Tag Archives: playing

Going Dad’s Top Ten Pinterest Picks (2): Baby Play Ideas

04/09/2014 R.C. Liley 3 Comments

I’m an impatient dad when it comes to playtime. I was ready to start playing games with Avery right after cutting her umbilical cord at the hospital! But, I reluctantly held off.

Once we brought her home, I attempted playtime in some form or fashion on a daily basis. It wasn’t well received….

I kept trying, but she kept tight-lipped.

I'd be more amused if you actually shut-up, dad! — I’d be more amused if you actually shut-up, dad!

And then finally she acknowledged my stupid noises and facial expressions making them all worth my while!

Ha ha, hey, those dumb noises are kinda fun!

Now that Avery’s coming up on 5 months and is becoming more active every day, Kelley and I have been finding new ways to play and keep her entertained. Although she still can’t crawl, I feel the time is drawing near and she’s pretty good in her jumper or standing with our assistance.

At a loss of ideas for what to do with Avery now and in the near future, I sought out Pinterest for some fresh ideas. And thus, my list of top ten activities to do with your baby is born (semi-pun intended). Some ideas are good to do before your baby can even crawl, like Avery, and others are just great for when the time comes. Check them out and let me know if you’ve tried these or plan on trying soon. Enjoy!

1. Baby Treasure Baskets. This is simple and fun. I want to use fruit and veggies too!

2. Homemade Material Box. Save your tissues!

3. Homemade Sensory Bag

4. Discovery Bottles

5. Ball Pit!

6. Muffin Tin Sorter. I never made good muffins anyway!

7. Obstacle Course for Crawling. Pretty sure I’ll go through it too!

8. Baby Bounce. I just tried this with Avery, but all she did was stand and smile; no bouncing yet.

9. This is just a link explaining the benefits of “Peek-a-Boo”. Very interesting and I’m trying to do it more now!

10. 24 Activity Ideas to do with your Baby. Yeah, I know this isn’t one thing, but they are all pretty neat!

Going Strong

Going Strong: Peek-a-Boo Push-ups

02/27/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

I am always trying to figure out ways to fit in exercise should the time come when I can’t actually do as laid out in my current routine. With Avery, this happens more often than before, and it can just be difficult when you’re a tired parent to baby.

Being my stubborn self, I will be sure to find a way to work something in for the day. And hey, when there’s a will there’s a way; right?

That said, I wanted to share a pretty simple, but fun way to get some exercise and entertain your kid or kids. We all know the game Peek-a-Boo where we cover our face, ask “Where is (insert name or daddy/mommy)?”, and then uncover our face saying “Here I am!”

Sure, it’s fun for the kid (usually), and us parents/friends/relatives love to see their smiling faces. But, why not try to make it more fun for the both of you and get a little a exercise to boot? Enter “Peek-a-Boo Pushups”.

The thought just came to me today, and although I’m sure it’s not hard to figure out what to do, I made a little video to demonstrate with Avery…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBZ6KZ5WgMc?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

Yeah, I’m great at cutting my head off, huh? I could say I planned it like that, but I’d be lying. Hey, at least you get to see the cute baby. Avery is still not too sure about peek-a-boo, so hopefully her lack of enthusiasm will change as she ages.

Doing just push ups may not seem like much to some of you, but at least it’s something, and that’s better than nothing. Plus, with a little creativity, you can put together a good routine to work your whole body.

Try making it a great learning and playing time for your child, and a full body workout for you by doing burpees, lunges, push ups, and thrusters together.

Here’s a sample routine that includes burpees and baby thrusters as I demonstrated in videos from a past post.

Do 3 – 5 rounds (however many your kid will allow) of:

Burpees x 10 – counting out loud to teach numbers
Lunges x 10/leg – while holding your kid or having them watch
Peek-a-Boo Push ups x to failure or however long your kid keeps interest
Baby Thrusters x 10

There, by counting your reps you can teach your kid numbers and how to count, and playing peek-a-boo provides entertainment. I get this a very dependent on your kid being cooperative, but I am sure most will get a kick out of this. Plus, they’ll see their parents being active which will hopefully wear off on them!

Would you be willing to give this a try? Let me know your thoughts if you do or don’t do it, I’d love to hear results!

Parenting

Tummy Time and When Can We Play?!

02/13/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

We are just about 3 months into being parents and I’m already restless wanting to play with Avery. Am I being to impatient? Anyone else have these feelings?

I try and play peek-a-boo, nothing. I open a book to read and she looks everywhere but right in front of her at the book and then usually gets fussy; fail. I jump from around a corner and say boo; bad idea, she just starts to cry.

For some dumb reason, I thought it might be cool to pop those plastic air-filled packaging things for a “fun” and surprising pow sound. Nope. She made her bottom lip turn over just like you’d see a sad cartoon puppy do and started crying. It didn’t last long, but I felt bad. Kelley and I have started calling her sad face the “Hector Face” because it reminds us of the old guy named Hector on “Breaking Bad.”

Okay, her lip goes down more than this and she's a lot cuter, but the name is stuck. — **Okay, her lip goes down more than this and she’s a lot cuter, but the name is stuck**.

I know I must have patience, and everyone keeps reminding me of this, but I keep trying every day anyway. Since I am stay-at-home dadding, there’s only so much to do. If she’s sleeping, I can’t be too loud, I don’t even flush the toilet! I spend most time in the kitchen making lunch/dinner for Kelley and myself, as well as get in a workout in our cold garage. If Avery naps well, that is.

Then it’s just feed, burp, change diaper, walk/talk/move around, swaddle, try to feed again, try to get her to nap, fail at my attempt, offer the bottle, change diaper again, do chores with her in the Baby Bjorn, attempt to play, fail at playing, and so on and so forth. That’s not a run on sentence, is it?

I’ve been trying to get Avery to move or roll over with Tummy Time sessions, but she just cries the whole time and sucks on her hand. She did, however, get really close to rolling herself over, if that damn right arm would be in the way! Kelley and I got all excited about this and I can only imagine how thrilled we’ll be when she actually does something. #beingnewparentsiswonderful

Why the pound sign talk? No clue, I’m not very Twitter savvy, but this is me trying. Yeah, I know they call it a hash tag, but I refuse to say that because it’s a freakin pound sign! Do you ever hear the automated voice on the phone say “Enter your password and press hash tag.”…..NO!

Anyway, I’ll let Avery cry for a while as she lays on her tummy just hoping she’ll do something magnificent. Nothing yet, but the day will come, I know it! Then that will be the start of maybe more playing.

We want to get her a bouncer really soon since she is pretty good about holding her head up on her own now. Anyone have any good recommendations? Can’t decide if we should go brand new or find a good used one. Or is that frowned upon? Let me know, I’m up for suggestions!

Okay, Avery is getting squirmy, so that means the end of this post. Off to go see if I will get a happy face or Hector Face….

As a parent, did you ever get anxious to start playing?

How long do you let your baby cry (if he or she did) during Tummy Time?