Things to do with a Newborn Baby

Being a first time mum, I really want to make sure I'm doing the best thing for S in helping her to develop and grow into a wonderful person. I haven't had much experience with children at all and was finding it somewhat difficult figuring out how to keep her entertained during the day and found that we were doing the same things over and over again which was becoming monotonous (for me mostly). So I've decided to enroll her into some activities so that we get out of the house a couple of days a week. Here's some of the things we're doing...

Mums and Bubs yoga

 

I did a 6 week pre-natal yoga course which I found really beneficial for all the back and pelvic pain I had during pregnancy. It was surprising I liked it so much as I had never been a fan of yoga before. The lady who ran the course also runs Mums and Bubs yoga, so I decided to also give this a go, and we had our first session last week.

The course runs for 6 weeks initially with the option to attend on a class by class basis afterwards. Each session runs for an hour, and includes relaxation. To be honest, I was a bit worried about bringing S in case she played up, but the instructor explained that it is completely normal behaviour for babies and it is expected that there will be crying/screaming/cooing in the classes and we are free to settle/feed/change babies as needed. This made me feel much more relaxed about it, and I felt like there was no pressure on me once S started to become unsettled about half way through the class. I probably only did half an hour of actual yoga between settling and feeding S, but I still had a great time and also met some lovely ladies that I'm looking forward to catching up with again next week.

Waterbabies Swimming
 
P grew up swimming, and with all the safety benefits to be had, it was not negotiable for us that S started swimming at a young age. Luckily S absolutely loves the water. Most places I looked at started classes at 6 months, however I found one that starts from as early at 10 weeks. Of course babies this young don't actually swim, but it is more to get them used to the water, and for some social interaction. By the time we start the semester she will be around 14 weeks old. Although it is currently winter, the pools are heated so I'm not dreading having to get in the pool myself!

Gymbaroo

 

I was not too sure about Gymbaroo as I thought it would be silly, but I took S for a free trial class and she loved it! I had never seen her smile to much, so I enrolled her straight away... Each class runs for 45 minutes, and is a combination of tummy time, song and rhyme, dancing, massage and much more. S managed to last 3/4 of the trial class before grizzling because she was tired which was a pretty good effort. The semester goes for 10 weeks, so we will trial for this semester and if she still likes it after a while may consider doing it for longer.

It may seem like a lot, but it gives us 2 full days at home during the week, and if I find it is too much we won't re-enroll in one of the activities for the next semester. We won't know until we try it!

What other activities have your little ones loved?