5 Activities and tips to help your baby’s development during the first two months:

Tips:

1. Give your baby lots of physical attention, visual and auditory attention.

Example: Implement during your daily activities such as getting them dressed, changing their diaper, feeding them and bathing them. Talk with your child to give them a play-by-play of what you are doing. “Your diaper is dirty, let’s go change it. We are walking to the room now, here is the changing table. I am going to lay you down now. Here are the wipes and diaper. Let’s take off this dirty diaper. This wipe is going to be cold. Oh! So cold! Let’s put on your new diaper. Alright, now here come your pants. One leg in, another leg in. Woohoo! All done!!!” When you pick up your child, give them lots of cuddles and kisses.

Read, sing and talk to your baby.

Example: Read them stories and show them pictures. Throughout the day, sing songs to them or simply talk to them while you are going about your business. If you are cooking in the kitchen, you can put them in a baby chair/swing in a safe area and simply talk while you are doing things. “I am going to cut veggies for some stir-fry. Here is the zucchini. Your big sister says she doesn’t like zucchini, but she really does.” Again, it is just exposing them to language as well as creating bonds. It is never too early to provide your child with a rich learning environment.

2. Help your child learn self-soothing skills.

Example: they can do this by sucking on their thumb, hand or pacifier. It is important for your child to begin to learn how to self-regulate. When they begin to fuss, it is, of course, important to respond timely, because this is how you build a loving and trusting relationship between you and your child, however; it is also important to give your child time to learn these skills. You can do this by not rushing to your child the first second they squawk.

3. Implement a routine.

Example: Helping your child learn a sleep pattern. Do not let them sleep all day because they will be up all night. A newborn, of course, is sleepy by nature, but you can help them figure out their days and nights by not letting them sleep longer than a three-hour block during the day. If need be, change their diaper, feed them, wipe them with a cool cloth. Providing your child with a consistent and regular schedule with help your baby feel comfortable and confident.

4. Get to know your baby and learn their different cries.

Example: Pay close attention to your child’s likes and dislikes. What do they respond well to? How do they like to be held? Do they like to be swayed or bounced? Do they like certain sounds, like “Shhhhhhh?” Do they make different cries for various needs i.e. tired, hungry, diaper change? Do they rub their eyes or do their eyes get red when they are tired? These are all clues to pay close attention to in order to respond appropriately to your baby.

5. Show varied expression and copy your baby’s sounds.

Example: Show excitement and lots of intonation. Make different exaggerated facial expressions and copy the sounds your baby makes back to him. This is another one you may feel silly doing, but infants love to look at faces and it’s a great way to help your child learn emotions, receptive language and help to build bonds.

Activities:

1. Play “peek-a-boo” with lots of expressions

2. Place a baby-safe mirror on an activity mat. You can fix the mirror for your child to lay on their back and stare up at or you can prop it up for your child to look at during tummy time.

3. Play “this little piggy” on their toes

4. Take a music instrument to get your baby’s attention. Help your child with visual tracking. Very slowly move that instrument or noisemaker, once your child’s eyes are locked on it.

5. Move your baby’s arms and legs gently during songs. For example: “the wheels on the bus” you can gently move their arms in a circular motion.

Resources:

www.pathways.org

5 Activities & Tips for your 0-2 Month Old