How to entertain your newborn and other stupid questions...

[aliceinwonderland]

Here I am pestering you again...

1. Erik goes through very alert stages of being awake and looking around. During this time, someone is holding and talking to him, or, like now, he is in his bouncy with the lights and music on, and I rock and make comments to him...What to do to keep him more entertained?? He seems pretty happy, but you know, what am I supposed to be doing??

2. Someone define tummy time please???Put them on their tummy until they scream?? I have the gymini, and he only put up with being on his tummy for a couple of minutes. What amounts of time are appropriate?? Variations of it he may tolerate??

3. What does newborn acne look like? Is it on their bodies (chest) too, or just their faces??

THANKS SO MUCH for having read this and even more for responding!!!

[Marisa6826]

Hey Eri!

You have to remember that Erik can't really see further than about 10" away. Just your voice entertains him alone. You can talk to him, read or sing to him. If you have a mobile, that might be nice, although he won't be able to see any detail yet. I know he's still very much in a "meatloaf" in a dipe stage. Not terribly interactive, but believe he IS benefitting from watching you and your husband. I remember feeling guilty for not talking to Sophie all the time. At one point, I even remember putting her in her bouncy seat and explaining to her how you fold laundry. It made me feel less guilty for not "ignoring" her, and she had something to listen to.

Just looking around is simulating his senses. The trick is to not OVER stimulate him. He will give you cues that this is happening by looking away, or crying or closing his eyes.

Tummy time can be from 2-3 minutes to 10-15 minutes or longer. He's too little to be able to hold his head up yet for more than a few moments. One of the easiest ways I found to give Sophie tummy time was to lay back in bed or in a recliner and put her on my chest. She wouldn't panic, but she would have time to strengthen those little neck muscles.

Newborn acne looks like bright red little bumps. I seem to recall Sophie was about 2-3 weeks old when it started coming out on her forehead and chin. I thought it was a rash since it literally came out in a span of 20 minutes. My Ped told me that if it started to look like a light sunburn to put a smidge of Cortaid on Sophie. It worked wonders. Some expressed breastmilk will also help.

I don't know if acne can also be on Erik's chest. I wouldn't be surprised though. It's caused by leftover Mommy hormones in his system. Again, try the breastmilk and see how it goes.

Enjoy your little guy. He's still so very new.

Let me know if you have any more questions. You're doing great!!! Promise!! :)

hugs

-m

[lisaE]

I am by no means a pro, DS is only 3 1/2 months old. But, here is my two cents:

1)It sounds like you are doing exactly what you are "supposed to be doing". I think babies (at least mine) are happy just to look around at that early stage. No need to do too much entertaining.

2)For a baby as young as yours, just a few minutes of TT at a time is appropriate. I used to get discouraged because DS would just kind of bump his face against the floor (blanket) for a couple of minutes and then we would give it up. Gradually, he increased the amount of time on his own, and now holds his head up like a champ.

3)No idea about newborn acne. Sometimes DS has some little bumps like that and I just assume that he wasn't rinsed as well as he needed to be after his bath. (?)

It sounds like you are doing things right. Remember that your baby is so young right now. Mostly all he needs is you! Congratulations!

[californiagirl]

Mine had newborn acne on her chest and upper arms as well as on her face.

We've always gone for putting her on her tummy until she became unhappy. When she was really really little (like, until 3 weeks) she would spend a few minutes on her tummy on a flat surface, and hold her head up and roll at least halfway over! Then she stopped doing that for us, having learned that just screeching worked. She's happy on her tummy on top of somebody, or even sometimes propped up with something under her chest (draped over the boppy, for instance).

It wasn't until nearly 6 weeks that she started to care about being amused, and enjoying her playmat. Before that, the only two things she thought were fun were her Symphony in Motion mobile, and squeaky noises -- she didn't enjoy the playmat, even with a mirror, but we could squeak the squeaker to settle her down. At 9 weeks, she's just getting into toys.

[Rachels]

All he needs right now is for you to hold him and talk to him. He's fascinated by your face, and your voice is familiar and soothing to him. I think I said, "Hi," about 700 times a day when she was a newborn (and it was her first real frequently-used word at about nine months old, LOL). Otherwise, I just talked to her. I told her about our day, the room we were in, people we knew, etc. I sang millions of songs and rocked a lot.

As for tummy time, Abigail would NEVER tolerate it. When she was about 7.5 months old and getting interested in crawling, then she would stand it for a few minutes. Before that, forget it. FWIW, she crawled at nine months and walked at 13, and the lack of tummy time had no discernable effects. I held her most of the time, so I didn't have to worry about flat head from being left in her chair or swing.

Baby acne is unmistakable. It's not too pretty, but it passes quickly.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[JLiebCamm]

At that age, the only tummy time that we got in was when Nathan laid on top of us. It took a long time for him to want to play on his belly and it was the only way that we could get him to stay in that position without screaming.

[C99]

>him...What to do to keep him more entertained?? He seems
>pretty happy, but you know, what am I supposed to be doing??

They're newborns. They don't need to be entertained. They only need to be fed, cuddled, put to sleep, and changed. Everything else is just cake at this point. When he needs something, he'll let you know.

>2. Someone define tummy time please???Put them on their tummy
>until they scream?? I have the gymini, and he only put up with
>being on his tummy for a couple of minutes. What amounts of
>time are appropriate?? Variations of it he may tolerate??

Tummy time is just putting them on their stomachs for a bit, maybe 5 minutes, so that they develop stronger arm and neck muscles. But to be honest, most babies do not like this. We didn't do it a lot with Nate (not even every day) and his physical development was fine.

>3. What does newborn acne look like? Is it on their bodies
>(chest) too, or just their faces??

I can't remember, but it's possible that it's everywhere: face, head, neck, trunk, arms, etc.

HTH
Caroline

[jubilee]

You gotten good answers already, but I'll just second the constant talking to the baby. They really seem to enjoy it, and it is good for them. Also, if you have a baby sling, just simply carrying the baby in it as you go about the house is great.

[drsweetie]

Eri, you sound like me! I remember thinking, shortly after Laura was born, "Okay, she's fed and changed and dressed and clean...NOW what do I do with her?" Everyone else has given you great input. At this stage Erik will enjoy just experiencing the world, and he'll only be able to handle it on a pretty simple level. Laura used to enjoy just watching me putter around in the kitchen; I would talk to her with a running commentary on what I was doing and she would be very content. The things you describe doing with him are perfect. ENjoy this stage while it lasts! :0

Laura HATED being on her tummy and so we didn't push it too strongly, though we did try to put her on her stomach at least 2-3 times a day.

Our pediatrician told us to leave the neonatal acne alone. I don't remember Laura having it on her chest, but maybe she did?

Hang in there! It sounds like you're doing great!

[jamsmu]

Hi Eri,

You don't need it yet, but when Erik is a little older, there are some TT games you can do:

-Place him on a towel and lift the area where his head is about 6 inches from the floor. Sing and move the towel a little bit.
-get an inflatable beach ball or a cheap ball from Walmart and roll it a little bit under his belly. (put him on it--just hold on to him.) Also, you can roll the ball over him when he is on his back. This is so fun for the baby as he will begin feeling it moving.

I got these ideas from the Gymboree book, Baby Play. I was feeling like you are now and had no idea what to do with DS. The book gave me ideas for different stages of his life, and helped me to remember songs and nursery rhymes, too.

Carson got baby acne on his chest. His ped said that it was from the cradle cap falling off his head. Totally normal.

HTH--have fun!!

[amp]

Eri - I'm just echoing what others have said. First, relax, you're doing a great job! And....

1 - You don't need to do any more to entertain him than you are. Talking, singing, snuggling, music, mobiles or swings, being held, etc are more than appropriate entertainment at this age.

2 - The easiest, most frequent and sweetest tummy time was when DS just laid on his tummy on our chest while we talked, snuggled, slept w/ him. I don't think I really put him on the floor for tummy time much until later (with a few exceptions) on...maybe 2 mths? But if he'll tolerate it, it's ok to lay him down on his tummy on a mat and lay down with him so he can see you, or flip through a book (not that he'll notice much or care). It can just be for a few minutes. But when we did tummy time on us, it could end up being hours if he fell asleep there. It was his favorite place to sleep for about 3 mths.

3 - I believe DS had baby acne on his neck and possibly his chest, but not much further. It's red, raised and looks rashy. It lasts long enough that you ache for it to go away, but it will eventually fade.

[ritacheetah]

Put on your favorite music and sing to him! My DD LOVED it and there are one or two songs that IMMEDIATELY calm her down if she's upset about something.

She's just starting to like tummy time now. I guess she's starting to figure out how to be mobile. Not too many newborns like it.


Live long and prosper,
Tracy
Mom to Victoria, 12/20/03