How to start with a baby?

[patandchickens]

She has been very clingy last couple of days. She goes nuts when you shut a door and she can't see you anymore. If you shut the bathroom door even if your not it she starts crying. Werid baby.

Not weird at all, COMPLETELY normal phase that nearly all babies go through at approximately that age, just give her time and go easy on her

Pat

 

[lorihadams]

Yep, that happens....they don't have the mental capacity at that age to understand that if they can't SEE you it doesn't mean that you aren't there. Just know that it's normal and reassure her that you are still there even if she can't see you. Try playing peekaboo with her to help her understand that you are still there even if she doesn't see you. If i went to the bathroom or anything I would talk to my children the whole time....I sounded like a lunatic but it helped calm them down sometimes.

It will probably be the first of many clingy phases. It usually happens again around age 2. My 3 yr old is doing it now....she wants to be up my keister all day long. It's exhausting.

 

[Wifezilla]

Oh yeah...the "NOT THE MOMA" stage! Only you would do and fits ensued when you weren't around.

I remember when my boys went through that. It doesn't last too long.

 

[ninny]

Glad to know it won't last long. She is finally getting over a cold. What can i do about dicipline? Like when she gets into stuff. I say no and give her something she can have and make a big deal of it. But she just smilies and goes for the bad thing again. Im thinking shes not old enough to understand yet.

 

[tortoise]

Glad to know it won't last long. She is finally getting over a cold. What can i do about dicipline? Like when she gets into stuff. I say no and give her something she can have and make a big deal of it. But she just smilies and goes for the bad thing again. Im thinking shes not old enough to understand yet.

You're right, she's too young to understand. Keep her busy with good/safe activities.

And if it is something truly DANGEROUS, a "correction" is in order, IMO. I will slap a baby's hand before I'll let one touch the stove because it would be impossible to stop and redirect in time to keep little fingers safe. But I wouldn't expect a baby to actually learn from that. It is more of a FAST motion to get baby's hand away from something dangerous, than it is a "slap" KWIM? Because she can't understand cause and effect yet, and therefore cannot learn by correction.

Am I making sense? I don't think I'm explaining my thought well!

If she's in that clingy stage and you're getting frustrated, try getting a ring sling so you can wear her while you do what you need to.

 

[Homemaker]

I was looking at a book a friend gave me and it made me think of you. It's called "Growing Child" it is a collection of newsletters about child development. I love it. Like I said before I have a 9 month old (she'll be 10 mo in about a week!) Anyway I absolutely LOVE this book. Actually there are 2 but, I'm only a few months into the first one. It is made up of short articles so it isn't heavy reading. There is a section for each month that describes what milestones your baby might be hitting, what good toys are for that age group (most that are suggested are simple toys you can make yourself or use household objects), games your baby will enjoy, and any other issues you may be dealing with at that particular age.
I like it because it seems like the authors aren't trying to appeal to parenting fads. They encourage you to play with your child. But, also to teach them the means to learn for themselves (which is really important for me). Like a previous poster said. It's about balance. Everyone who has chimed in with advise for you on this forum seems to know their stuff. Hmmm...gee I wonder why. Oh, yeah they have experience It cracked me up when I read through this thread and it matched a lot of the articles: Separation anxiety, object permanence, etc.
I wish I could tell you more but, I'm new to this mom stuff too. I have NO idea what I'm doing.

Here is the info if your interested:
isbn: 0-9729649-0-8800-927-7289
www.growingchild.com

 

[Homemaker]

Wow thanks for all the ideas! Today i made a fourt out of blankets and chairs and she loved it. She has been very clingy last couple of days. She goes nuts when you shut a door and she can't see you anymore. If you shut the bathroom door even if your not it she starts crying. Werid baby. Try to get her to play by herself again she was doing good with it but now is glued 2 me. We talk to her all the time. I get looks at the store to because i narrtive everything. She loves it though. I try to not let her watch tv at all. But she loves music she dances to everything.

My girls been clingy too. She hates it when I leave the room even for a moment. She yells at me and starts crawling after me like I'm leaving her forever. Lately I've been known to pee with the door open *blush*
I like the narrating idea. Sometimes I think I'm too quiet with her. Especially when it's just the two of us. I do talk to her but then theres times where I'm sitting folding laundry or something and zoning out. I should be singing songs to her. I've def. discovered I don't know very many songs all the way through. I just start making stuff up. Good thing she's too little to notice.
And I totally agree with the TV thing. They can't understand a narrative right now so it would be just like sitting in front of a bunch of flashing lights and colors.
Thats too cute that your little boo dances.

 

[lorihadams]

We listen to music all the time....different genres. Sometimes classical, sometimes gospel, sometimes latin, sometimes country, and can I just tell you how much my 3 yr old loves southern rock classics?

It is a great way to expose them to rhythm, keeping time, and it is always fun to watch them wiggle to the beat!

We always spent a lot of time outside too....still do. Even at 9 months we went for a walk almost every day that it wasn't horrible outside. When it was cold I just bundled them up really well and got outside.

My kids love to turn over rocks and logs and find bugs, we look for mushrooms now, we look for animal tracks. The thing is to just include them into your day and if you are doing something talk to them while you are doing it.

Heck, my hubby thought I was crazy cause he caught me reading a catalog to my son when he was 6 or 7 months old. Picture it...."and you too can have all this for just nineteen ninety-nine....." in a sing song-y voice. He didn't care and he loves to read and be read to now.

Now one thing I do love is Sesame Street. There are a couple of DVDs that I started letting my son watch over and over (30mins each) and it helped him with his letters and numbers. One is Learning Letters and the other is Learning Numbers. They were like, $7 each and well worth it.

Tv can be good if you pick and choose and disperse it throughout your day instead of an all day thing. I tend to like DVDs for kids cause I can pop one in while I'm cooking dinner or taking a shower and it keeps their attention for 15-20 minutes. I always put my kids in their bouncy seat or carseat in the bathroom with me when I showered and played peek a boo with the shower curtain....Hubby thought I was nuts.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i'm 18 and definitely not ready for a kid now but when i do have kids i want to teach them sign language early. babies learn very fast. if you make the "drink" sign everytime you give her the bottle then when she wants the bottle she'll start to use the sign. i just think its great! the child will be able to tell you what it wants before it leanrs to speak! its just amazing! there is a book at my library and its looks like a baby book and its real small. on every page it has a bright colored object and the sign. i was using it to teach myself some
it's harder to learn new stuff as you get older so i think it makes perfect sense to teach them as much as they want when they are little. and if you make it fun then it will be playing and learning!

good luck!

 

[tortoise]

ogg - I thought baby signing was the coolest thing ever, but the window between when a baby can sign and when s/he can talk is so short it seems hardly worth the effort.