Author Topic: Less stimulating activities?  (Read 1470 times)

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Offline jmcinnes

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Less stimulating activities?
« on: January 04, 2006, 16:01:32 pm »
Does anyone have suggestions for less stimulating activities for a 5.5 month old.  My lo gets so worn out during her activity period that she needs to go down for naps sooner and it throws her routine off.  She is a spirited baby, so she likes to be busy all the time.
Jennifer

Offline HeatherC

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Less stimulating activities?
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2006, 16:08:02 pm »
Can you tell us what activities she currently has?  Do you try to limit the number of toys in front of her at a time?  Could you try walking around the house, looking at photos, have touch/feel time when you explain different objects to her?  Simple conversation can be just as enjoyable as toys.  I don't have a spirited child, though, so someone else may have better suggestions.
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007

Offline Deb_in_oz

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Less stimulating activities?
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2006, 21:29:10 pm »
some great non-toy activities are nature and people oriented. whether at homeorout of the house olivia loved/still loves to look at trees, is obsessed with bird watching - she will stand at the window leaning on it just watching because she can hear them, she will sit on the grass and play with a few leaves for ages or blades of grass

she likes to watch whatever anyoe else  is doing, enjoys watchign the world from her stroller etc

she will sit still (sometimes) for a video (Baby einstein, Spot, Bear in the big blue house Whatever big sis is watching) - at least her muscles get a break for 10 min

i think you can do only so much to keep it low key (ie wait a little longer for more intense toys)  because these spirited ones will find everythign stimulating and the more physical they get the more tiring it is. i just endured 5 weeks of (i now realize) overtiredness because she now stands and cruises. finally i decided to move her naps back a half hour the other day and PROBLEM SOLVED and she has been napping for longer so it has not really "thrown us off track". it is just exhaustig being them (and caring for them KWIM) and olivia is not even walking yet - i cannot imagine how i will get her to stay still then  :lol:
Debra - a New Yorker living in Australia married to a Brit

dd1 - Textbook/Angel, born July 2003
dd2 - Spritied through & through, born Feb 2005

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Offline jmcinnes

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Less stimulating activities?
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2006, 22:23:22 pm »
Thank you Heather and Debra! 

She does love to be outside and go for walks, but the rain has just been non-stop here, and we've been trapped in the house, which doesn't help. 

Debra - It's nice to know other people know what you are talking about.  How much activity time is she getting and how long are her naps?
Jennifer

Offline Deb_in_oz

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Less stimulating activities?
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2006, 22:37:04 pm »
olivia is now 10 1/2mo old and i recently posted her routine on the easy board (6-12 mo) :

at 10 months this is Olivia's routine:
wake up time averages 6:30
7ish breakfast
8:30 bottle
9/9:15 down for nap
wakes either 45min later or sometimes does 1- 1.5 hrs
11/11:30 lunch
12:30/12:45 bottle
1:15 down for nap - generally sleeps 1:30-3pm but can go as long as 2.25 hrs and can start as late as 2pm  (ETA: i started putting her down at 1pm this week because she is ill and very active and both were tiring her out- yesterday she did her first 2.25hrs nap in ages)
5/5:30 dinner
6:30 first offer bottle
6:45 or so bath
7:15 finish bottle and down for bed before 7:30

i detailed her increases in A time on the spirited baby sticky also on EASY. she seemed to incraese it every month from 4 1/2 mo onwards. always shortest A time in the morning and longest one is before bed (once we dropped the catnap she was up from 2:30/3 to bedtime and every so oftenif she has a bad day we end up having a late afternoon nap)

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She does love to be outside and go for walks, but the rain has just been non-stop here, and we've been trapped in the house, which doesn't help.

i bet you can easily occupy her calmly for 15 min a day looking at the rain - tell her about the rain, the drops and just let her watch it - if you look at it from their perspective rain is fantastic - my 2.5 yo loves to play in the rain and get wet, olivia likies to watch it and touch it (different to regular stuff...) do you have a porch or any covered outside area she could sit outside and still be "in the rain" etc.   we are lucky enough to have a covered deck so on rainy days the girls still play outside
Debra - a New Yorker living in Australia married to a Brit

dd1 - Textbook/Angel, born July 2003
dd2 - Spritied through & through, born Feb 2005

Check out my website:   Home Life Simplified
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Offline HeatherC

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Less stimulating activities?
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2006, 01:22:59 am »
Kelsey likes to play with the water from the faucet.   :lol:
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007