What do you do to keep you high needs baby entertained?

[donnag]

How do you keep your high needs baby entertained all day, every day? I have a high needs 5 and a half month old girl (Lara) and find it hard to keep her happy all day. I take her out in the carrier a couple of times a day, play peek a boo, sing and dance, we have a bouncy chair, activity mat, jumperoo etc but still feel like I might be missing something. Her attention span is so short 10 - 30 mins! I also go to a parent and baby group once a week - although after the first hour she has had enough now and I ended up feeling embarrassed because she is always the 'badly behaved' baby! Would love to hear what other people do with their high needs babies.....

[Hollyadmin]

It's tough to keep them entertained all day, that's for sure!!  You didn't mention if you have an exersaucer?  That was really helpful for us.

It sounds like you're doing most of the things I would suggest. I remember feeling like I just wanted to stay home and do 'normal mom' things, like bake cookies, organize closets, etc., but it was so hard (if not impossible) when Sammy was a baby.

Definitely you're on the right track with the sling!  I took Sammy to 3 playgroups a week - M/W/F mornings we were out which was GREAT...it usually meant he'd have a decent nap after, and I got to be with other moms.

Does she generally do better when you're out and about?  

Have you tried a Baby Einstein DVD?

Sammy loved loud music...I found he would play longer on his own if there was some loud music on.

I will keep thinking and let you know if I come up with anything else!

[donnag]

Thanks Holly

Yes in general she is much better when we are out - especially if we keep moving and she is seeing new things. The problem with my parent baby group is that it usually goes on for over 2 hours and is in a room with no windows and no focus on interaction with the babies. Once she has looked at all the other people, babies and played with the toys I have taken with us she has had enough! I recently signed up for a 6 week nurturing pathways course and our local baby story time at the library starts again soon - hoping these will be better options.

I'll try play music when I leave her to play and check out baby einstein and let you know how that goes.

[Hollyadmin]

Sounds like a pretty boring playgroup for a baby lol

The one we went to took place in a community gym...there was a special area for babies with mats, toys, books, and a singing time at the end. The rest of the gym had slides, equipment, ride-on toys...a baby/toddler's paradise!

[donnag]

Yeah it's pretty boring for Lara - LOL !

I am looking for more of a playgroup in my area, but not found one yet. The group we go to is much more a parent/baby class (based at the hospital) so more focus on the parents than on the babies unfortunately. There seems to be a lack of playgroups here - I am currently living in Washington state on the Seattle Eastside (Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue area) just in case anyone else in that area should read this and know of any playgroups!

[fbsurvivor]

You might try joining a playgroup for toddlers.  I know that my daughter loved daycare, but she was the youngest.  I think she was entertained by what the older kids were doing.  In a lot of ways the alertness of the high needs babies is much more like a toddler.  They are just much more engaged in their world.

Also, you're pretty close to that turning point of 6 months.  A lot of high needs babies turn a corner then.  My daughter was able to sit up and was suddenly far easier to entertain.  Literally within a week she was a different baby.

But we did exhaust ourselves trying to entertain my dd.  I would try to do peek-a-boo as many different ways as I could think of.  One of those bouncy chairs with the dangling toys helped some as well.  There's also those tummy time centers where they can also be on their backs.  Music was also a big hit as well as dancing with her.  I was just thrilled that I could entertain and distract her, even though it was exhausting.

On the baby groups, have you tried meetup.com?

[sombrabella]

I feel for you with the playgroup thing. My son is always the baby who fusses, and we usually have to leave early 

As a side note, I would check out Meetup.com as was mentioned earlier...that's where I found my playgroup. Or you can start your own for high-needs babies!

[donnag]

fbsurvivor - thank you for your post. When I read it this evening I had to share it with my husband. The funniest thing has happend - Lara who is just over a week off 6 months is like a different baby these past couple of weeks! She actually started sitting on her own today, started sleeping through the night and is happy for most of the day! It's like a completely different world to the past 5 and a half months - if this is what 'normal' babies are like then I can see why other moms with 'easy' babies don't get it!

Who knows how long this 'happy' phase will last, but we are loving it!

Thanks also for the meetup.com tip - I have looked on there and also found a playgroup in my area which I am looking into.

[fussyinflorida]

Yes, I can empathize with you too b/c we have decided the Mommy and Me groups just aren't for us. My little one can't sit on my lap for any duration of time. He needs to be held and walked around and it doesn't seem to work during the get togethers, so unfortunately we had to quit.  I'm hoping we can rejoin when he is older and less high maintenance.

[crissy]

I have a 12 month old, there was an age where he became easier to entertain and some days are easier than others.  My son likes the outdoors.  If I want him to be content playing, we go outside and he plays in the grass. For some reason just being outside turns him into a different child.  I do the same thing when I have a hard time winding him down for a nap...put him in the stroller and go for a walk.