4 CREATIVE WAYS TO STIMULATE YOUR BABY'S BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Happy Deepavali to all my Indian friends and Happy Holiday to all! I love Public Holiday and Weekend! (who doesn't?) because we get to play more with our sons! 

Our second son, Rayhan was born with Down Syndrome and Cleft Palate ( u may wanna read my first article ~ My Journey of  Breastfeeding Down Syndrome and Cleft Palate Baby). The biggest characteristic of DS baby is hypotnia.  You have to feel hypotonia; it is hard to diagnosis from pictures.  For example, when I hold Rayhan, it feels like he is going to slip through my arms. Rayhan will feel  floppy or limp. Hypotonia affects every muscle from face to ankles. Thus, in order to make his muscles stronger, Rayhan will always be on tummy time! Tummy time help Rayhan build head control and be the first building block for his development.

The bright side of hypotonia is Rayhan is so nice to cuddled and feel like he is melting into my arms!! :)  Normal babies and baby like Rayhan need lots of play to stimulate their brain development. Here are 4 creative ways to stimulate your baby :

Rayhan loves to play Peekaboo!

Talk, Talk, Talk

Face-to-face interaction with your child helps promote brain connections required for language skills. Talk, sing or coo to your child every opportunity you get. Explain what you are doing or ask her questions. Read picture books often to your child and point out different things you see. Talking to your child regularly also helps teach her the social skill of how to take turns in conversations. 

Bright Visual Cues

"Wait till i grab that stuff up there!"

At 2 months, babies like bright, shiny and colorful things. At this age, children really enjoy looking at images and objects with sharp color contrast. Try hanging bright objects around your baby's surroundings. Make a homemade colorful mobile out of bright yellow, red, blue and green objects and hang it above your child's crib. Make sure that it is out of reach.

Baby's Reflection

Around this age, babies love to look at themselves in a mirror. Place a mirror approximately 8 inches in front of your baby's face. Even though she does not realize she is looking at her reflection, she will be amazed at what she sees, since to her, everything she does, will get an immediate response from the person looking back. Looking in the mirror helps your child learn how to focus and figure out what her face can do.

Tummy Time

By 2 months, your baby is able to hold her head up. Place her on her stomach for a few minutes several times a day. According to BabyCenter, providing daily tummy time to your child from early on helps her learn how to roll over, sit up and eventually crawl. Failing to provide tummy time can cause delays in your child's motor skills development. Here is a video Rayhan enjoying his Mickey Mouse Club! Just look at his head control and strong muscular arms! :)

That's all for today dear. Enjoy your holidays ya Mami! Lots and lots of hugs and kissess from Rayhan to u! We would like to hear how you guys play with your baby, so drop us some comments ya! 

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