Does anyone know how much stimualtion is too much in an infant? I mean beyond the exploring of the world. My daughter has several age appropriate toys and we play with all at some point. Some days she's great but other days she gets over tired from so much. When I notice she's losing interest, we stop and have some quiet time but I don't want to under stimulate her. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a general guideline
thanks everyone for the advice! It's so easy to forget how new everything is to a newborn. Upon paying closer attention I see how she's awed by the world around her.
she's telling you what she wants and you're listening. stop worrying and keep listening. good job mom.
"When I notice she's losing interest, we stop and have some quiet time"
It seems you've already figured it out. Congrats on the new baby!
congratulations on your little girl! there are no "guidelines" mamma...just snuggle and love your little girl as much as you possibly can rightnow. Before you know it she will be walking and talking and saying mamma leave me alone! You can never ever give your baby too much love, its what they need from us!
Just follow your daughter's lead. If she loses interest or starts getting irritated or tired, just stop. Believe me - the world is so incredibly new to her, she really can't be understimulated at this age!
I agree about taking cues from your baby. When she starts to look away or fuss, stop playing. There are no guidelines for amount of playtime a young infant needs. Babies are individuals, they have feelings, emotions and preferences. There is no guideline that takes that into account. There are some things that you have to figure out on your own :) Follow your baby's cues. A two month old likely has a very short span of attention and tolerance.
Good luck and enjoy your new baby!
First off Congratulations! I have a 2 1/2 month old as well! However my toddler eats up most of my attention. I worried about the same thing when my first was this age. But now that I have two I see the difference.
Babies this young will simply turn away or cry or fall asleep when they have had too much stimulation. So for too much stimulation take your cue from baby.
At this age everything to them is new, so it is hard to understimulate your baby. A walk in the park when you are so tired you can't even look at your baby let alone give her a running commentary is stimulation to her. With having a two year old there is a constant show going on in my house for the little one to watch.
There are so many things to stress out about, and while it doesn't matter how many people tell you this I will do it anyhow, be kind to yourself. Don't stress that you aren't doing enough or that you are somehow failing your child by not playing with her one on one for a pre-prescribed number of hours a day. I guarentee with your next child you simply won't have the opportunity to do so and that child will also turn out fine.
She will change in the coming months and she will look for more interaction. When she starts sitting up and crawling for example she will seek you out to engage you. Then it will be much easier to tell when she is interested and when she is not. So try not to stress for now.
Good Luck!
Take your cues from the baby. If she's having fun, keep going. If she's tired, upset or disinterested move on to something else. At that age, I would get on the floor with my son propped on his Boppy and stack blocks, read books and play music. Babies need downtime too... they spend a lot of time taking-in the world around them.
I think each child is different and as you get to know your child more and more and her personality developes you will be able to make that decision. Its not like you can cause harm by overstimulation her by normal parent child interaction. I would say if you park in in front of the tv with loud flashing sounds for 8-10 hours a day then indeed you could harm her but in your case I would not be concerned.
