Approved by the What’s Up Moms Medical Advisory Board
Baby’s belly is bigger and she’s feeding less frequently — so enjoy that nice little break for your schedule and boobs. But feedings can be trickier because baby might be REALLY alert and therefore REALLY distracted – which you would be, too, if you’d just started seeing in color. These days it can take baby forever to get through a bottle, and it’s even worse for breastfeeding moms, since every time baby whips her head around to check out something shiny, she takes your nipple with her. NOT COOL. Needless to say, feed baby in a quiet room.
An upside to baby’s alertness is that she’s interested in everything, so break out the books! Don’t be crushed if she doesn’t sit on your lap like a little lamb and listen to a story cover to cover in a linear fashion. She’ll be more interested in eating the book – or throwing it, or saturating it in drool, or kicking it to the floor — than reading it. So think of the book less as a story and more as a toy. Focus on just a page or two, look at specific illustrations, narrate what you’re seeing, and let her absorb the cadence of language. It’s a feast for baby’s senses. FYI babies superlove pictures of other babies’ faces, adorably enough.
Speaking of, bring on some Mirror Time. Babies are always fascinated to see their faces reflected back – made all the sweeter by the fact that they don’t realize that the face belongs to them. Help her wave to her reflection. Play peek-a-boo. Experiment with your own facial expressions and see which ones make baby giggle. And then bask in the glory of being the funniest person in the entire room.
