There are a lot of fun and easy ways to play with your baby. Every baby is different and you can experiment to see what your little one likes the best. Here is a list of ways to play with your baby, and there is no right or wrong choice. Have fun and be present to enjoy these moments.
- Making faces
- Bicycle pedaling baby’s legs
- Clapping hands
- Showing them toys
- Reading stories
- Talking to baby
- Tummy time
- Listening to music, singing, dancing
- Letting baby feel different textures on their hands and feet
- Counting fingers and toes
- Blowing raspberries
- Making different animal noises
Read on for more info on these playtime tips!
Raise your hand if you’re a new mom and search for newborn “how-to’s” multiple times a day.
As a first-time mom at 42, I feel so blessed and lucky every day that we are in the first few months of our parenthood journey after years of trying to make it happen.
But at 3 months old, our baby is starting to find his voice and get more vocal.
He’s beginning to find his hands and see that he can make things move, and he wants to be engaged when he’s awake.
It’s not rocket science, but I was stumped for a minute.
I don’t want him to be bored, but I also don’t want to overstimulate him.
Babies develop so quickly, so play away and remember to keep it simple and don’t overthink it.
Playing with your baby is an excellent way to bond, encourage development and have fun.
The most important thing is to have fun and be present with your baby. Remember to keep it simple and don’t overthink it.
These activities are just suggestions, and you can adapt them to your baby’s individual needs and interests.
Making Faces to Play with Baby
Babies love looking at your face.
When they’re in the first few months, baby’s vision is still limited.
So your smiling face is going to be one of the things they see the most.
Having eye contact with baby and making faces starts to allow them to explore how they can mirror your expressions.
It tells baby you are present and they have your undivided attention, which alone usually will get a big smile.
Our little one just started mirroring us sticking out his tongue. I can’t wait to see what else he starts to pick up.
Babies love smiles and silly faces, so let your inner kid out!
Pedaling Legs Like a Bicycle to Play with Baby
Softly hold your baby’s legs and make a bicycle pedal motion.
The double benefit to this one is it is good for your little one’s tummy and can help to move gas along.
So it’s definitely a go-to if you think baby has an upset tummy.
I don’t know what it is, but every time we do the leg pedal it’s instant smiles and coos.
You can be silly with it too. When I’m playing with my baby, I keep saying over and over,
“Where you running to? Why are you running so fast”
And then I’ll just say in a high quick tone, “Run, run, run, run…” and he loves it.
It’s the simple things.
Clapping Hands to Play with Baby
Gently clap your baby’s hands together or stretch arms.
Depending on what stage baby is at, their hands may not reach each other, so you can stretch out arms above the head or sideways.
Any action that helps them explore their hands and arms and how they move can be play time.
My little one’s hands still don’t reach together yet, so I stretch out his hands and say “yay” and he loves it.
He’s three months old, so it’s still early for him to clap.
But showing clapping early will help him know what to do when he’s a little older.
Practice Visual Tracking to Play with Baby
Use a favorite toy for your baby to focus on and follow, or shake a rattle.
Even when my some was just a few weeks old he was able to track objects with his eyes.
We started with black and white objects since those are the easiest colors for newborns to differentiate.
It helps to get little ones to move their head in different directions too, which is good to minimize the chances of getting any flat spots on baby’s head.
Reading and Talking to Play with Baby
Babies love to hear your voice. It’s familiar and comforting to them.
I didn’t think my husband and I would be cooing and making goo goo gah gah faces at our baby. But guess what, we unabashedly do.
Most times it’s so fun to see him respond and give us big smiles and flirt.
Some moments though when we’re exhausted, or just need some adult mental stimulation, we’ll even read out loud to him whatever we’re reading.
Like my husband was reading stock data analysis the other day to our 3-month-old. Needless to say, he had a great nap in Daddy’s arms.
Practicing Tummy Time to Play with Baby
Did you know that you can start tummy time the day you take baby home from the hospital?
I didn’t until a few weeks later!
Tummy time is one of those so important but sometimes tricky play times. Some babies love it and some not so much.
To be honest, we didn’t do as much tummy time at first as what’s recommended. Now he’s lifting his head though no problem.
It was like one day he could just do it and his neck muscles didn’t fatigue as they did before.
It was a struggle because in the early days when he was awake, even if I waited a half hour after he ate, tummy time always made him spit up.
Sometimes just a little but other times quite a bit.
It’s important to note that tummy time is only for supervised awake time.
Baby should always sleep on their back before they have the strength to roll over.
Listening to Music and Singing and Dancing to Play with Baby
I am so tired of all of the baby playlists on Spotify.