Wordless Wednesday

Infant Stimulation and the Face

Within her second month of life your baby begins to focus on the center of objects. Faces in particular hold her attention. Naturally mom and dad’s faces are the most interesting, but I doubt you have the time to allow your baby to stare at your face all day. So make a face for her! It is as simple as getting a white paper plate and with black ink make a simple but accurate drawing of your face (eg, if you have bangs draw them on the plate). Hang the paper plate on the crib rail or prop it up on a box! Allow your baby to enjoy the stimulation, but don’t leave her too long. She need s you more! Pick her up with a big smile.

Infant Stimulation & the Extended Family

How wonderful that other members of the family want to enjoy the activities that you are doing with your infant. What a great stimulator to hear other voices, see other faces, and smell other scents.

The most important part of having others enjoy the infant stimulation program is having them understand that babies enjoy extended periods of interaction. This is not a fleeting moment of play, but a focused period of stimulation.

So perhaps Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt and Uncle, and cousins, should observe what you have been doing, understand it, perhaps read this blog, or get the book How to Have a Smarter Baby, and they will have a great education in how to get directly involved in their new family member's health, happiness, and brain development!

Infant Stimulaton: the magic of black on white

Two 2-inch triangles point to point, yes, this looks like a bowtie and is a featured design on a Babysmartees t-shirt. This is a preferred shape to offer your infant for visual stimulation - to learn to focus and concentrate. It may seem like a simple shape to you, but it is complex for your infant.

Wordless Wednesday

The amazing thing about sound is that every one is new to your infant. Even the most mundane sound is of interest, especially as your baby matches the sound with a movement and/or object. If you are in the kitchen, tap a spoon on the table while baby sits in your lap or in her high chair. If you are reading a book, or finished reading a book, flip the pages. If you were writing, then tap the pencil.

Don’t forget to smile, showing your baby how much fun this is. Even though you have tapped a pencil a million times, it is new to her and therefore a fun first for you both!

Are you surprised to learn that eye-to-eye contact, especially with a newborn baby, is a stimulator? Your baby will examine the expression in your eyes as well as on your face. Expressions are an important stimulation to babies.

To get your newborn to focus on your eyes try this stimulator in a room with dimmed lighting. Maintain face-to-face contact and allow baby to examine your face and find your eyes. Make sure you have eye-to-eye contact to ensure your baby is looking at your eyes.

Allow baby to examine your eyes and, again, see the expression in them. This should only last a few seconds as newborns have a small attention span and you can repeat a few more times.