new here w/ question

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
new here w/ question
5
Wed, 08-11-2004 - 1:13pm
I'm new here and I have an 8 month old baby. I stay at home now full time and have a few questions. How do you schedule your week? I found that my dd gets bored, so I try to have an outing once a day or every other day. Where do you all go to get out? I also find that I need some social contact, so I try to call one person a day, but I am running out of people!

How do you schedule your weeks? What do you do to keep busy and keep the kids from getting bored stuck in the house all day long, esp those w/ older babies but not yet toddlers? What types of activities do you do?

Thanks for the info and advice!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-20-2004
Wed, 08-11-2004 - 5:59pm
Hi and welcome! I guess I don't really have any good ideas, but I have an 8 month old as well, and it is hard to keep busy when she isn't old enough for all the play things that toddlers can do. We don't really have a schedule, I wish we did because I stay on track better with one. We go to the park a lot, she loves the swings. Basically I get out for my own sanity and she really enjoys going places too. Even in the grocery store she loves to sit up in the cart and look around. Today I discovered something in the house to keep her busy. I fed her Cheerios for the first time and she sat in her high chair almost 45 minutes playing with the Cheerios and trying to get them in her mouth. I was able to sweep, vaccum and dust during that whole time. I was pretty excited because she does not like her playpen for that long. Good luck to you!

Jill
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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2004
Thu, 08-12-2004 - 8:30am
First off, welcome to the board. My name is Mel. I have 2 boys ages 5 years old and 8 motnhs old. I have been a sahm for about 4 years.
I know it is not easy to remain busy and happy when staying home with young children.
I try to go on outings with other moms, playgroups help you and your child.
Do you have a local moms group you can join? IVillage has a great area for finidng other moms in your area.
Hope you find soemthing to do soon, and I am sure things will be better once you have ideas.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-02-2004
Thu, 08-12-2004 - 1:32pm
hi! i may be in the minority but i don't do a whole lot! haha! i have a ds who is 4 and a dd who is 9 months old and we stay pretty close to home (it is a struggle to take ds out - he's very active and is going through a fun "not listening" stage, arrgh!).

dd loves riding in shopping carts - she loves looking around. since it's summer i take her in the backyard with me and ds in the late afternoon. i have a little kiddie pool that only fills up a few inches. i let her splash around and crawl around in there with floating balls and cups (i sit by the edge, an arm's length away, of course).

newer malls (where i live, at least) have kid play areas now and, although your little one may be too small to play with the big kids, you could always just sit and hold her or let her crawl around a less busy spot. i usually end up talking with other parents who are there with their kids, too. i totally understand the need for social interaction! it's so necessary to be able to reconnect with the "grown-up" world once and a while! haha.

welcome to the board,

amanda

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-10-2004
Thu, 08-12-2004 - 6:37pm

Hey there! I am new too and I know just what you mean by "baby boredom". A change of scenery goes a long way! We just go out for errands (only one or two a day as she can get very sick of her car seat) and as the other moms said, she loves the shopping cart. We grocery shop at Wal-Mart so since DD is good, we go to the toy section and play or maybe even get a small new toy. My DD also loves restaurants. When she was smaller, she would sit there very importantly eating her crackers like a big girl. We are at the coast so the beach is one of our favorite places to go for an afternoon. She also loves the park and there are always other mommies and babies there to play with. A playgroup is one of the SAHM's absolute lifesavers, I think, just as important for mom as for baby. We also have a kiddie pool which D loves to float in on her little raft, with me holding it of course. And then there's always a stroll around the neighborhood. The fresh air will tire her out and I can really use the exercise! I think the most important thing is just to change things up. Both of you will be out of your minds with boredom that a simple change

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Sun, 08-15-2004 - 3:12am
I'm new too, this is my first post! :) I have a 7 1/2 month old son and I've noticed the same thing. I have been forcing myself to get out more because I get stir crazy being at my house all the time. It's not easy being a stay-at-home Mom. I take my son on errands like shopping for a present for someone, going grocery shopping, just going on a short drive like to the mocha stand or something, going to Wal-Mart, taking him for a walk along the waterfront in his stroller, and going shopping with fellow mothers/family/friends. Uggh, I know what you mean about social contact. When my husband gets home I have him watch our son and I go tanning or to the gym. My son likes the Baby Einstein videos, he watches those during the day and I just bought him a fisher-price intelli-table which he likes to play with. Hope that helps!