Tag Archives: development

Why I love my Wonder Weeks App

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a parent, it’s that you can’t truly be prepared for anything. Your baby might wake up one morning and cry non-stop for no reason. Or at least it seems that way until she lets rip an enormous fart. Or maybe she’s super clingy and you don’t know why – it’s moments like those that I simply couldn’t live without my baby sling. However, there is a way to get a bit more insight into what’s going on.

You may or may not have noticed the pretty gray button on the right side of the page. That’s to show you that I’m a columnist over on Tums 2 Tots. My column each month is about an app that makes pregnancy or parenting easier, and you can check it out over here (and you really should – the site has gone through a rebranding and looks beautiful!). This month, I wrote about The Wonder Weeks app, and it truly is my lifesaver sometimes. Continue Reading

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Activities for baby development – 3-6 months old

Development for 3-6 month olds

Baby development is such a strange thing. On the one hand, babies seem like blobs – they can’t do much and it can be so daunting to do activities and have no idea if anything is sinking in. On the other hand, the period from 0-24 months is when babies develop at the fastest rate. Their brains are growing so much every day, and this is when they’re the most like sponges, absorbing all the information. They won’t remember it when they’re older, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t help or apply. I already shared some ideas for 0-3 months, but of course, it’s a continual process.

I love watching Harley develop. Dean and I have had a few instances where we’re sure she wakes up smarter. Her eyes will focus more, her attention span will lengthen or she’ll have some new skill. Now that she’s smiling, I am even more confident about which activities she enjoys and how to engage with her. But with her expanded skills, there’s also room for a bunch for development. Thankfully, I have a ton of activities in my arsenal. Continue Reading

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3 Comments Child Development, Parenting

How much attention does my baby need every day?

Being back at work has forced me into a balancing act. I want to do my best at my job, while also taking care of my tiny person. Harley isn’t a particularly difficult baby. Yes, she cries at times, but once I hold her, feed her and make sure she’s clean, she’s generally quite happy. But that doesn’t make balancing both activities easy, and I realized a big part of my guilt lies in feeling like I’m not doing enough with Harley.

I have these images in my head of orphanages when communism fell in the USSR. You know, the rows of cribs and babies crying for hours without any attention. These poor neglected babies who weren’t raised with love, who didn’t get the necessary stimulation, who were condemned at an early age to a life without opportunities every child should get. Now, obviously Harley’s experience is nothing like that, but it doesn’t get the mental image out of my head. I’m not neglecting my baby, but I am focusing on other things from time to time. But how bad is that? How much attention does a baby need? Continue Reading

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How Harley has changed in three months

Today Harley turns three months old. It’s still a bit odd because I always have to adjust her age – she’s three months old, but considering how early she came, she should only be about a month old. That said, there are only really a couple milestones that are a bit delayed for my little preemie princess – otherwise, she is already on track for her actual age.

In only three months, my little girl has gone from a mere shadow of a baby to a real tiny human. She is growing so much every day, and I’m amazed at her development. Much like my own changes in the past three months, time has taken on a strange shape – it feels like both a long time and an instant. I can only imagine how another month or three or nine will change her even more. Continue Reading

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Activities for baby development – 0-3 months old

development milestones

I am determined to give Harley the best shot at life, wanting to give her all the mental, physical and social advancements possible to help her in her later life. I already knew I wanted to read to her as part of my plan to hopefully raise her to be a book worm. However, at this extremely young age, reading is sort of difficult – her attention span is really short and she’s barely even able to focus on the pretty pictures. I still like to read to her, but it doesn’t feel like it’s doing much to help her develop.

Thankfully, the massage class I started going to with her actually gave me tons of other ideas for activities with her. That, combined with reading a bunch of articles about really early childhood development, means that I’ve sorta learned how to develop her various skills until she reaches the point of being able to grab her toys or focus on pictures when I read her books. Continue Reading

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8 Comments Child Development, Geek, Parenting