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I do everything that i can to stimulate my sons interests and would like to increase my knowledge on what I can do to encourage anything and everything that he can learn on the way to toddlerhood :) any ideas that you have or have tried on your baby/child would be great to hear.
@trollbert... seriously... do you not have anything better to do? I wish i could be your friend. You're obviously in desparate need of some love. You probably want to put up a front but i am seriously here to help you if you need someone to talk to. Send me an email and i can try to help you as much as i can :)
Answer
I would take my son out for a walk daily when he was 9 months. It was the dead of winter here (January - Feb) but I would just bundle him up, put the weather guard over the stroller and off we'd go. He would often fall asleep but he would be up for at least some of the time, I would talk to him about the cars going by, or the busses..etc. Some of his first words were car and bus lol
I sang LOTS of song to him. The main ones were 'the wheels on the bus go round and round...", "Zoom, zoom. zoom, wer're going to the moon...", itsy bitsy spider...etc. Basically the songs that have a lot of movement and touching. He still loves those songs and he's almost 22 months.
On the nicer days, I would put him in the backpack carrier (BOBA carrier) and put my Suze's Kindercoat over top... and we'd go for long walks. I could talk to him a lot easier when he was on my back, and he LOVED it (actually still loves it).
I took him to the mall pretty often. It was a warm place that we could walk around and see things. I would just bring snacks with us (he was eating soft chunky foods by then), and I'd point things out to him. He seemed to like it.
I often took him swimming in warm teach pools. He loves to swim now, I think because I took him when he was so little. It's a great bonding experience too.
I think I started to take him to the gymnastics club around 9 or 10 months. Of course he couldn't run around but he liked to hold on to my hands and jump, with help, on the trampolines (the small ones). He also loved balls at that stage and the big exercise balls were fascinating for him. It was just somehting fun for him to do.
I also took him often to the library. He still loves it. I would pick out books for him (we still do that weekly) and we would also go to one of the free mom and baby programs that they offered through the week. I don't know if your library hosts these types of programs but they are great to start around 7+ months. Babies at that age like to watch other, older kids playing. It's good for them to watch interactions.
I also took my son to our community centre and parenting centre. I should add that I live in a traditionally high needs area so there are probably a few more services than average for parents, but you should be able to find parent-baby programs hosted by your local community centres, libraries, parenting centres (if you have them), cultural centres, churches...etc. They are a great resource for both you and your baby. Most of the programs offered from these venues are free. There are pay services too. I know there are things like gymboree, kindermusik....etc. I don't know how much they would get from these types of programs when they are so young but my son loves the kindermusik program now that he's a little older.
I should add that I read A TON to him. I would just 'read' the very simple board books to him. Basically I would describe what was going on in the picture, I rarely read what the words said. I don't think he was pointing by 9 months but he would stare at the pictures. Of course, his attention span was pretty short so once he start to seem bored with them, I would stop, and we'd get back to it later in the day. Now he goes and 'reads' to himself all the time. I have started actually reading soft covered books to him already (with pictures of course). He loves Caillou and Handy Manny.
Oh, I took him to the zoo when he was about 11 months, so if you've got a zoo where you live, that might be a good place to go.
Really, it's just to get your baby out and about - to stimulate your mind and provide a break from the dailiy monotony, and also for your son to just be a part of life. I don't think they necessarily take in life changing knowledge at that age but it provides stimulation. Also you probably will talk to him about things he's never seen. Even though he doesn't get what you're saying, he will be able to hear the excitement in your voice, and that's stimulation enough for their little brains. You certainly don't have to get out every day (I know it can be hard, especially if you live in a cold place) but if you can get out once or twice, it'll be good for you - which will make you a happier mom, which makes a happier baby ;)
Have fun!
I would take my son out for a walk daily when he was 9 months. It was the dead of winter here (January - Feb) but I would just bundle him up, put the weather guard over the stroller and off we'd go. He would often fall asleep but he would be up for at least some of the time, I would talk to him about the cars going by, or the busses..etc. Some of his first words were car and bus lol
I sang LOTS of song to him. The main ones were 'the wheels on the bus go round and round...", "Zoom, zoom. zoom, wer're going to the moon...", itsy bitsy spider...etc. Basically the songs that have a lot of movement and touching. He still loves those songs and he's almost 22 months.
On the nicer days, I would put him in the backpack carrier (BOBA carrier) and put my Suze's Kindercoat over top... and we'd go for long walks. I could talk to him a lot easier when he was on my back, and he LOVED it (actually still loves it).
I took him to the mall pretty often. It was a warm place that we could walk around and see things. I would just bring snacks with us (he was eating soft chunky foods by then), and I'd point things out to him. He seemed to like it.
I often took him swimming in warm teach pools. He loves to swim now, I think because I took him when he was so little. It's a great bonding experience too.
I think I started to take him to the gymnastics club around 9 or 10 months. Of course he couldn't run around but he liked to hold on to my hands and jump, with help, on the trampolines (the small ones). He also loved balls at that stage and the big exercise balls were fascinating for him. It was just somehting fun for him to do.
I also took him often to the library. He still loves it. I would pick out books for him (we still do that weekly) and we would also go to one of the free mom and baby programs that they offered through the week. I don't know if your library hosts these types of programs but they are great to start around 7+ months. Babies at that age like to watch other, older kids playing. It's good for them to watch interactions.
I also took my son to our community centre and parenting centre. I should add that I live in a traditionally high needs area so there are probably a few more services than average for parents, but you should be able to find parent-baby programs hosted by your local community centres, libraries, parenting centres (if you have them), cultural centres, churches...etc. They are a great resource for both you and your baby. Most of the programs offered from these venues are free. There are pay services too. I know there are things like gymboree, kindermusik....etc. I don't know how much they would get from these types of programs when they are so young but my son loves the kindermusik program now that he's a little older.
I should add that I read A TON to him. I would just 'read' the very simple board books to him. Basically I would describe what was going on in the picture, I rarely read what the words said. I don't think he was pointing by 9 months but he would stare at the pictures. Of course, his attention span was pretty short so once he start to seem bored with them, I would stop, and we'd get back to it later in the day. Now he goes and 'reads' to himself all the time. I have started actually reading soft covered books to him already (with pictures of course). He loves Caillou and Handy Manny.
Oh, I took him to the zoo when he was about 11 months, so if you've got a zoo where you live, that might be a good place to go.
Really, it's just to get your baby out and about - to stimulate your mind and provide a break from the dailiy monotony, and also for your son to just be a part of life. I don't think they necessarily take in life changing knowledge at that age but it provides stimulation. Also you probably will talk to him about things he's never seen. Even though he doesn't get what you're saying, he will be able to hear the excitement in your voice, and that's stimulation enough for their little brains. You certainly don't have to get out every day (I know it can be hard, especially if you live in a cold place) but if you can get out once or twice, it'll be good for you - which will make you a happier mom, which makes a happier baby ;)
Have fun!
Strollers are making me go insane?
FunkyMonke
So i have a high risk pregnancy and an overly cautious and slightly superstious husband, so i am 23 weeks and i have bought NOTHING... this however has been replaced by EXCESSIVE amounts of research on baby stuff, every freaking baby object you can imagine i have went nuts on reading reviews of, especially strollers. I have read so many blogs, seen so many pictures, i am literally obssessed with this stroller thing, i even read the reviews of European websites and i use a translator sometimes! I thought I had it figured out and settled on the Quinny Buzz + bassinet + Maxi-Cosi-Mico car seat, but then i realized the maxi cosi only lasts to 20 pounds and my friends baby is 22 pounds at 4 months! THen i saw the PEG PEREGO SKATE, and now i think i want that stroller instead. I was obssessed with the Stokke Explorey before i saw the Quinny in the store. I never liked the bugaboo b/c of it folds in two pieces. SO now i am just becoming super confused!!!!!!! What should i do? what stroller do i get? I am getting it later but i want to decide on it now? Please do not tell me i am insane for spending a lot of money on a stroller, i know it is excessive but when i went to Babies R US to look at the basic things like Graco and Evenflo I almost cried. They do not compare, and i do not want to buy another stroller in a year because those fell apart. I live in the city, the stroller has to be sturdy, i do not go on public transport pretty much ever , I do not use a car often, only with my husband (its a stick, i dont know how to drive it) ..... i want a stroller that is forward and rare facing and i want something that will last until child 1 is 4 and then through any other children i will have.
umm the stuff at babies r us sucked. They do not have the same stuff as they do online. They do not have stokke in stores or even bugaboo, atleast not the store i went to
Unfortuanatley i am in the US. The stroller options availabe in Europe just do not compare to anything we have here. The best strollers here are imported from EU, and only few are imported. You guys have the Joolz Bloom out recently, i can not even look at it as no store has it.
Answer
Wow!! You sound like me! I read some of your post to my husband, and he was cracking up because it sounds so similar. I have a huge spreadsheet comparing widths, weights, folds, etc. for a couple dozen different strollers but have pretty much narrowed it down to just a few. We just drove over two hours (each way) yesterday to go stroller shopping for the first time. At the first store, we saw the Orbit Baby, Stokke Xplory, and Quinny Buzz (as well as a less expensive model we didn't like at all called the EasyWalker Sky.) Even though my husband initially ruled out any 3-wheel styles, he loved the Quinny. (It actually has two little wheels instead of 1 in the front center position.) I definitely liked it best of those three. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the bassinet, which is something we'd definitely get. Then at the second store, we were able to see the Peg Perego Skate and the Bugaboo Cameleon. Well, my husband never, ever thought he'd want to spend $900 for a stroller (when I started my research, he thought even $500 was nutty), but it was seriously love at first sight. He really didn't even want to bother with the Cameleon after seeing the Skate. (In his words, it's like the Ferrari of strollers...the whole "Italian thing".) Like you, I had also ruled out the Bugaboo because of the 2-fold thing, but it's my mom's favorite (because of all the "pretty colors"), so I was trying to be open-minded. The only reservation I had had about the Skate (other than the high price, of course), prior to seeing it, was the weight: 33.7 lbs! But it didn't bother us at all. Like you, this is our first child so maybe we don't really "know" how much of a pain it's going to be to lift it in and out of the car every day. But we're both healthy, strong, fairly athletic people, so we decided it doesn't matter to us. I'd say that the bugaboo maneuvers every-so-slightly better than the Skate but not so much so that we'd consider it over the Skate. Now, the only other "serious contender" is one we haven't been able to see in person: the Uppababy Vista. It's a LOT cheaper and doesn't seem to have any major flaws (other than the 27" width when the regular all-terrain wheels are on it.) My parents (who live elsewhere in the country) have seen both the Skate and the Uppababy. Dad loved the uppababy but forgot why by the time he saw the Skate. (Clearly, he isn't taking this whole "stroller research" thing as seriously as he should!!) They saw the Skate and Cameleon side-by-side. Unfortunately, the salesman who demonstrated them was CLEARLY biased against the Skate and loved the Cameleon. I won't get into everything he said here, since this is already probably too long of a response, but suffice to say that I don't think it was a "fair comparison". So mom left the store still thinking the Bugaboo was still superior. That was disappointing for us, since we were hoping she'd share our "Skate excitement". Anyway, the only stroller other than the Uppababy I haven't seen and still haven't eliminated (based on negative reviews, specs, etc.) is the Bumbleride Queen B. But at this point, I'd say it's likely between the Uppababy and the Skate for us. Perhaps if we saw the Quinny bassinet and loved it, we *might* be tempted to put it back on our short list. But really, that convertible bassinet-seat feature is awesome. The guy who showed my parents the Skate emphasized that the Bugaboo bassinet is far superior in terms of baby's comfort, but to us (again, "first time parents", so take my comments with a grain of salt), the Skate bassinet looked plenty comfy! So I don't know if I've helped at all. Like you, I just want to DECIDE, even if we don't buy right away, so I can move on to the next decision (carriers/backpacks, perhaps...) And it sounds like we are basing our decision on very similar criteria. Have you seen the Skate in person? I think there's a very good chance that's what we'll end up with. The only remaining concern we have about the Skate is that it's the first model year, and there are bound to be minor glitches as a result, at least in some of the strollers they sent out. So that's a risk. My husband is going to call Peg Perego USA customer service on monday, partly to get answers to a couple little questions but also partly to find out how easy they are to deal with, in the event that we do get the Skate and have problems with it. I know Peg Perego is a solid brand that's been around forever. (My mom had Peg Peregos for my siblings and me!) But we're certainly not taking the decision to buy a $900 stroller lightly. (not to mention the $250 infant seat that goes with it and possibly the $100 matching storage bag...) Best of luck in your search! Hopefully, you'll just see one and just know that it's "the one" for you!!
Wow!! You sound like me! I read some of your post to my husband, and he was cracking up because it sounds so similar. I have a huge spreadsheet comparing widths, weights, folds, etc. for a couple dozen different strollers but have pretty much narrowed it down to just a few. We just drove over two hours (each way) yesterday to go stroller shopping for the first time. At the first store, we saw the Orbit Baby, Stokke Xplory, and Quinny Buzz (as well as a less expensive model we didn't like at all called the EasyWalker Sky.) Even though my husband initially ruled out any 3-wheel styles, he loved the Quinny. (It actually has two little wheels instead of 1 in the front center position.) I definitely liked it best of those three. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the bassinet, which is something we'd definitely get. Then at the second store, we were able to see the Peg Perego Skate and the Bugaboo Cameleon. Well, my husband never, ever thought he'd want to spend $900 for a stroller (when I started my research, he thought even $500 was nutty), but it was seriously love at first sight. He really didn't even want to bother with the Cameleon after seeing the Skate. (In his words, it's like the Ferrari of strollers...the whole "Italian thing".) Like you, I had also ruled out the Bugaboo because of the 2-fold thing, but it's my mom's favorite (because of all the "pretty colors"), so I was trying to be open-minded. The only reservation I had had about the Skate (other than the high price, of course), prior to seeing it, was the weight: 33.7 lbs! But it didn't bother us at all. Like you, this is our first child so maybe we don't really "know" how much of a pain it's going to be to lift it in and out of the car every day. But we're both healthy, strong, fairly athletic people, so we decided it doesn't matter to us. I'd say that the bugaboo maneuvers every-so-slightly better than the Skate but not so much so that we'd consider it over the Skate. Now, the only other "serious contender" is one we haven't been able to see in person: the Uppababy Vista. It's a LOT cheaper and doesn't seem to have any major flaws (other than the 27" width when the regular all-terrain wheels are on it.) My parents (who live elsewhere in the country) have seen both the Skate and the Uppababy. Dad loved the uppababy but forgot why by the time he saw the Skate. (Clearly, he isn't taking this whole "stroller research" thing as seriously as he should!!) They saw the Skate and Cameleon side-by-side. Unfortunately, the salesman who demonstrated them was CLEARLY biased against the Skate and loved the Cameleon. I won't get into everything he said here, since this is already probably too long of a response, but suffice to say that I don't think it was a "fair comparison". So mom left the store still thinking the Bugaboo was still superior. That was disappointing for us, since we were hoping she'd share our "Skate excitement". Anyway, the only stroller other than the Uppababy I haven't seen and still haven't eliminated (based on negative reviews, specs, etc.) is the Bumbleride Queen B. But at this point, I'd say it's likely between the Uppababy and the Skate for us. Perhaps if we saw the Quinny bassinet and loved it, we *might* be tempted to put it back on our short list. But really, that convertible bassinet-seat feature is awesome. The guy who showed my parents the Skate emphasized that the Bugaboo bassinet is far superior in terms of baby's comfort, but to us (again, "first time parents", so take my comments with a grain of salt), the Skate bassinet looked plenty comfy! So I don't know if I've helped at all. Like you, I just want to DECIDE, even if we don't buy right away, so I can move on to the next decision (carriers/backpacks, perhaps...) And it sounds like we are basing our decision on very similar criteria. Have you seen the Skate in person? I think there's a very good chance that's what we'll end up with. The only remaining concern we have about the Skate is that it's the first model year, and there are bound to be minor glitches as a result, at least in some of the strollers they sent out. So that's a risk. My husband is going to call Peg Perego USA customer service on monday, partly to get answers to a couple little questions but also partly to find out how easy they are to deal with, in the event that we do get the Skate and have problems with it. I know Peg Perego is a solid brand that's been around forever. (My mom had Peg Peregos for my siblings and me!) But we're certainly not taking the decision to buy a $900 stroller lightly. (not to mention the $250 infant seat that goes with it and possibly the $100 matching storage bag...) Best of luck in your search! Hopefully, you'll just see one and just know that it's "the one" for you!!
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