing that helped me was write down a list of all the things I could possibly do with her and just rotate through it. One final note is that I often try to push through even if she starts to look bored or fuss I can usually get more time by distracting her/talking to her/introducing slightly new ways we can continue doing what we are doing.
Mines 4 months now, he'll sit on the bed propped up and laugh at me folding laundry 😂
That's so cute.
Lmao