how much is too much?

[doodle]

my son stays awake for about an hour during the activity time during which, I am so afraid that I am going to over stimulate him.  I usually have him lying on the couch with me and we make faces and talk to  eachother (he is only 2 1/2 months so we aren't really talking! ).  I sometimes use rattles and put him in his bouncy chair and swing and show him a baby einstein DVD.  I want to start extending his awake time but I want to make sure I don't overstimulate him.  Does this sound like I'm on the right track?  Should I "liven" things up a bit as we work towards the 4 hr EASY?

If anyone could give me some ideas of what you are doing or what you did when your child was my son's age I would really appreciate it.

Thank you :lol:

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Hi, I wouldnt' worry about 4hr EASY just yet, I know it's something you want to strive towards, but I really didn't think about actively extending out activity time until my dd was over 3mths.  At this age, as long as you're following your ds's cues for when he's tired that's the best thing you can do.  Be guided by him for now, especially if what you're doing is working - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  When the time comes to stretch him out, I'd do it gently and in a low-key way - maybe walking around the house and talking about what you see.

As far as what else you can do, have you been doing tummy time on the floor (a hard surface is preferable, but if he's adverse to that at the moment, anywhere is fine). 
Looking in the mirror together. 
Just observing daily life is fine for now, he probably won't be too interested in toys just yet, but just hold them for him to focus on. 
I used to sing songs with actions (ie wheels on the bus and I'd move my dd's arms in circles, out and in, swishing etc). 
You can do cross-patterning which is where you have your ds lying on the floor on his back and cross the opposite arm and leg and touch together (it helps to programme for crawling later).

HTH

[2babies!]

Hello everyone!

I'm new to the forum, and to EASY but really want to give it my best shot.  I'm a mother of two 4 month old boys...both textbook with one a little spirited and maybe a dash of grumpy.  Our playtime consists of time spent on their blankets, mostly on their backs, sometimes on their tummies.  I use a few props, but they aren't overly interested in toys at this point.  I also sing to them and add movement (hand to foot, etc.) to their play.  This works best for the two of them, but they don't like to play here for long.  It's difficult for me to walk around with just one, while the other fusses, and so I'm looking for any suggestions on how to keep them awake and happy long enough to extend their activity time to at least one hour, or maybe an hour and a half if we are lucky.

Any advice would be appreciated!   

Thanks!

[kendallnangie]

Hi,
It sounds to me like you are doing a great job....I wouldn't worry about the 4 hour EASY until it is clear that the routine needs to change.My son(2) and my 9 month old daughter didn't go to a 4 hour until after 6 months ....It was actually kind of nice, my baby just now stopped taking her 3rd nap, in fact we are still working on getting her down to a solid 2 naps a day.
I think that for his age you are right on target for his awake time, if you want to increase it at all you could shoot for an hour and 15 minutes, but my first response is, if it isn't broken, don't fix it!!
HTH, you are doing great, keep watching his signs!
Angie

[velvet]

You know there is a great book (Easy and quick to read) called Gymboree Games for Infants. It's broken up into age categoris so 0-3months, 3-6 months, etc and it offers a lot of activities to do with your infant.  I found it very useful after I got the whole breastfeeding and sleeping thing down.  Once I got all that down, I was like, "Now what do I do with this little one?"  The book helped me. I got it from my library.

[2babies!]

Thanks for the book suggestion!  I'll have to check it out.  EASY is starting to look better and better every day.  I know it will take some work at first, but certainly my body feels better not NURSING them every hour!  Basically, I was taking every cry as a feeding cue - WRONG!  Now we nurse every three and they are happier after nursing - full too! 

They are also starting to get in the hang of going down for a nap...now if I can just get them through the 45 minute transition, we'll be all set!  I've tried (unsuccessfully) to be there at 35 minutes to soothe them through the jolt, but it hasn't worked for them yet.  Baby steps right?   

[velvet]

It'll all come together eventually- you sound like you're getting a hang of it though.  All the best of luck to you and your two babies!

[doodle]

Thanks for the book suggestion Velvet!  I have just ordered it from the library! 
I also was looking on the Huggies website and they have a whole bunch of age appropriate activities.

Thank you!

[velvet]

You're very welcome!  Fisher Price Website also has age related activities for infants and toddlers.  I like that Gymboree book though.  Now one more book I just discovered is brand new.  It's by the baby Einstein company.  It's called "Great Minds STart little - A guide for Parents".  I wish I had this one a bit earlier when my do was born.  It's really good for infants and toddlers too.