Busy Baby Activities – How I get my work done while keeping my baby busy.

Now that Neel is 9 months old, he is quite active. When he is not playing with his toys or crawling all over the place, he stands up holding something and is slowly learning to walk. He doesn’t sit in one place. He gets so bored at home and expects me to take him out for walks all the time. When we are out, he is the happiest!

As I work 2 days from home, I’m trying to find different activities to keep Neel busy. So far I have tried these after checking many websites on pinterest:

• Keeping Neel in his playpen right next to the sofa– When I sit and work on the sofa, he plays in the playpen. I do this to show him that I am right next to him. I sometimes keep the TV ON. I know it is not a good idea, but it is OK once in a while! (I do need to somehow get my work done! 🙁 )

• Playing with edible sand- It’s a simple recipe- Mix flour, coconut oil and some food color (optional) and put them in a tub or cardboard box. Toss a few toys in as well. This worked for sometime until he found it very tempting to eat!

• Playing with kitchen utensils– He loves to play with the steel utensils I have brought from India. He enjoys the noise they make while banging them on the floor. Sorry neighbors!!!

• Goody bag– Everyday I place some items inside a bag and point it to Neel. He finds it interesting to open the bag and remove all the items from it and play with them. It keeps him busy for a while.
• I pour some water on his high chair and place some bottle caps. He really enjoys splashing about.

• Playing with bubble wrap– He doesn’t understand the concept of bursting bubbles of the bubble wrap, but he enjoys crawling all over the bumpy sheet, enjoying the sounds they make!

• Making a fort out of the lounge chairs– Mike has made a fort by rearranging the lounge chairs outside in our kitchen garden. We have placed some toys around and he plays with them in a secure area.

What do/ did you do to keep your kids busy? I would love to know some tips and tricks. Please share…

Love

-Madhurya