Saving on Toys

I believe, almost every child has piles of toys. So does Maria. And I guess, in most cases they are all over the nursery or accurately in the box put there by caring hands of mum. Same case with Maria. She receives a new toy, plays with it max 5 min and that’s it. In the next days, she can play with it but it would be only for a very short time.

I understand it: child is a very fast learner and needs much more information than we supply him/her in the form of toys. So, I decided to help Maria continue explore the world and offer her toys which I usually play with in the kitchen (I have also rated these things according to the Maria's preference and duration of playing with the thing, 5-best, 1-worst):

1. colander – 4, interesting but not very long to play with;
2. wooden spoon – 3, keeps attention for short time period, too simple;
3. plastic bottle – 2, not very comfortable to hold;
4. jar top – 5, very good toy, easy to hold, makes sound if to knock with it;
5. sponge – 2, nice thing to take into the mouth, too short in keeping attention;
6. rubber gloves – 4, smooth surface, interesting texture;
7. washing machine – 5, very good at keeping attention, always some action and sound;
8. comb – 5, super-toy!


Actually, these are just some examples, but they are a lot of fun for Maria when I cook. One can think of many other adult toys that would suit for a child to play with (they need to be SAFE!!!). Nowadays many babies (future generation =)) are crazy about pults, mobiles, keyboard, mouse. Maria is not an exclusion that is why she is having her own PC mouse, which is out-of-order now and which I would give a 5!!! rating.

How to Start Creeping?

I was longing for the moment Maria will begin creeping on her all four (before she was pretty fast in crawling) as it trains well the muscles of all body, improves coordination and symmetrically develops the body. This day has finally come and now she can slowly creep, gaining speed with every day!

Definitely Bobath gymnastics helped... Also at home we’ve tried to do some training: e.g. we held Maria’s legs, while she was leaning on her hands, holding the weight of her body. However, I believe the biggest contribution to the ability to creep was provided by the barriers we put on her way when she was trying to reach the desired thing. The barriers were created by the parents, by their bodies and legs =). Also she went over the blankets and pillows. Barriers were everywhere.

Of course, in the beginning it was quite hard, but she improved as days passed. She had a very good motivation in the form of dad’s mobile =). Afterwards, it was easy for her to put straight arms on a shelf (on the surface above the floor). Gradually, she moved to the horizontal surface, to the floor, and could easily stand on all four. Creeping came almost immediately afterwards!

Results of Gymnastics

So, series of our Bobath trainings have finished. I would not say that it significantly improved skills of Maria. She cannot creep yet, but it is good that she tries to. It turned out also that there is a slight muscle tonus in her arms, which we try to eliminate by doing massage.

Physiotherapist said that overall development of Maria is pretty good, but it is good to work out her arms, hands, fingers. When answering my question on what is Bobath gymnastics, she said that it is all joints work out. Its difference from usual gymnastics is that it is made not by the person itself, but by someone else.

I’m very glad that we did this course of trainings. Maria has certainly gained thanks to it: became stronger, obtained some more life experience and social skills. For me it was also good to see how professional works as now I can continue her job inhouse and we can do gymnastics together with Maria at home.

Singing for babies

“Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.”
- Ronald Reagan

Music is a magic! It can change the mood, it creates atmosphere of piece, chaos, harmony etc. (whatever one wishes). I have never met a person who does not like music. The same case is with children! They love music but more they love when their mums sing. According to my experience, singing songs is the most efficient way to calm baby down.

Singing was the only way to calm Maria down, when she had colics – I needed to sing something. Now she also adores listening to songs, having preferences for certain songs. For instance, one of her favourite songs is Once Upon a December from Anastasia movie. For her it is associated with certain ritual: I’m holding her tight and we are dancing and whirling… She starts to laugh, she becomes happy upon she hears first notes of this songs!

Cuckoo

Cuckoo or hide-and-seek is one of the games Maria loves the most at this age. Usually it is me who hides behind the fitball, door, blanket etc. After a while with a cry: “Cuckooooo!” I show up, but every time in different place of the thing I hide behind (sometimes, though, in the same place for the game to become more interesting). Maria is excited and laughs loudly when she guesses the exact place I peek out.

Another variant of this game, Maria also enjoys a lot, is that I cover her with a piece of cloth asking "Where is Maria?", and then remove it saying "Here is Maria". Sometimes Maria is faster than I and removes the cloth herself.

We play this game several times during the day but for a very short time. I would say that this game trains attention of the child. Moreover, I have noticed that her reaction got much better, she is faster in identifying what and where is going on.

Exploring the World

Maria is fond of studying not only herself. There is felt an irresistible need of exploring the surrounding world. When we are outside, I always try to show the beauty of the nature: I give her to touch and crumple the leaves, twigs, cones etc. She gets fantastically excited about it, obviously liking to study new stuff.

When we walk around and Maria does not want to sleep, I remove the hood of the pram so that she has a good observation angle. It gets truly interesting for her to observe trees when there is a wind which moves the twigs and leaves. Finally, the winter has started here, which gives the possibility to feel how cold snow is and to see how brilliantly white it is.

Maria also adores looking out of the window, from which a nice vista opens. Indeed, it is a good calming way when she becomes nervous. I tell her about passing cars, walking people, babies in prams with their moms, flying airplanes, light in the windows in the dark time. Standing by the window in the day and night and holding tightly the baby is a great feeling for both, I am sure!