Friday, February 20, 2009

Jumping Jack

When he's not napping, Jack is a busy boy. And mom is busy keeping baby entertained. He seems to have a short attention span, or rather, activity tolerance, so I need to keep a few tricks up my sleeve to get us through to the next nap time. First, there's the activity mat: Jack just started actually reaching for the toys that hang down. I usually keep this by the balcony door where it's nice and sunny. Since it's been too cold to spend time outside, at least I can give him a nice view and a warm corner. From there, we might move to the Bumbo: I keep this in the kitchen. Jack can sit on the table and watch me get dinner ready or wash dishes. This is supposed to be one of those "Best Baby Items Ever" things. And it is really cool. But unfortunately, Jack can only handle it for 10 minutes max. He usually starts arching his back and then starts fussing to be rescued. It seems pretty sturdy but I'm afraid that one of these days he's going to learn to pop himself right out! When the Bumbo gets old we try the swing.
When Jack was a baby I didn't let him sleep in his swing, except for maybe once or twice as a last resort. I didn't want it to end up being a sleep prop. I think that may have backfired because it doesn't seem to have the calming effect on him that I was hoping for. He does pretty well in here when he's by himself, but if he sees me in the same room he'll soon be yelling for Mommy. Recently, we added my favorite activity to our daytime routine - the Jumpster! After weeks of practicing jumping on my lap, I finally wisened up and got Jack his own mechanism. Yay for good exercise! As you'll notice, the Jumpster requires a doorway, which aren't easy to come by in our house. That's why Jack is jumping in our pantry, it's the only doorway (other than the bathroom) on our main floor. So yes, he gets to play in between the Swiffer and Crock-Pot. Poor kid. At first Jack didn't know what to do with his new toy. He spent most of his time spinning in circles. But within a week Jack was catching some serious air! It's a lot of fun listening to him get a kick out of himself, and I'm able to get stuff done around the house while he stays occupied. So far he's managed pretty well, despite a lack of steering ability. He only occasionally slams into the doorway, and hasn't yet pinched any fingers and knocked over any brooms. So here's hoping the Jumpster, and the doorway trim holding it up, will last us a long time!

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