Babies

Let’s be real. Babies are small, they don’t do much... except roll around, poop, and eat. So how do we entertain them? Well... in my last eleven months of parenthood... I have come to one conclusion. You can’t entertain a baby unless you are entertaining yourself. From my perspective, when my son saw me enjoying something and laughing, he would laugh too. See, the thing with kids is that they like to mimic... a lot. They see you eating, obviously you're going to want to give them something otherwise they’ll be going at you trying to grab whatever cookie or snack you have in your hand. Everything revolves around YOU!

So let’s start from the top. When my son was born, I had no clue as to what to do, to be frank. I thought they would just sleep and shit and eat. But once he started getting older... it was less naps and more awareness of what was going on. How did I entertain him? Like I said, I entertained myself. Yes, you put him in a bouncer, he’ll be busy for a couple minutes. But babies get bored... just like we do. You think, “Oh, I’ll pop him in here and I’ll step out to make dinner.” No. The minute I left, it was as if all his fun disappeared. You have to jump as he jumps in the bouncer. You have to push around his toys just to get one little smile out of him.

Another fact, babies will be happy with whatever you give them. You won’t believe how many times I was trying to get dressed and he’d stare at me with his puppy dog eyes begging for attention. So what did I do? I gave him my make up bag. Do I regret it? Yes and no. No because he was happy that I gave him something that I was actually doing myself. And yes because, well, he broke my lipstick. He took the huge chunk off and threw it. Yup. Fun.

There are all sorts of ways to keep them entertained. Are you making dinner? Give him a bowl and a spoon. Are you trying to get dressed? Give him a clothing piece. Are you trying to work from home? Give him something to do with paper and crayons (if he/she is up to that level). It all varies.

My son is a pro at peek-a-boo. He doesn’t even need me to do it anymore. I give him a blanket and boom. He’s trying to play peek-a-boo with me! The more you do things with them, the more they will do it and sooner or later they will be doing it for you.

It’s funny how babies are. I never imagined in my whole life that I’d have to be entertaining someone 24/7. But it’s all worth it. Like I said, keep yourself happy. They will be happy too!