Have you been asking yourself what are things I can be doing with my baby? In this video
I’m going to share six age appropriate activities that you can do with your newborn and one
month old that will help with your baby's development.
Hi I’m Dr. Belousov. I equip parents with knowledge so they can care for their baby
with confidence. Realistically In the initial several weeks
of your newborns life, your primary focus will be becoming acquainted and establishing
routines. The first several weeks your baby will be sleeping on average 16 out of the
24 hours, and the waking hours will be used up primarily for feeding, diaper changes,
bathing and calming your baby. It's usually after two weeks of age, that
the baby starts to have longer stretches of awake time, giving you more opportunities
to introduce her to various activities. The best first activity that you can do with
your baby is tummy time. It helps strengthen the neck, shoulders and arms, and will set
her up to be able to master other skill sets in the upcoming months. The American Academy
of Pediatrics recommends that supervised tummy time for full-term babies starts in the first
week of life. Make sure you are doing this when she is comfortable,
never hungry or irritable. You also don’t want to do it directly after a feeding, as
it can lead to her having a spit. Initially you can start off by putting your
baby on her tummy, her elbows tucked to her sides on top of your chest or abdomen while
you are in a position of leaning back. Start with only 15 to 20 seconds in this position,
as her muscles have not yet gained strength. She will alternate lifting her head and resting
it back down. Gradually increase the length of each session as she gets stronger. In these
early days, it’s more important to provide frequent but brief tummy time sessions throughout
the day rather than one or two long sessions. A good goal to work towards in the first month
is 3 to 5 minutes of tummy time happening at least 2 to 3 times a day.
Around two weeks of age, is a good time to start doing tummy time with the baby laying
on a firm flat surface. I will have a separate video with more details
on tummy time, why it is so important for your baby's development and hacks that you
can do to make tummy time more enjoyable for the baby who doesn’t like to do it. Once
it is released, the link to that video will be included at the end of this video.
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released. An activity you can do with your baby that
will help improve her range of motion, flexibility and be good for her sensory and motor development
is to have her laying on her back in your lap while you gently bicycle her legs several
times. You can then transition to bringing both legs toward her tummy at the same time,
then straightening them out together, and moving them towards her tummy again. This
exercise also comes in handy if your baby is having a tummy ache from trapped gas. This
can help with getting it out. Talking to your baby throughout the day is
another great activity for you to do. While holding her facing you, look into her eyes
and talk with her and smile at her. Even though she may not understand exactly what is being
said, she is listening and learning. You can also walk around and give her a tour
of the house. You can tell her about your plans for the day or comment on whatever comes
to mind. Taking a walk outside with your baby is another
great activity. Not only do both of you get some fresh air, but it gives you more interesting
things to see and for you to talk about with your baby.
You can also sing songs to your baby. No matter what it sounds like, she won’t judge you.
Even if it’s off key, she will instantly become your biggest fan, because it's you.
Another great activity to do is work on your baby's ability to focus and learn to follow
an object with her eyes. Your baby's vision is somewhat blurry in the
early days, that is why she sees black and white or highly contrasted patterns the best.
Initially she will do best at focusing on objects that are 8 to 12 inches from her face.
Hold the item steady and try not to switch it until your baby looks away. Too much visual
stimulation can be frustrating and can even make her agitated. Her visual system is adjusting
to the big New World. So at this age less is more.
There are flash cards with high contrast color patterns or black and white images that are
made specifically for babies, but you can also download images and print them for this
type of activity. Hold the image in front of her face and wait till she focuses on it,
then slowly move it up and down, then side to side, giving her time to focus on the new
location of the image. If you would like a free download of my baby
development checklist, you can get it through the link in the description below.
Please share this video with anyone who you know would benefit from this information.
Also what are the topics that you would like me to speak on in future videos? Enter those
in the comments section. I have a separate video that talks about what
a baby should be able to do at this age, and what red flags to be on the lookout for. You
can access it through the link attached above. I'm looking forward to seeing you in my next video