I Don't Know How to Play!!!!

You are so funny! Honey, you ARE going to be a Mom one day. More importantly, you will be a GREAT Mom!!!!!!!! I was so crazy that I bought crayons, coloring books, toys, a table and chair set, a learning system - it looked like I was bringing home a 4-year-old. LOL I even had cable and phone installed in his room. Then, of course, before he got old enough to use ANY of it most of it was broken, or lost, or somewhere in the shuffle when we moved twice. I laugh at myself now. What I want you to know Gwenn is this: I had no idea that raising a newborn was so all-consuming. The first year it is a miracle if you get a shower or even an hour of restful sleep. (or at least it was for me) You are so funny - just like me! You will be a GREAT Mom and - when the time comes - you will find out all you need to find out about arts & crafts, etc. If I tell you now you will forget the information during that first year of no sleep. :)

And, remember, little babies allow us to get to know them and their likes (including play) a little at a time. You do not have to have 15 new ideas a day for that little person :) Babies are very repetitive (its how they learn), so the good news is, doing the same silly face over and over for an infant -- they love it! Like everything else with parenting for the first time, you grow into it. And boy, is it every fun!!

Gwen, I had to laugh at your post (not at you, just at your post). I know HOW to play, I just CAN'T GET UP FROM THE FLOOR ONCE I'M DOWN THERE!!! Playing will come naturally as will smiling at your baby, making stupid goo-goo sounds, babbling baby talk back at them, tickling, sucking their cheeks off their adorable faces, trust me, it comes pretty naturally. Buy a couple of good baby books with hard pages and colorful, basic pictures. That's a really good start! Josie

You'll definitely be surprised at how your playful side will come out with baby, but I understand the concern. There's a book called the Stay at Home Parent's Survival Guide w/ some good games and activities, divided into age appropriate levels. See if you can find that to give you some ideas. Also, go ahead and get a subscription to Parents, Parenting, or Child magazine---they always have good suggestions for games and activities, even for newborns. I am looking forward to the day I see a post from you about how sick you are of playing and singing along to The Wheels on the Bus.

HBV had a great idea. I ordered Parenting Magazine (3-year subscription) and have enjoyed it. Josie was right - it comes so naturally. And planned activities are wonderful - but the most fun my son has is doing these very silly things which HE comes up with. I thought about you tonight. When I got home from work I sat on the couch with my son and we talked about his day. Then he said, out of the blue, "Mommy turn your head around." So I turned my head and he says "BOO!" and then he laughed his silly little head off. We did that over and over. Don't worry - your baby will create all kinds of funny games. They don't always make sense to me - but he thinks they are hilarious. HBV - ah yes! The Wheels on the Bus - over and over and over. Not to mention Barney and more Barney and more Barney. We sang the "Barney" song almost constantly. Emster also made a great point: babies will let you know what they like and the same little silly face or sound over and over and over. You'll be on here one day saying if you sing or hear one more rendition of the Wheels on the Bus that you'll be hoarse. Ha ha. Josie you are hilarious! And Gwenn, I also was not laughing at you - but your post. I think you are wonderful, and strong, and destined for a great and special love with your forever child. Here for you!!!!!!!!! Christie

Well let me and my comical post come to life for all. David letterman has stupid pet tricks? Well "play" for babies is "stupid parent tricks" You may not believe me, but once you go back and watch some home videos.. you will laugh and then think of me... *all in the spirit of making you laugh* These things I warn... yes warn you about, IS play for baby, you may not think so... 1st for the first month or so, The game is what we as kids called "sugar bowl" instead of the first person to make a noise loosing, it's first person who makes a noise wakes the baby. If you are like we were with our first born, you will also learn how to yell "oh honey come look" without waking the baby too. Due to seeing a cute little face while sleeping etc. After a while, the baby will teach you to stick out your tongue, little "o's" with your mouth, and make faces. They also teach you to make little coo sounds at first you copy them, then they tend to copy both noise and faces back at you. You don't realize how silly you or your partner may look until the time you show someone the video. This early stage of "play" they teach you how to change your shirt, and you thought you knew how to do this? HA! wait'll you get that shirt swapping down to 5 seconds. Babies find this amuzing I believe, it's great fun for them. Like a baby carni ride, Baby in hand, while swapping your shirt is their goal to teach you. By the time they have taught you this trick, they move on to the next. One of three ways they teach you this is, one of the 3 P's... poop pee or puke.. Please remember fresh clean shirts do nauseate babies for some reason. Soon you will be playing patty cake, and you think the baby is enjoying this fun game, but in acutallity they think you have finally lost your mind, this is the true reason behind their little face of joy. As they watch the faces and listen to the silly voice you use in doing it. *again refer to home videos to realize why they think you lost it* Little bit of time passes and baby decides... Mom's lost it, looking like she needs some excersize. They being the "PA TOO" game. This is where they projectile spit out their binkey half way accross the room. Now again it may not seem like a game to you, but have no doubt this is great fun. As you run pick it up, run it to the sink for a rinse, stick it in their mouth and "PATOO!" there it goes again. realize they are training you to "catch and fetch" Which is very important for the next months of parental training and fun. Once they are sitting up and enjoying the "high chair" time. Some babies are rather sly and will ever soooo slowly push items off the edge. But before long your firming your tummy's by bending over, up, down, up down, if you listen really close in the shreeks of joy seeing you picking the items off the floor, you can almost make out *up down up down* I swear.... and if you listen carefully you will hear a baby's form of, "Hey daddy, watch what I can make mommy do" a split second before. Not long, and all that training finally your ready... for "no no" and much more excersize. As you run around the house behind your baby, saying "no no" catching things falling, things they found. Trust me, no matter how "baby proof" you think you have it... they will find 100 things a day to get into. All about the same time, they are learning to say "no no" back. I could go on, but I will let you learn other "tricks" from you baby. The point is, you will make a great mom. There is no "book" that can teach you anything better then what will come naturally to you, when you hold that little bundle in your arms. Let your love be your guide, sounds really stupid but it will all just come naturally. You can learn a lot from books, but you know, the best things I learned from my children. Something I did and enjoyed a lot with ALL of my kids, and as they grow the love and enjoy it. And as young as 2-3 months. When they are really starting to interact with you making faces and things. Excersizing!! Like how big are you "sooo big" and hold out their little arms, bring them back in. Using their leggies, "when you get big your gonna... run run run run" making little movements with their legs. Later it's fun way to learn to count, my kids all learned to count to 4 very early. Cause leg lifts, 1.2.3.4. arm lifts... etc... and the faces they make. It does a whole lot of things, helps musucle developement, verbal and physical interaction, my neice would get cranky every afternoon wanting to excersize after i spent a month with her doing it. We cheered, we played, it was great fun!! She loved it!! All babies I have been around do. When she seemed ready and using her tummy muscels trying to do things, we started doing sit ups. It's so cute after a while they grab your thumbs and sit up, and learned sound effects from you earlier, and after a month of this, they grunt and growl like you did for them before. This is one thing you don't learn naturally, so by all means read, ask for ideas. But my point luv, which I should take myself alot more often. Relax, it will all come naturally, and you will be awesome!

GeeGeeTaylor You should write this up for a parenting magazine. Too funny! Yes - it is amazing how well our children train us. They teach us more tricks than we even realize. Another one: How fast can Mommy run? This is where they figure out which noise causes Mommy to run the fastest: a bump, a cry, a yell, or any other noise they can make. The noise which makes Mommy run fastest will be repeated for the next 4 1/2 years at great delight to the child. They will add in all sorts of noises as they grow up. Then they learn that being very, very quiet will make Mommy run fast. That is fun too! Big hugs to you Gwenn!

I know how you feel, and the posters' suggestions are correct, you will probably find yourself 'falling into this frame of thinking' much more easily than you think you will. But, I know that I find myself turning into my mom--who was semi-invalidic and seldom played with us either. She seldom played with us, and put a LOT of emphasis on a clean and tidy house. She was NOT one to say, 'the dishes will always be there, etc'. And so, I look back to find that this IS how I was with my first two 'babies' (now grown). I homeschooled the first two for several years, and often found that the projects we got involved with were MY way of playing with them, so it wasn't too often this spontaneous thingy, like my dh does with the kids now....but more planned and educational. Still, I wish I had the 'sudden-ness and 'devil may care' attitude sometimes to just go out and be foolish. I do it sometimes, but not as often as I'd like. I"ve made this a goal for me with the three little ones we have now. Harder to do in the thick of winter and days inside; but come spring...... :) Just keep in mind that they'll be little ONLY once. Each day unfolds with the decision of how you will spend it with them. The time with them is all too short and flits away like a feather in the wind. Choose wisely. I know you will.... :) Most Sincerely, Linny