Playtime

Playtime Our son will be 3 months old this coming Saturday. Although he is unable to crawl or roll over yet, we have found that interactive play has helped him grow a little personality. We have an activity mat, or a play place as my husband calls it. This is a square mat with four soft tube like legs sticking up from each corner and meeting in the center. Our son lays under it and along each leg are various hanging toys with different shapes, colors, textures and sounds. In the past few eeks, he has started to reach for items, grab them, shake them, and rub his hands on them. At the end of one of the legs, we hung a frog that rattles. He loves to kick this frog over and over. He spends a few hours a day, spread over a few different times, playing on his mat. In the past few days, he has discovered the mirror. He loves looking at it and cannot figure out quite yet why the person in the mirror does exactly what he does. It’s the cutest thing. We also work on his grip and put different objects in his hand such as a small teether toy or a noisy ring. We try and teach him how to grip objects by using his thumb as he loves tucking it. He has gotten much better at this even in the past week. Our son also loves being talked to. We have conversations with one another, not having a clue what each other is saying. It’s like me speaking to someone who speaks a totally different language, but we get each other. We tell each other stories and I allow him time to respond as if we really are making up stories. It’s like when you are little and you take turns with part of the story. We tell stories about growing oranges, canoeing to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and riding on lions. He is quite creative for a little guy. Next to his changing pad, we hung a mirror so that he can look at it while changing him. He will sit there for 20 minutes and just play with the mirror and talk to himself. Whatever distracts your child right? I am excited to see what the next week brings and how much he grows both physically and with his personality.