Baby games 0-3 months
Author: Claudia
mother
My baby is well provided with toys, of course. She has six older cousins. And she has an aunt with a toy shop. So there was no lack of choice, right from the start. Now she is four months old - and that is a good opportunity to look back on the first play experiences. Of course, I expected much more than a newborn can really do. We were given contrast books in different designs, rattles and crinkly toys. However, the baby looked at us at most.
Because in retrospect, we (the parents) were probably the most fun game: looking at us, being looked at, cuddling. It didn’t really feel like my baby was very interested in contrasts, although that was everywhere to read. I am not a therapist or an educator. And every child develops at his own pace. But these are my observations and the toys that brought us the most joy in the first months.
At four weeks the interest started slowly - we hung a bee on our baby's pram hood. And from the beginning she looked fascinated. This bee doesn't have much contrast, but maybe it's the bright wings or the yellow stripes - who knows. At some point I started taking the bee away when my baby had to sleep - because otherwise she was too busy.
At the same time, contrast images became more interesting. She even followed a book from right to left with her eyes for the first time. We have now put a contrast book in her crib more often. How big the effect was then, who knows. But, a small spoiler: now, at four months, she loves it.
A "contrast book" of a different kind are contrast blocks. Rattling, squeaking, crackling, black and white patterns, small pictures, a "feel" side with coarse cord, very smooth, very soft and "hard" (a mirror). There is a surprising amount to discover in these contrast blocks! At first, the patterns were interesting for my daughter. And unlike soft books or folding books, the little one has plenty of time to look at each page - blocks do not fall over and the picture does not lie flat on the floor. Thanks to the small loops, the blocks can also be hung on the play arch. And more and more often our baby not only grabs, but also grabs the blocks herself, tries to grab them to "examine" them independently. .jpg)
But in the beginning there doesn't seem to be much time left to play anyway: we still had to get used to drinking from the breast. Then babies sleep a lot at first and in the meantime we slowly entered the world again: for the first time with the tram, the first doctor's appointments and afternoon visits to grandma and grandpa or friends.
But suddenly, at two months, our baby discovered her own hands. A great love story, to this day. About the 10-week-old baby I wrote in my diary: "You are discovering your hands more and more and can now really entertain yourself with them and with transparent cloths" For much of what I write here, I had to dig into memories, diary notes and photos on my phone (how quickly you forget...). But the evening with the cloths was almost magical. For 40 minutes, the baby was interested in nothing but the blue cloth in her hands. She held it tightly and looked at it, touched it, turned it in her hands and brought it to her lips. All in all, cloths are a lot of fun, even for the little ones. Because they feel nice, because they immerse the world in color, because they can float above them like dancing clouds. And later also for the first game of peek-a-boo, playing hide-and-seek with toys, dancing and a thousand other things.
But back to the little hands. What could be nicer for her than grabbing things? For that you initially need toys with relatively thin handles. The Ogo-Ball is perfect for that - even though we still have it in a version without rattles. It is easy to hold, pull apart and squeeze. That's great!
And so I thought: Okay, we have a teething ring. But: our baby has also fallen in love with another ball: the slightly stiffer and more compact Oibo-Ball. The baby can also grasp it well and explore it safely with its mouth. She was 11 weeks old when her aunt "introduced" it to her. At the same time, she started training: light toys that she could grasp well now had to be moved from one hand to the other. Not an easy task! Rings with colored ribbons are good for that.
What baby has also trained: lying on her stomach and lifting her arms to reach toys. She also practiced that from 11 weeks, so at about two and a half months. But of course only when there was something interesting in front of her. And - that is also a new development: new toys are better than familiar toys. Wobbly toys such as the Boi or Dimpl Wobble for example. The head immediately turns along when looking at the wobbly toys and the neck muscles are trained. But she still preferred lighter "grabable" toys in this initial period. 
A great "toy" that I didn't really intend as such is the Senso Softball. It was actually intended as sports equipment for me.
