And of course, if you're ever worried about your newborn baby's development, do check with your healthcare provider, and get your mind put at rest; meanwhile, here are some activities that I hope will help you and your newborn baby have some calm, fun time together.
Newborn baby activities
Move your baby around with you - from room to room, in the car, going out to the park etc.
Talk to your baby about what you're doing, and get the rest of the family to join in when they're with you. Make baby a full part of the conversation!
Sing a song - either just you or sing along to a CD. Nursery rhymes, Ella Fitzgerald, anything you like - my husband liked some lively rock 'n roll for baby's bathtime :)
Lie next to your baby and show him or her some toys. Pick one up and talk about it, hug it, let your baby touch it.
Sit down with a book, have a cuddle and read a story - the sound of your voice will soothe your baby, and you too! If reading children's stories is a new experience for you, get prepared to be an expert!
You'll be reading your child's favorite stories again and again. So now's the time to put in some practice.
Rub your baby's feet and say "feet, feet, feet!" Do the same with their hands and nose, ears and toes!
Look at your baby, stick out your tongue, open your eyes wide, open your mouth, smile.
Once your baby starts to make a few funny faces, be sure to have the camera ready!
Let your baby follow sounds - a rattle, shaker, squeaky toy or little bell. Move them from side to side or from further away getting nearer.
Have a dance - a slow rocking dance or a faster (but still careful!) movement. Lift baby up, then move him down, then pop him gently onto the bed. Then slow lift-off... another dance - and back down again.
In a warm room, let baby lie with just a diaper on, and let him have a good kick!
Stroke your baby's feet, head, hands. Count fingers and toes. Tap gently on the end of their nose, one, two three!
Still don't know what to do?
OK, here are some more ideas for newborn baby activities.
You may already have a kind of sketchy routine that seems to be forming, but you're at perfect liberty to change things around now and again - if it doesn't interrupt your baby's sleep or feeding habits!
Tour the house This is a good calming method with all young children up to toddlerhood. Carry baby from room to room around your home, talking quietly about what you can see.
Show baby pictures on the wall, take a look in the mirror, look at the sink and turn on some taps, play a few notes on the piano, open and close cupboard doors, or look out of the windows.
Give baby a bath - or how about a sponge bath? Here are some useful tips with some pix on how to bathe newborns from MayoClinic.com
Take baby outside We had a nice balcony where we used to pop outside for a few minutes each day, baby bundled up against the chilly March weather.
You need to make sure baby doesn't get too cold... or too hot - and the sun is not a newborn's best friend.
Find some common-sense guidelines on taking newborns out in this interesting article at good old Dr. Spock
Try a newborn baby swaddle Swaddling your baby means wrapping them snugly in a blanket. Some parents of newborns swear by this technique as a means of getting their baby to sleep better. Apparently, newborns feel more secure all swaddled up, as the feeling mimics the environment they got used to in the womb.
