Baby Bath Time

Ah.... Cleanliness..

This is an area that the wife is so much better at than I. Especially when she was younger I just couldn't keep her situated or from sliding around in the tub when she was all soaped up. We had a lifesaver of a bathtub that fit perfectly in our kitchen sink. At first she hated, I mean hated her baths. If you were a neighbor you'd probably would have thought we were murdering her. By about 3 months though she was in love with them. She would kick and splash around in the water like a little fish.

Once she got a little bigger (around June/July) we went swimming with her and did a couple of blow-dunks to get her used to having her head wet. Needless to say she loved that as well and she never took in any water (thank god!). After we felt confident that she could handle it we switched to family shower time. This is something that we still do once a week as a bonding experience with her. We all hop in the shower and give baby a bath. Always making sure the water is cool enough for her but also warm enough to keep her from being cold. At first she didn't know what to think of it. Now, she loves it.

Typically about and hour or two before bedtime we get in the shower and one of us will hold her while the other one washes her from head to toe. She loves to put her head under the water and feel the water on her hands. Most of the time the battle is keeping her from being under the shower for too long.

Some tips on baby bathing though. Wash EVERYTHING. Babies have little folds and crevices that you have to make sure your getting. Also, scented soaps and shampoos for babies are a blessing. Lavender is the best for ours. This knocks her out and calms her down for bedtime. Also, we typically only bath her at most 3 times a week (unless she's gotten into something). Her little skin got so dry when we exceeded this. And last tip; lotion, lotion, lotion. To help keep her skin soft we always put lotion on her after every bath, not to mention who doesn't like a little massage?

Stay tuned for our next article.

Baby Games For 3-6 Months Old

As my little one grows up I'm always looking for new ways to keep her development moving. As a followup to my last post about baby games to play here is a list of some games you can play from 3 to 6 months of age.

1. A piece of glass seperates me from my best friend. around 4 or 5 months she was really looking at things and smiling at things so my wife found out something fun. Find a big mirror that you can stand in front of while holding baby. I would move her close enough until she would catch a glimpse of herself. She would immediately light up and start cooing and giggling. To this day this is our pre-bath routine. As she got older I would change distances to help keep her eyes exercised.

2. Help me name that. An adaptation to the baby eye-spy we played when she was younger was this game. Once she could reach out and touch things I would encourage her to touch things while I named it. Sometimes I think she got it other times she'd look at me and just grin. Again, this is another game we continue to play.

3. I must be butter cause I'm on a roll! Once she was used to being on her belly on the floor I'd get down and play with her. I'd put toys that were just out of her reach and have her try and get them. If she did happen to roll over or get the toy somehow I would get real excited and tell her how good she is and how big she is. As time progressed she loved the excitment I'd give her and she would do it much faster.

4. ABs of steel. She always was trying to sit up and see things when she developed her baby muscles. In an attempt to encourage this and help grow her muscles we would have her hold our fingers as she sat up. At first we had to pull her up to look around. As she got older and stronger she would pull up while holding on. At this point she just sits right up by herself. This helped to encourage her to be curious and to build some core body muscles.

5. If your happy and you know it. Around 3 months we really got into using her arms and legs when we sung songs. We would play 'this little piggy', 'patty cakes', & 'if your happy and you know it'. We would either clap her hands or her feet to the beat and sing to her. At first we got the craziest look. As she learned to like it she would get the biggest grin. Another thing that I would do is play a pop or rock song and have her be my little 'drummer'. I'd sit her on my lap facing away from me and take her hands and have her 'play the drums'. She would giggle and giggle.

We still play a few of the games from when she was younger but alot of them we've adapted to either be more physical, vocal, or visual. Also, make sure you're always talking to your baby. No matter where we are I'm having a conversation with her. Telling her about my day, asking her about hers, or reading things to her. The most entertaining is when we are shopping at the grocery. She loves hearing the nutritional facts of foods. Go figure.

Stay tuned for the next post!

Where Have I Been?

Sorry for the long delay between posts! I've been away from the computer a lot and with my computer being on the fritz as of late it's slowed me down as well. A little blurb about the little one.

She is growing up fast! She's a few weeks over 7 months and she has developed so much. She mumbles da da da da. I'm hopeful it is for my benefit but only time will tell. She's also apparently into the demolition derby. We went to the local fair this month and she had a blast. The loud noises, the crowds cheering, etc. She actually ended up sleeping through part of the show!

Also, she is getting up on her hands and knees and I'm afraid of the day when I'll have to chase her around. I've got some good articles comming up so stay tuned!