How To Play With Your Newborn Baby

Your newborn baby will spend a large chunk of her day snoozing. But what do you do with a newborn when they’re awake? She will likely spend most of her awake time feeding and getting her diaper changed. But there are some golden minutes in the day when all that is done with and your newborn baby is wide awake and alert. Now what? You PLAY! Keep reading for 5 great ways to play with your newborn baby.

Seriously, I need to play with my newborn baby too? I am exhausted and stressed and I just want to sleep when I can.

I get it. But mama, don’t miss out! Newborns are such wondrous little creations. Cherish this stage because it’s a fleeting moment. Your newborn baby is so ready to interact with her world. She will meet milestone after milestone in the blink of an eye and you want to be a part of it. Here are 5 things to do with your newborn baby when she is wide awake!

Sing & Sway

Babies love music! Sing to your baby and sway her in your arms at the same time. Try different musical genres and styles. Practice singing nursery rhymes now because when they grow up, your toddler is going to want to hear them over and over again. My two-month old Annie loves being bounced to a fun and fast toddler playlist. She also likes being gently swayed to classical tunes before she dozes off.

Have A Conversation

Talk to your baby. Use your most annoying baby voice to tell them how cute they are over and over again. Babies respond better to higher pitched voices. Play peekaboo by disappearing from her field of vision and then appearing again. Imitate your baby when she starts vocalizing. A little after one month, Annie started making little cooes, sighs and grunts. She loves when I imitate her. In fact, she loves everything I mentioned above. This girl will be a conversationalist. 

Exercise

Your little one loves touch. You will notice that your baby will become much happier and calmer after you interact with her body. Hold her hands and guide her arms up and down and side to side. Wrap your hands around her arms and legs and gently squeeze, moving up and down. Straighten and flex her limbs. Put some resistance on the bottoms of her feet to encourage her to kick. Rosie my first was a non-stop kicker even in the NICU but little Annie is a little lazier and needs more encouragement.   

Play With Toys

It’s never too early to start playing! Let your newborn look at black and white contrast cards. Both of my babies were completely hypnotized by these. Next, you can introduce high contrast, bright coloured, noise-making toys. Let them follow the toy with their eyes. Lie them on a play mat with a mobile hanging above. Links are also fantastic for newborns. Place one in their hand. My two month old JUST learned to intentionally grab on to her links. Exciting stuff! Here are more newborn toy ideas for you!

Don’t Forget Tummy Time

Tummy time is so great for strengthening and developing motor skills. Put your little one on her tummy and encourage her to lift her head. Engage her with your voice or with a toy. Rosie enjoyed being on her tummy and didn’t need much coaxing to lift her head. Annie doesn’t appreciate being flipped onto her tummy. Most of the time she’ll just lie there. BUT she does amazing when she is on my chest. It’s also super cute to make eye contact with her when she gets her head up.

These are five ideas that both of my newborns really responded well to. How do you play with your newborn baby?