How to play with a newborn baby?

“It is important to remember that the newborn also needs a lot of calm alone time without interference, allowing him to get to know his environment on his own.”

When is it worth playing with the baby?

It is good to schedule the moment of play so that the baby is awake and attentive, that is, after sleep and when the baby is not too hungry. Play moments are meant to be a relaxed and comfortable time. If the child does not like a particular game, it is advisable to change it to another one or try it again later. You will soon find out which games are your baby's favorites.

It is important to remember that the newborn also needs a lot of calm own time without interference, allowing him to get to know his environment himself. Many Tiny Love toys encourage independent play and exploration, allowing the baby to play at his or her own pace appropriately. All Tiny Love products are designed to support different stages of a child's development together with specialists in the growth and development of children. Many of the toys are designed to be used during many different stages of development, as the child grows and learns more.

Can a newborn lie on his stomach?

The newborn can start daily lying on his stomach right away, as this supports the baby's motor development and muscle strengthening. You should start getting used to it for a couple of minutes at a time 2-3 times a day frolicking on an older man's chest. The amount of time the baby spends on his stomach is gradually extended until around 3 months of age the baby can lie on his stomach for about 30 minutes a day. A play mat is a great tool for prolonging lying on the stomach.

When the baby starts to feel nervous or tired, the tummy time is over and the baby is turned back on its back. Staying on the stomach is slowly accustomed to the baby's own pace and the baby is not put to sleep on his stomach.

How to make it easier for the baby to stay on the tummy?

Time the tummy time so that the baby is in a good mood and cheerful, for example, after a diaper change or a nap. Soft and engaging play mat makes lying on your stomach fun and encourages your baby to try to raise his head, the training of which the baby usually begins at about 2 months of age.

The time spent on the stomach is important for development, but strengthening the developing muscles is for a small baby like sports and therefore it is good for the baby to be motivated through play and toys. In the Meadow Days carpet comes with a pillow for the baby to make it easier to lie on the tummy. You can also roll up a support for your baby from a soft blanket or towel yourself. Staying on his stomach is fun when the baby has a comfortable posture, as well as interesting things to watch and listen to.

Tiny Love Gymini Play Mats many activities make it easy to entertain the baby. In the play mats there is a mirror from which the child can admire and wonder at himself, making it easier for him to enjoy himself with his stomach. You can take one of the funny hanging toys and use it to entice the baby to stay on his stomach. The padded toys on the play mats are removable, so you can easily change them and move your baby's favorite toys conveniently from the playmat Citrus and into the carriage to go with the baby.

You can find different interactive, rattling and vibrating hanging toys from here.

What kind of toys are suitable for a newborn baby?

Round shapes such as faces and eyes catch the attention of a small baby. The baby is interested in faces, and especially the faces of their own parents.

In Tiny Love products, the adventurous animal characters are designed for the little baby to be interesting to watch. It is easy for a newborn to perceive cute animals big round eyes and while watching them, the baby is practicing facial recognition and emotional skills at the same time.

Introduce the baby to toys one by one, let him explore the toy peacefully at his own pace and make sure that there are not too many stimuli around the baby at the same time. When the baby gets tired of the toy, you can change it to another. It is not worth too much to direct the baby's play, but to let the baby decide for himself how to play with toys - there is no wrong kind of play!

What does the newborn see?

The newborn can only see at a distance of about 20-30 cm, so when playing with the baby it is worth being close to the baby's face. Hanging toys on play mats can also be moved closer to make them stand out better for the baby.

Newborn babies only see shades of black, gray, and white. Because of this From the Magical Tales series a lot of high-contrast black and white and gray colors are found for the developing eyes of newborns.

How to train the sense of sight of a newborn baby?

Strong contrasts in the black and white color scheme stimulate the baby's sense of sight and help focus on patterns. With black and white toys, you can practice with the baby to follow the subject already when the baby is a couple of weeks old.

How to follow the toy with the baby:

Move the toy in front of the baby's face slowly back and forth and see if the baby's gaze follows along.

Read What to expect with a newborn? from our blog more about the development of the baby's vision and other senses.

What games are suitable for a newborn baby?

In the first couple of months, the most important thing in a newborn's play is the face, voice and togetherness of the parents. Your baby likes when you bring your face close, and you make easy, exaggerated expressions that your baby distinguishes well. Newborns can already imitate, so by showing the language you can get your baby to do the same. Here are some games that you can try already in the first months of your baby's life.

With the baby, facial expressions:

1. Put the baby in a sitter, lie on his back on a play mat, or take the baby in your arms
2. Bring your face close to the baby, at a distance of 20-30 cm
3. Make eye contact with the baby
4. Slowly display language
5. Wait and see if the baby responds by mimicking
6. Repeat again many times
7. See how your baby responds to different facial expressions

Peeping play with the baby:

1. Put the baby in a sitter, lie on his back on a play mat, or take the baby in your arms
2. Bring your face close to the baby, at a distance of 20-30 cm
3. Make eye contact
4. Put your hands in front of your face slowly
5. Peek between your hands and smile at the baby
6. Give the baby time to respond and react
7. Repeat the game over and over again

How to support the motor development of the baby through play?

The motor development of a small baby is just beginning, so the baby does not yet know how to control his movements and is only just learning to become aware of his own body. Various games that focus on movement and tactile sensations help in the development of muscle control and body perception.

For a two-month-old baby, you can try the following games, for which you only need a cuddly play mat or other platform, as well as thin gauze.

Baby Jumping Game:

1. Put the baby to lie on his back on a play mat.
2. Grab the baby's hands or feet and gently make small movements, while explaining to the baby “here are your feet”, “here are your hands”.
3. Movements that cross the midline of the body and cross movements develop the joint function of the cerebral hemispheres of the baby.
4. Bring the baby's arms crossed over the baby's chest. This is a movement that crosses the center line of the body, in which the legs or arms cross the center of the body from right to left, or the other way around.
5. In a circular motion, move the baby's legs alternately up and down, a bit like a baby riding a bike. This is a cross movement, which means using both hands or both legs in sync.

In addition to jumping games, the baby's motor development is supported, cognitive skills are developed and the baby receives important time together as the focus of parental attention.

Thong play with the baby:

1. Put the baby on his back on a play mat.
2. Grab the edge of the gauze, lift it up and slowly sweep the gauze over the baby.
3. Continue repeating the same movement.
4. The gauze play also serves as a peeping game! Soothe your baby with joy whenever the baby's face appears from under the gauze.
5. To create variety, a light gauze can be allowed to fall on the baby's stomach at times and lift up again.

Touch is also important for the development of the baby and tactile play helps the baby perceive his own body and its sensations. With gauze play, you can activate your baby's sense of touch in a fun way.
More ideas you can find From Tiny Love's Blog.

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