What activities for less than a year old DC?

[momm]

What activities did you take your DC for when they were less than a year old?

I feel bad to waste this summer thinking that he's too young for anything.. wondering if you all did anything outdoors or indoors, with your DC before they were a year old?

thanks for any tips!

[BabyBearsMom]

We did mommy and me swim lessons with DD when she was 6 months. It just teaches them to be comfortable in the water, put their face in etc. I don't think DD really "learned" anything from it, but it was nice to meet other parents.

Currently, we do a music class at Gymboree with DD. The class ranges in age from 6 months to 16 months. DD is 14 months and really enjoys it. They do a lot of fun songs, some sign language, some Spanish, hand movements etc. It is great. Our Gymboree also has free play for 0 to 15 month olds only and the gym is a great place for kids under 1 to practice crawling, pulling up, climbing etc.

[bostonsmama]

I've taken my near 7-mo-old to the zoo, granted a friend shared her membership with us so it was free. She liked the cow/goat petting zoo, some wild geese/goslings running around, and the monkeys, but slept in the sling for the rest. It was a nice outing for MY sanity. Same friend takes her DC to a music Gymbo-style class and it feels like a waste to me. I'm going to get a membership to the zoo and our local botanical gardens (which has a water-park/fountain play area in the summer and "Polar Express" train in the winter) next year when my DD can appreciate it. When I think of it as an investment, it doesn't make sense to do these things (memberships) now. I probably won't do an aquarium membership until DD is closer to 3/4.

Until then, we do no-cost things:
-play in the baby pool we got at BRU with bath toys
-practice walking in the grass
-go outside to see our garden grow (harvest veggies, etc)
-play with the dog inside
-have her watch us cook meals--I let her suck on herbs while I cook (like Thyme or basil stems)
-grocery shop w/ her in the sling
-go to the beach/lake and play under the shade structure w/ sandcastle kit (that we keep clean on a sheet)
-my parents do play the guitar and piano & sing to DD, which she bops/grooves to...and I sing to her, but it's nearly as cool as live concerts my parents put on
-our church has an amazing children's ministry that incorporates song and dance as young worship

[babyonway]

We did the mommy and me swim classes which DD loved (as did mama) :)

I don't know where you live but you may also check out your library. Where I live they have storytimes for age ranges and DD loves that. I started when she was 7 mos or so and about 10 minutes is story time and another 20 minutes of play time. All the kids were bt 6 and 14 mos so believe me none were still even during story time but the kids loved it. I know in my area they don't offer as many sessions over the summer (way more during the school year) but some are still offered.

I'll be watching this thread too becasue I would love more ideas.

[lizzywednesday]

We really liked the Mommy & Me yoga class we did (only once, though, due to scheduling and other assorted conflicts) when DD was 4 months old!

Other than that, we did take her to the zoo (Cape May County Zoo in NJ) and she wasn't quite up to knowing what it was about, though I am sure she'd completely adore it this year!

Zoos are great, though, because even if your LO is too little to understand the exhibits, they love looking at the people!

[ljackson]

Children under 1 certainly don't need classes but some parents of children under 1 year do to avoid going crazy! A music class can be a lot of fun at that age. We did Music Together (when my DC were older) but all ages from 8 months to 5 years get a lot out of it.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We did Music Together classes and I really enjoyed them. Lost of my friends either did those or a baby gymnastics' class.

Beth

[TxCat]

We've also done/are doing Music Together (DD is now 8 mos.). We started when she was 5.5 mos. and we're going to keep it up through the summer. I've loved the class and I think DD enjoys it too - I think it's fun for her to look around and see all the different people and babies.

For us, it just feels way too hot to do much outside so I'm looking for indoor options or mellow outdoor options that we can do early in the morning or late in the afternoon. These include the wading pool in our backyard, just walking around at the grocery store with her in the sling or sitting in our garden in the early morning or late afternoon while I garden. I think I'm just going to take her to some friends' pools on our own. DD hasn't started crawling yet, so I think gymboree won't be a good fit for her yet. When it cools down more, I'm planning to get a pass to the zoo, probably in the fall.

[candaceb]

We have done Kindermusik since DS was 4.5 months old. At the beginning it was mostly a way to get out of the house once a week and meet some other moms, but he is definitely getting something out of it now. He loves the free time with lots of instruments to play with, and loves the interaction with the other babies. He pays attention and gets antsy when the music stops.

[LMPC]

I am with bostonmama in saying that at that age we did all things "free" -- library story time, art museum, kids museum on reduced/free days, city pool (not classes just us splashing around), farmers market. Anything that I thought would stimulate the senses and get us out of the house ;) We also hung out with other mamas and babies back then too.

[HonoluluMom]

When DD was under a year, here's some activities I did with her:

- swimming at the pool and beach
- zoo
- aquarium
- shopping: DD loves people watching
- Gymboree type class
- grocery shopping: DD loves holding the various fruits, veges, groceries
- park: picnic, people watch, walk around, and playground when she got more mobile
- library: I would sit DD down on a child's chair and read to her
- LOTS of walks

[AnnieW625]

DD1 did some Gymboree type classes through our city starting at 10 months old until she was about 14 months, and then it was summer so we did swimming instead. Then at 18 months and she could walk we did a tiny tots gym class until she was about 2. We did one 8 or 10 week session of My Gym when she was 2, and then we didn't do much until she was over 3 (she was attending group speech therapy 2xweek from 2/1/2 to 3 during the week so we thought that was enough interaction). We started swim lessons again the year she was 3, as well as pre ballet.

With DD2 so far we have done Gymboree and we chose Gymboree over the city classes (which are awesome in our area) purely because of the schedule; the city classes were in the AM and Gymboree was in early afternoon and DD2 for the longest time slept better in the AM vs. the PM. I am starting to look into music class for DD2, but the best option for us is Kindermusik, and I can't quite swallow the $150 for 5 lessoons (even though the classes are taught by a teacher that has a BS in Music Therapy!):eek: (that's double what we pay for DD1's ballet classes for a month!). DD2 is starting mom n me swim lessons this month:), can't wait!

[goldenpig]

I did so many different activities with DD when she was a baby. I feel a little bad for DS as he mainly gets dragged to DD's activities and I haven't really done much for him on his own. Our favorite activities for DD when she was under a year:
Music Together
Gymboree/Little Gym
Library storytime
Going for walks with her in the Ergo/stroller
Zoo/aquarium
Parks--swings/slide
Children's museum (better/more fun after they start walking)
Swim classes--We started out with DD in mommy & me type classes at 10 months but I don't think she learned all that much with these. So for DS we switched to Infant Swim Resource classes which teach survival swimming--floating on their backs if they fall in the water. We started him at 6 months but are going back now at 14 months for a refresher course. DD also did the ISR course when she was 2 and did great with them.

[momm]

thank you all so much!! I got so many great tips from this thread.

thanks again!

[carolinamama]

DS1 took Little Gym classes with me at that age. DS2 never had any of his own formal activities. We would have playdates, were in a weekly playgroup, took long walks most mornings, played outside with bubbles, water table, push bikes, and balls, and ran errands. In the summers we spend alot of time at the pool. Just being in the water with me or DH has really helped our kids with swimming and it's a good place to chat with other mothers so you don't feel too isolated at home. Spring and fall we've always done lots of parks but it gets so hot in the summer here that we gravitate towards the water.

Have a great summer! It's a fun age to just hang out and watch them try to figure out the world.

[ha98ed14]

My library has a story hour for babies. I was surprised because I thought the earliest they would do something with the kids would be 2 or 3, but they actually have a story hour for kids 6 mo to 2. Parent or caregiver goes too. At 3 they can go to the preschool one in which they go by themselves to hear the story part. Check to see if your lib has a baby/toddler story hour. I think they started it because research started showing that building literacy skills started in infancy. You're supposed to read to your infant. :bag

[brittone2]

We have never paid for classes for our children as infants. I think it is primarily for the parent, really. Totally understandable to have the need to get out and interact w/ other parents. I just didn't feel the need, and didn't think my children really would get anything out of it that we couldn't provide at home or through playdates. Some parents find classes helpful in learning new ways to encourage their DC at home, or helpful in finding new ways to interact w/ their infant while getting out of the house.

[brgnmom]

great ideas in this thread!

w/ DS, I remember the following activities that I signed him up for when he was an infant:
-parent/infant massage class
-gymboree
-new mom's group class (I met a couple of my mommy friends that I still keep in touch w/ even though the three of us live in different states now.)
-music together (DS was just starting to walk when we took the music class and he was about a year old)
- [former city]'s family network which provided activities at the local parks and at the actual center - fun classes for the moms (like yoga) w/ childcare provided... still searching for something like this in our new location.
- library storytime & singalongs

w/ my 7-month-old DD, I have been taking her & DS to storytime for infants & toddlers at our local library. There's also a singalong that is held at the library, and she enjoys the music there. I also take my DC to the local bookstore - one of the friendly SAs there holds arts & crafts activities for kids, and last week, the theme was "pirates and princesses." DS enjoyed making his own pirate's hat and a crown for his baby sister. Once DD turns 9-months-old, DS will be starting kindergarten full-time, and I'll be signing her up for classes that are focused on infants.

I also just signed up for a mom's group through church and will be meeting w/ other moms for weekly playdates at local parks and indoor A/C'd venues during the summertime.

OP, have a fun summer w/ your baby.