Month 2 Activities

As the little one (LO) progressed to month 2, she was more aware of her environment. She was trying to fall into the routine of the sequence of events that would happen with bathing, diaper changes, feeding, due to the numerous cycles of repetition; babies thrive on repetition. There were extra alert windows which allowed for more activities together. She showed deep interest to sounds and so a lot of the activities were centered around sound to facilitate her developmental need. Here are some of the activities which we enjoyed in month 2.

Motor Skills

• Tummy time

Tummy time had been part of our daily routine right from her early days. We started off initially with few seconds of tummy time and gradually worked our way up until it was uncomfortable for LO. This month we transitioned slowly to the floor where both of us would have tummy time together side by side. To encourage a longer tummy time, we used bright colorful objects such as the ball rattle or a high contrast book in front of her. We also used the Boppy pillow for assisted tummy time to prop her up, while allowing her to see her environment in a new angle. Below is how LO’s tummy time improved over 2 months.

• Bicycle crunch

When the baby lies on her back, we make gentle pedaling motion as if she was bicycling. This is a great activity to work out baby’s abs, hips, knees and legs; it also helps relieve any gas from baby’s tummy.

Sensory Development

• Bright colors

Babies start to see bright colors around this time. We began to show LO bright objects around the home, fruits and vegetables in the kitchen is a great place to start with and artwork on the wall. We also introduced the octahedron mobile around 6 weeks which she loved to gaze and track the movement of the shapes for longer period. Check out my post about the octahedron mobile on Instagram.

• Explain source of sounds

LO used to get startled hearing different sounds or noises. She used to feel scared when she had hiccups or when I sneeze. I comfort her by labeling what they were in English and Tamil, say for example, “That’s sneeze / தும்மல்” or “That’s hiccups / விக்கல்”. Sometimes she even cries on hearing sounds like those of kitchen appliances. To make her feel safe, we used to explain where the noise is coming from – the beep from the microwave, the agitating noise from the washing machine, the music from the cuckoo clock. And once she was ready, we show it to her at a close distance. For example, we showed her the cuckoo clock and we were surprised to see that she was more excited to observe the motion of the pendulum!

• Rattles

Rattles were a huge part of our activities from making rhythmic sounds as we sang songs, to tummy time and even for tracking their movement. Check out my blog post about rattles and other toys used in month 2.

Language and Mental Development

• Introduce vowel sounds

I introduced the Tamil vowels / உயிர் எழுத்துக்கள் அ ஆ இ ஈ to expose LO to different sounds from the language. I take time to say each letter and pause a while as she tries to mimic my lip movement. While I don’t expect her to say the letters or even know the order of the letters, it certainly gets her curious about the sounds and how she could utter them some day.

• Books on sounds

We read books that introduce different sounds. One of our favorites is Cheep Cheep which has bright and bold illustrations and introduces sounds such as those of sparrow, cuckoo and more. Eventually I added new sounds such as the honking of car, animal sounds to spark interest.

• Simple Tamil poems

I began to recite simple Tamil poems to LO since poems in general have a rhythm and repetition of phrases which helps in absorption of language. Check out the Tamil poems I’ve been reciting to LO so far.

Social and Emotional Skills

• Good morning!

The sweetest thing that happened this month was the first intentional smile which made a world of difference to me! 😊 Thus began a lot more social interaction with LO. Every morning as she wakes up, I greet her with a good morning and this is a great way to connect with the baby.

• Involve in day to day activities

Babies can be introduced to be involved in day to day activities early on. If LO is awake and alert, we involve her in activities that we do, be it mealtime, doing the laundry, going for walks or praying. We even tell her what we are going to do and narrate the actions as we do so that it’s reassuring to her.

It’s important not to rush your child through any of the activities or be worried that they aren’t performing an activity yet. Every child is different and have their own timeline. These are some of the activities that worked for LO and I keep building on the activities based on her interest. Follow your child, for they are the better teacher.

What are some of the activities which you've enjoyed with your 2 month old?

Related posts: Month 1 Activities