Games Babies Play. Vicki Lansky

       Developmental Milestones

       birth to 3 months

      Babies are a miracle of sensory development. Their eyes focus well only at around eight inches for the first month of life. Still, this allows them to concentrate on what’s most important––studying their parents’ faces and the faces of those who feed and care for them. Newborns also respond to bright colors, bright lights and objects put near their faces.

      Infants’ hearing is comparable to that of adults. In fact, soon after birth, infants have been shown to prefer music they heard while in utero. They can be startled by sudden, loud noises. Newborns’ sense of smell is developed enough for them to be able to identify their mother’s smell.

      In the first three months, a baby’s energy is devoted to self-regulation in the areas of eating and sleeping. Still, they take in any information that acts upon them. Body movement is at first random and erratic. But each passing week brings more interaction with the environment, more smiling, and more control of those tiny hands which wave in front of baby’s own face.

      Neck muscles are not strong enough to support the head adequately so your help is needed for the first few months. A hand will grasp an object placed in the palm, though it is only a reflex action.

      By the third month, babies have become social beings, eager to smile, clearly recognizing familiar people, and delighted with attention. You can build a foundation of special, shared times by relating through games played together.

       BIRTH TO 3 MONTHS

      All Washed Up

      Baby Firming

      Baby Parts

      Baby Pull-Ups

      Bathtub Time-Out

      Bed Bouncing Baby

      Dance with Me, Baby

      Exercycle

      Finger Games

      I’m Gonna Getcha!

      Look at Me

      Lost in Space

      Lullaby Your Baby

      Old World Traditions

      Parent A Cappella

      Playback

      Pom Pom Play

      Puppet Play

      Rattles

      Starburst

      Stretchy, Stretchy

      Strokes for Li’l Folks

      Tickle Time Rhymes

      The Tootsie Roll

      Toy Target Practice

      Who Do I See?

      Wrist Watch

       ALL WASHED UP

      Talk and sing while bathing your infant in a sink or plastic molded tub. Sing about the parts of the body you’re washing. The following can be sung to “London Bridge Is Falling Down.”

       Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

      Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

      Knees and toes, knees and toes.

      Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

      Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.

      Sing this to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.”

       This Is the Way We Wash Our Face

      This is the way we wash our face,

      Wash our face, wash our face.

      This is the way we wash our face

      On a (day of the week) (morning or evening).

      Other verses to include in your bath time routine are:

      • clean our toes,

      • wash our arms,

      • scrub our feet,

      —this list is endless.

      These songs go well beyond infancy and will take on many variations as your baby learns the parts of the body.

       BABY FIRMING

      Your little one can help you get back in shape and make it more fun. Once your doctor okays you resuming exercise, there are firming-up routines you can begin that can include and entertain your baby.

Kissy-Kissies

      With your baby lying face up on the floor, get on all fours over your baby with your baby between your hands. Begin gently by just lowering your head to kiss your little one. Advance to lowering your straightened body—with your weight resting on your knees and hands angled slightly inward—down to kiss your baby. Don’t let your stomach sag or your back arch. Push back up and repeat. If you were able to do standard push-ups before you were pregnant, work gently back to this stage without straining yourself. If you don’t like push-ups, limit yourself to “cat curls” where you just arch your back and then relax it again.

Better Bottoms

      Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and baby sitting on your stomach with your hands securely around the torso under his or her arms. Squeeze your buttocks tightly together and raise your hip bones upward and hold for one or two seconds. Release and lower. Next flatten the small of your back to the floor and curl your head and upper body up while keeping your back straight on the floor. Release and lie back. Alternate these two routines to build up back and abdomen strength.

       BABY PARTS

      Your baby’s body parts will provide the topic for many of the conversations the two of you will carry on as you interact. You’ll find your newborn is not much of a conversationalist—most of the burden of small talk will fall to you. Your repetition of such words as “nose,” “eyes,” “fingers,” “chin,” and “ears” will start your baby on a lifelong learning process.

       Knock, Knock

      Knock, knock. (Knock on baby’s forehead.)

      Peek in. (Open eyes wider.)

      Open the latch. (Push up the tip of the nose.)

      And walk right in. (Walk fingers into mouth.)

      How do you do, Ms. Chin-chin-chin? (Wiggle chin.)

       Thumbkin, Pointer

      Thumbkin, pointer, middleman big.

      (Point to each of baby’s fingers.)

      Silly man, wee man, rig-a-jig-jig.

      (Roll baby’s hands around each other.)

      Months from now, when your baby becomes well-versed in the names of the body parts, you can purposely slip in a wrong word or two so he or she can “correct ” you.

       BABY PULL-UPS

      When your baby is two or three months old and can raise and hold up his or her head, you can begin a wider range of games.

Infant Sit-ups

      Lay your baby on the floor (or bed) in front of you, or in your