For the first
few weeks of Ivy’s life I wasn't concerned about tummy time at all, as I
carried her around all the time and she often slept on me, so her head
definitely wasn't in the same position in her crib. But now that she’s having more alert time and
spending more time laying down, we've been trying to do a bit of tummy time
everyday to ensure that she doesn't have any flat spots on her head and to
encourage her to build up the strength in her neck to lift her head as part of
her Physical Development.
Instead of
just laying her down face first on the mat, I've started off by using a rolled
up blanket to prop her up and get her started.
She’s a bit too young to be playing with toys on the mat to keep her
occupied, but I have placed a mirror in front of her to tempt her to lift her
head and admire her beautiful reflection.
I didn't have a tummy time mat for Ethan and don’t have one for Ivy either, I would be curious to know if other people have found that they make
much difference.
Today we went
shopping at the Westfield mall in London.
Our main aim was to buy some cute new clothes for the kiddies, but of
course it’s nice to have somewhere for Ethan to play between shops to keep him
happy. This is great for his Personal,
Social and Emotional Development as he adapts to playing in different areas
with unfamiliar children.
We went to
the play area, and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. For such a large shopping mall, the play area
is very small. It’s also right in the
middle of the mall, which means it’s in the way of people trying to walk
through and there’s not a lot of space to park prams. Unfortunately, Ethan wasn't keen on it. It was very crowded and he very politely kept
saying that he had to wait to do things until another child was finished. He walked through the tunnel a couple of
times, but then he was done. He was much
happier to sit on the electronic cars and things that are in the small
passageways across from the lifts.
On a side note,
I have to say that I do really like the family rooms in the mall. They are quite big and spacious for changing
nappies, there is a big tv and another ride on car that kept Ethan occupied
while I changed Ivy and there are also private feeding rooms.
My poor
little Ivy has terrible reflux, and it causes her to get hiccups quite often,
which she finds really distressing.
Usually I just rock her and cuddle her until they've passed, but today I
tried something different. I decided to
try and distract her by playing a game of peek-a-boo. It’s great for her Personal, Social and
Emotional Development as she’s learning about different facial expressions and
emotions.
Ivy is nearly
7 weeks old now, and just this past week she seems to be really starting to
play and interact more, so it’s the perfect time to start playing little
games. I had my legs bent with her
sitting up against them (to keep her upright to help with her reflux) and I
held up a muslin cloth to hide behind.
Then I would peep out making different faces each time. She really loved it, she stopped crying
between the hiccups and was just fascinated at watching my face disappear and
reappear from behind the cloth. I even
managed to get a few smiles out of her (between the hiccups!)
Today we read a new book from Parragon Books called Around the World We Go! by Margaret Wise-Brown. It is available to buy on Amazon for £3.34. We love reading books in our house, it's one of Ethan's favourite things to do, so it's great to be exposing Ivy to so many different stories from such a young age, it's an important part of both of their Communication, Language and Literacy development.
This book is about children around the world, the illustrations are lovely and I really like how it introduces children to different languages. It isn't really a story, almost more of a poem, so Ethan didn't respond to it straight away as I think that it was difficult for him to follow. We read through it again, discussing the different pictures and looking through the book in more detail and then he enjoyed it more, asking about the different children and landmarks. Ivy was just happy to be sitting with her big brother and hearing a story. I absolutely loved sitting with both of my babies and reading altogether, a Mommy's dream.
* This is a review post, we were sent the Around the World We Go! book by Parragon Books so that we could read it and write an honest review about it. For more about our review process please click here *
This book is about children around the world, the illustrations are lovely and I really like how it introduces children to different languages. It isn't really a story, almost more of a poem, so Ethan didn't respond to it straight away as I think that it was difficult for him to follow. We read through it again, discussing the different pictures and looking through the book in more detail and then he enjoyed it more, asking about the different children and landmarks. Ivy was just happy to be sitting with her big brother and hearing a story. I absolutely loved sitting with both of my babies and reading altogether, a Mommy's dream.
* This is a review post, we were sent the Around the World We Go! book by Parragon Books so that we could read it and write an honest review about it. For more about our review process please click here *
Another beautiful sunny day in London, we're starting to get used to this! Today we went to the park and brought a football with us. We are loving having our own garden, but it doesn't quite compare to having a huge park to ruin around in. All that space to really run and kick the ball is great for Ethan's Physical Development, and also great for Ivy to get some fresh air and watch her brother run around.
It really does make a big difference being in the park, Ethan's been kicking he ball around the garden for weeks, but through the winter we hadn't really brought a ball to the park. Then today we were really able to see how much Ethan's kicking has improved. His coordination is better, he connects with the ball every time. His endurance is also better, he ran around after the ball for ages without getting tired. It's so great that we're getting this nice weather and we'll be able to do this more.
Today we went to a lovely play group that we haven't been to since before Ivy was born. It is such a nice group, with just a set number of families and a good selection of toys. Ethan loves the group, so it was really good to be able to share it with Ivy as well. He gets to interact with lots of different children and take part in a variety of activities, which is great for his Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Both Ethan and Ivy were very well behaved today, which made it easy to have both at the playgroup (plus Nana was with us to help). Ethan played with the cars, sat down to have a snack and joined in with the singing and craft. Ivy slept peacefully through most of it and only cried out a little bit when she was hungry. I'm one very proud Mama!
Both Ethan and Ivy were very well behaved today, which made it easy to have both at the playgroup (plus Nana was with us to help). Ethan played with the cars, sat down to have a snack and joined in with the singing and craft. Ivy slept peacefully through most of it and only cried out a little bit when she was hungry. I'm one very proud Mama!
Lucky for me, I haven't had to cope for long on my own with both kiddies. Hubby's parents left just over a week ago, and now my Mom is here. Ethan is loving all of the extra attention, which may make it very difficult for me once it really is just us, but I am going to take full advantage of the extra help for the next month and worry about that when the time comes. Ethan was very excited for Nana's arrival, I could hardly get him to eat breakfast this morning, he just wanted to stare out the front window watching for her taxi to arrive. We spent the day playing, Ethan taking Nana by the hand and dragging her around the house to all of his different toys, he really does love having guests!
We are so lucky to have had such a gorgeous, sunny weekend! Unfortunately, we all have horrid colds, but at least we have a garden to sit in! So we've spent a lot of time sitting outside, watching Ethan as he plays. How do toddlers continue to have energy, even when they're unwell? At least he was able to run around in the fresh air, great for his Physical Development. Hopefully the warm air will help us all get better soon!
We have survived our first week without any help! Just me, Ethan and Ivy trying to get through everyday the best we could. Today we went to Ethan's music class, we made it there on time (actually a few minutes early!) and with everything we needed. It was nice that we were able to go so soon, as Ethan really loves it and music is a big part of his Creative Development.
Ethan loves music, he sings constantly, dances and likes playing instruments. He was great today, taking part in the whole class, showing his independence by joining in with activities and yet still coming back to Ivy and I to check in between songs. He was really sweet with Ivy as well, showing her the different things that he was doing. And I'm sure that she got something out of it as well, she slept for some of it but also looked around happily for part of it (and she's rarely awake and happy!)
Ethan loves music, he sings constantly, dances and likes playing instruments. He was great today, taking part in the whole class, showing his independence by joining in with activities and yet still coming back to Ivy and I to check in between songs. He was really sweet with Ivy as well, showing her the different things that he was doing. And I'm sure that she got something out of it as well, she slept for some of it but also looked around happily for part of it (and she's rarely awake and happy!)
We've been in our new place for a couple of months now, but with unpacking, pregnancy, Ivy being born and repairs around the house we haven't had a chance for a play date yet. Today we finally got to have friends over, and toddlers and babies got to play together. As we haven't been able to have a play date in such a long time, I wasn't sure how Ethan would be about sharing his toys, so it is great for his Personal, Social and Emotional development as he needs to learn about sharing.
Ethan was napping when they arrived, so when he woke up his friend had already brought out quite a few toys and was happily playing. Ethan was unsure at first, but I am pleased to say that he soon got used to it and they played together really nicely. They even went outside to play on the climbing frame together. The babies also played nicely together...well, they sometimes lay beside each other on the play mat, that's about as good as it gets for babies!
Ethan was napping when they arrived, so when he woke up his friend had already brought out quite a few toys and was happily playing. Ethan was unsure at first, but I am pleased to say that he soon got used to it and they played together really nicely. They even went outside to play on the climbing frame together. The babies also played nicely together...well, they sometimes lay beside each other on the play mat, that's about as good as it gets for babies!
Today we went on our first toddler and baby play date at a friends' house. It was chaos, adorable, cute, hilarious chaos! The toddlers were running around, chasing each other and pulling out every toy on the shelf. The babies were feeding, crying, sleeping and spitting up everywhere. Every Mum was torn in two directions, trying to get their toddler to calm down and share toys whilst trying to calm a cranky baby. All of that going on and we still managed to drink tea, eat cake and have some lovely conversation. Both children came home fed, happy and exhausted. It was a great day :)
