I am currently suffering so badly from mum guilt and its a horrible place to be. Maternity leave is wonderful, being able to spend all my time with my little man and watch him grow but theres only so much to do. Maternity pay is rubbish so I can't afford to do much meaning that a lot of our time is spent at home. This is where the mum guilt comes in, it is so hard to keep Rory entertained at all times and I can't help but feel like I'm failing him when I'm watching tv and he's just laying on his play mat or sitting on my lap. I feel like I need to be constantly playing with him, reading to him or taking him out to see new surroundings but its just not always possible!
How do you get over this? I just don't know! I know that its important to let him learn to play on his own and entertain himself sometimes but it doesn't make me feel any better. I just want to say that if you are feeling the same, you're not alone!
Here are some of the things I have Rory do to help him entertain himself a little bit and learn at the same time which in turn helps ease the mum guilt...
Fisher Price Kick and Play Piano Gym, this little guy is a life saver! I keeps Rory the most occupied and it is super easy just to plop him down on when I need to answer the door or let the dog out for a wee. He loves kicking at the piano and hearing the sounds it makes, he chews on the hanging toys and he most likes to try and escape the gym which keeps him happy for ages! I try and swap/change the hanging toys regularly to keep him busy.
Even before Rory was born we had our eyes on this adorable little Jellycat Octopus, I didn't really think a baby would care much about it but we desperately wanted it simply because its freaking adorable. But, Odell the octopus really does keep him entertained! He pulls on and chews all the legs, he cuddles it, he throws it. Sometimes I even tie him to the play gym using two of his legs and Rory spends ages trying to free his little friend.
If your baby is teething, you need these! Only recently he's been paying much attention to these, especially Sophie the giraffe. He loves to chew them both and they are perfectly sized/formed for his little hands to be able to grip onto super well. I do however, spend a lot of my time boiling them both to keep them clean because they take turns being chewed on then dropped on the floor.
BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS! This kid loves a good book, he loves being read to, loves looking at pictures and if i'm too busy to do these things with him, he also like to chew them and throw them about. We keep the nicer books safe in the bedroom for bedtime reading and the ones that can be chewed downstairs with his daytime toys. These poor books are quite wet most of the time.
I got these soft blocks for him for Christmas, I didn't think he would use them much until he was a little older but actually they get used loads. I stack them so he can roll through them or punch them down. I also like to stack them in front of his door bouncer so he can kick them down. He smiles and laughs like crazy when they are gently thrown at him!
Tomy Eggs, I loved these as a kid, I feel like every kid loves them. I have no idea why because they are literally a box of eggs but like most babies, Rory is a fan. He knocks the box about until the eggs are all out then rolls around in the mess picking up egg pieces as he goes.
Last, the door bouncer! This is a life saver for people in little houses like us, we just don't have the room for a jumperoo so this has been amazing and Rory loves it! Can you tell?
It entertains him for ages while helping him strengthen his legs and learn new skills. I often secure different items to the front for him to play with as well such as this crinkle book that he paws at while he jumps!
Its important to let your baby do things by themselves and not cuddled all the time, which is hard when they are so damn cute but these are the things that have been helping me keep him busy!
Is there anything you do that keeps your little one busy? Id love to know so I can try it myself!
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