stay at home moms i need help?

Question

i have a six month old daughter and no vehicle. we play a lot inside the house and there's nobody else here during the day. i get really bored sometimes and i get so tired it is hard to be creative! what kinds of things did you do when they were six months old? i play peek-a-boo, itsy bitsy spider, pat-a-cake, we have playtime on the floor...any and all suggestions are welcome, i have been having a brain fart lately!!!!!

Answer 1

Honey i feel you, when I had my first son I stayed at home for about a year, and I was bored to death, I played the games that you played and let him watch cartoons, I also toke him for walks in his stroller in the neighborhood. I would suggest for you to just find something to do even if its reading a novel to him, kids at this age brains are really attentive and they can learn alot from anything

Answer 2

Well I used to work for a left brain institute for children in japan. I taught kids between the age of 6 months to 2 year olds. We did alot of flash card stuff. For example, for english lessons, I had these flash cards that had colorful pictures on them( eg, a red apple, a yellow bus, etc) I would quickly show each card to the kids as I read out what it was( apple! bus! and so on) The reason behind this was that we all know children have an amazing photo graphic memory. They may not know the pics they see and the funny english sounds I say but as i read them, the left brain kind od memorizes the sound and pic related to eachother. So in the future when they learn english in elementry or in highschool, it becomes easier. For math, I had flash cards with lots of red dots. And on the back of each card were the number of dots that were on that card. I did the same thing as the english cards. Quickly showed each one as I read the numbers( 38,42,25 and so on). By the end of the year, if I flashed two cards at the same time, for example 54 and 55. And I asked them which one was 54. Most kids would respond with the right finger point. 54!!
So maybe you can try it out. But I also think art like drawing and painting and making little crafts with papers and stickers are important. Even if she's only six months. You can do it for her and she can watch. Good luck!

Answer 3

I am a mom and I can tell you that I have been there too. Here are a few things I did to relieve the boredom Take walks with her in the stroller visit a new location everyday, a park you haven't been to one day, the beach the next day etc. Go to a clean...and must emphasize clean, park or even in your yard and let her explore the grass. Go shopping, hang out with friends, visit family, a quick coffee with friends over naptime worked really well with me and my son. Join a mom's group, and socialize there. Your bestfriends during the early stages of motherhood are those with a child or children the same age of yours. It really helps to have someone that you can talk to that is experiencing the same things as you and has a child the same or close to that age. You can share tips on how to get stains out of your favorite sleepers or just rant about sleepless nights or whatever else comes to mind. During her nap times, take the time for you. Workout, read, watch your favourite program, or take a nice bath--with the door open or your monitor on so you can hear her of course! I also found websites like www.babycentre.com to be really helpful for times when I couldn't leave the house. They have forums on almost any topic, useful information on your child's development, and you can even buy neat things on their website.

From my experience I found it really helpful to make friends with people that had children the same age. Parents with older children and even toddlers don't always relate as well because often your problems or concerns seem like no big deal to them because they went through it or they are undergoing different challenges with their own children that seem harder than the ones you're going through. It also helped me to have a schedule. I know you can't always schedule with an infant...Face it, they run the show, but you can keep some kind of routine. Believe it or not but some sort of regularity makes the day go a bit faster.

All I can say is hang in there. There are much more highs than lows in this period of motherhood. Sooner than later you'll have no time for boredom with a rebelious teenager!

Answer 4

I'm in exactly the same boat! My son is 6 months, too, and we just get so bored sometimes! I have a vehicle, but it's totally falling apart, has no AC, and only 1 of the windows go down, so it's for emergencies only, as it gets so hot in there that I had a bottle of handsanitizer melt once.

We play in the Johnny-Jump-Up, in his walker, in his circle seat, and on the floor, and I read him his little books, and we go outside sometimes and see the tree leaves (he loves that). I'll turn on the radio and sing to him, and we have a Baby Einstein video that he'll watch for about 10 or 15 minutes.

He likes to play with the caps to his bottles, for some reason, and a collar that came off of a stuffed cat. He'll sit and play with those for a half an hour, and totally ignore all of the good toys we spend money on. Figures, huh!

Whenever we can, we visit my grandma, who lives down my same road, and that livens up the day, and he'll watch me do dishes or 'help' put laundry in the wash if it's filling up at the same time so he can see the water.

Something else he likes it to go swimming in the bathtub. I'll fill it up pretty much and get in with him and let him slash and kick until it gets cold. He thinks that's just great.

Answer 5

Congratulations Anna! :) Six months old was my favorite time of my kids being babies. They really started showing their personalities about that age. I remember being soooo bored too, not to mention feeling tired. I took up walking while pushing a stroller during the summer months. We have a nice park with play equipment about a mile from our house. I'd pack some snacks and we'd just hang out there. What I enjoyed the most about doing that is that other new mothers would be there too and we'd get to exchange ideas. It's really nice to have adult conversation while your spouse is at work. If walking isn't a good option for you, why not take up reading or get creative with your free time and make something. You could take up painting or sewing, knitting. You could also go to your local library. They had twice a week story time for little kids that we'd attend. A librarian would usually read from a big picture book. The kids loved that! You can then borrow a few books to read at home yourself. Be sure to talk to those other moms though to exchange ideas. Good luck!

Answer 6

I feel for you! I have a 13 mo. old and I am mostly a stay-at home Mom. I work 16 hours per week at night, so I am home with my daughter all day. I have a car, but there's days where I don't feel like going out.

At six months, babies are just learning to hold their head up and prepare to crawl/roll over. I would encourage tummy time...it helps strenghten the neck and shoulders which is essential for crawling. There's tons of good toys out there for tummy time. Baby Einstein makes some good cloth books that say "tummy time" on them and have mirrors in the back. MIRRORS....they are soooo much fun at this age. Books with mirrors in them or just holding your baby in front of the mirror. I guarantee it, she will LOVE it!

Also, try to get your little one to grab at her toes. This is helpful for foot/muscle development for walking. She, too, is probably teething so make sure you have enough teethers around. The Baby Einstein videos are great too...as long as it doesn't become a habitual thing. I started out my daughter on those because she loves the classical music.

When your baby naps, and if you don't have a ton of housework to do or wish to take a nap yourself, bake something. That's what I do to pass the time. Or...get your dinner going....peel potatoes, or whatever you do in preparation for dinner.

Hope that I have helped. Take Care!

Answer 7

There's an eyes, ears, nose and touch type of play that really helps your child and you! Put a very colorful toy in front of your 6 month old, notice the response. Go behind your 6 month old and make funny noises, see if she can hear ok, or she might even turn around and laugh. Watch her response when you just tickle her feet. Have you exercised her lately? Babies love it when you take both their arms and gently raise them above their heads or take their knees up to their stomachs.Also, Mom don't forget, you need friends in your life that are your age and have things in common with you.

Answer 8

I like to take my 4 1/2 month old daughter outside. Even if it's just on our back porch, she likes the new smells and sounds and the flowers and birds.

Or if we practice her new skills - rolling over, sitting up, pulling up. I incorporate toys and lots of praise.

Can you go for walks around the block? Or to a mall just to walk around? Babies love to observe other people and walking around gives them the chance to see lots of people.

When I'm desperate, I can turn on the music channel (MuchMusic here in Canada) and dance with her to the music. She also loves 'So You Think You Can Dance' for this reason too.

Do you have any mom and baby groups in your area? The YWCA runs one in my area. My daughter loves going there and watching the older babies playing and she's even starting to like to play as well. They also do songs and activities, and it's a good way for you to meet other moms.

My daughter LOVES the water. She goes swimming at my parents house, but even when we can't get over there she likes to take baths to splash in. On non-bath days (she gets a real bath every other day), she likes to go in the tub without soap just to splash around and make a good clean mess.

And these are all FREE suggestions. There is a whole other world of possibilities if you can afford to pay for all the great toys they have out.

Answer 9

Walk, walk and more walking! While the weather is still nice, get out the stroller or baby pack and walk!! To the park at that. There you will more than likely meet other mother's with kids and can at least have adult conversation once-in-a-while!!! I'm a stay-at-home mom who has just moved to a new country and you talk about being bored!!! We know no one here! I did find a non-religious play group at a local church and the kids like it (I say non-religious because it takes place at a local church's play room and they don't push religion...it's not atheist).

Anyway, get out and about around town and I'm sure you'll meet some people!

mb

Answer 10

Try some of the huge lego blocks, they come in different colors and the little one can't fit them into her mouth. Also, try some non-toxic paint. Yes, it'll get messy, but it's fun and worth the memories. As an added bonus, you can "frame" her art and give it to relatives at Christmas or some other occasion. Nothing tickles a grandmother more than getting something like that to brag about!

Answer 11

My daughter is now 2 years old but when she was 6 months old she loved to play in the tub. You don't have to bathe her but just put her in and let her have water play time. Looking out the window was fun for her also. She got to see new things. Taking her outside for 15-20 minutes is a breath of fresh air for her to. I know it is hot but 15-20 minutes even the pediatritans say it is healthy. Babies love seeing new things and they all ove t.v. cartoons with bright colors.