Your baby is finally here! You’ve been waiting the better part of a year for your little miracle to arrive, and all you can do is stare in awe.
We don’t blame you! But you don’t have to wait to interact on an even deeper level. In fact, experts say play is just as important as eating and sleeping — right from the start.
Though your baby isn’t playing peekaboo or engaging with toys in these very early days, play is still the primary way in which children explore and interact with the world around them. For a newborn, even returning a smile is a form of play — and it’s helpful for parents to recognize these actions as such, because engaging with your child in these instances makes the experience that much more enriching.
What skills is your newborn developing?
Skills such as smiling for the first time and, later, waving “bye bye” are called developmental milestones. These markers of a child's growth help pediatricians and parents track baby’s progress in four important developmental categories: social and emotional, language and communication, cognition, and gross and fine motor skills.
It’s important to note, though: Every baby develops at her own pace. Developmental milestones are helpful, but they aren’t a strict schedule. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, always talk to your pediatrician.
But, in general, here’s what you can expect to see during the first three months (what’s broadly considered the newborn period):
Social and emotional skills
- Makes brief eye contact
- Calms when picked up
- Begins to smile at people
- Tries to look at parent or caregiver
Language and communication skills
- Coos and makes gurgling sounds
- Turns head towards sound
Cognitive skills
- Begins to track objects
- Starts to act bored when activities don’t change
Gross and fine motor skills
- Lifts head up while leaning on forearms
- Open and shuts hands
- Pushes up from tummy time
Best activities for newborn babies
So what can you do with a newborn who doesn’t do much more than, well, lay there? Experts say there are plenty of activities to help foster the rapid development that occurs during this stage. To engage your newborn and help her meet the milestones outlined above, try the following activities:
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Tummy time
Put simply, tummy time is when you place your baby on her stomach to play. This activity helps build muscle and prepares your little one for the day when she'll be able to slide on her belly and, eventually, sit up, crawl and walk. It’s important to note, though: Baby should always be awake for tummy time — ”back to sleep, tummy to play.”
As soon as you’re settled in from the hospital — even the first day home isn’t too soon — you can place your baby on her tummy on a play mat. When she’s awake, put her on her tummy two or three times a day for a short session (three to five minutes). As she gets stronger and older, you can increase the time. If lack of sleep is making you forgetful, try to build it into your routine, such as always doing tummy time when she wakes up from a nap or after you change her diaper.
To make tummy time more enjoyable (many babies resist being placed on their bellies, especially at first), place something colorful or high-contrast on the mat. These high-contract images stimulate, plus help encourage your baby to lift her head and eventually recognize edges and shapes.
Place your baby in different positions
While it might be tempting to keep your — often sleeping — baby in her favorite swing, there’s good reason to change up her scenery (yes, even if it elicits a few cries at first). This “activity” helps baby see the world from new vantage points, something that’s crucial for her social and cognitive development.
It’s easy to do, too: On a flat surface, move baby around. Rotate her so her head is facing you. After a few minutes, rotate her head away from you in a clockwise direction. Of course, you can also move baby from the floor to a swing, and then repeat the process, so she’ll get a higher bird's-eye view of the room, too.
Respond to your baby’s smile with a smile
It may not feel like play, but mirroring your baby’s smile (which you'll likely start noticing sometime between weeks 6 and 8) with one of your own teaches an important social-emotional skill: “Just by smiling at me, you can grab my attention and I’ll be all yours.”
Of course, you don’t need much for this activity — just your own happy face.
Imitate your baby's coos and babbles
As baby gets closer to 3 months, you can expect to finally get to hear a little more than her cries — you’ll begin to hear her sweet voice. Encouraging these language skills is important, as it promotes social development, as well as both expressive and receptive language.
All you have to do is “talk” to your baby. Here’s how: When baby makes a sound, have back-and-forth "conversation" using your baby's noises as a prompt. These back-and-forth behaviors promote self-regulation and impulse control, help form a strong foundation for understanding her interaction with adults and, of course, feed into the development of language.
Try puppet play
Wearing a puppet, move your hand up and down while saying baby’s name, then move the puppet in a circle. Observe to see if your baby can track the movements. As she gets better at following along, you can start to incorporate more complex movement to encourage her vision skills.
If you don’t own any puppets, you can easily fashion one out of a sock. Of course, you could get creative by gluing all kinds of fun craft supplies — pom-poms, feathers and more — to it, but a simple face with a fabric marker works just as well.
Take an adventure around the house
Take your baby from room to room. While carrying her, try different positions — tummy down (with her chest carefully supported by your arms) or propped up on your shoulder, for example. This helps your little one experience new movements and see her world from different perspectives.
Help your baby's eyesight develop
Your baby's once-fuzzy eyesight is growing clearer every day, and at around the 3-month mark, so is her ability to follow an object with her eyes. Give her some practice by offering interesting things to look at, such as:
- Bright patterns. Sharp contrasts are more intriguing (and easily visible) to newborns than delicate pastels, so don't hesitate to go bold in what you show her. Draw simple pictures or cut them from paper and hang them near her changing table.
- Mirrors. Babies love mirrors! She's not vain (she doesn't know that the baby she's watching is herself!), she just loves seeing another tot just her size. Choose an unbreakable mirror made just for infants.
- Mobiles. Hang one about 6 to 12 inches above your baby's face, and off to one side (babies often show a preference for gazing to the right side — see if yours does, too). And remember, the objects on the mobile are for your baby's benefit, not yours. Make sure the most interesting view is from the bottom (where your baby's gaze is going) not the side or top (where yours is).
- Faces and people. Whether live or in photographs, babies are fascinated by the human face. Offer yours for observation often, or show her pictures of other people's faces.
- Books. There's no need for fancy words — or any words at all. Choose sturdy cardboard or cloth books with simple, clear drawings or photographs of everyday objects, babies, children and animals. Your baby might spend more time chewing on the book than looking at it, but she might occasionally sneak a peek at the pictures.
While the above activities are a great way to stimulate your baby, know that any positive interactions — even simply holding, rocking and reading to your little one — helps her thrive. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself: You don’t have to have all of the latest and greatest toys (and tons of them) — any activity in the day can become play. The most important thing is that your baby is engaged and enjoying the activity.
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