Boys are boys even if they are babies! Well, yes, that's what we concluded looking at all the mischiefs of my cousin's baby boy. He is super active, a mega-pack of energy in a tiny packet! He just cannot stop crawling from one end of the house to the other. He doesn't like anything being organized or sane at home. He cannot take anything else in the house grabbing his limelight. He should be the ONE that everyone focuses on, day in and day out!
There are a few things that make him really happy! Get him CARS, colorful little cars! How does it sound for a toddler? Put all of them in front of him and he will live in his own 'sporty' world. He will lick them, he will drag them all around the house. He will even talk to them! Who knows, they might be talking back too, in a secret language that only both of them understand! Such a close connection! My cousin can easily feed him, divert him and give him a bath, just by showing him all those colorful cars! Beat that!
Next of his favorite activity is to watch Bollywood numbers! God knows what he can connect or what he can get out of it. But oh boy! As soon as the peppy numbers start playing, he will present himself in front of the TV, the very next minute! Things doesn't end just watching those songs. He gets grooving with that cute little booty shake and laughter! One should watch his dance for Honey Singh's 'Sunny Sunny' song. Boy, Yo Yo really has some serious fan following there!
Only thing that can divert him from dancing to Bollywood numbers is 'Peekaboo'. He loves playing that game anytime! Why not? He is the one being 'most-wanted!' and he enjoys all the personal limelight he is craving all the time! He will crawl, sneak and hide himself in spaces where one will hardly expect someone to be hiding. Yes, he becomes doubly energetic and crazily happy when it comes to this game!
All this is only possible when he is tummy happy! If he is hungry, the only thing that happens is crying, hysteric crying! That's a clear signal to my cousin that his tummy isn't happy! Colorful cars or playing Bollywood peppy numbers will do the simple trick to feed him! He isn't cranky and will happily consume the food to revitalize himself for action all over again! Food is something that makes him really happy as he knows it keeps his tummy quiet and gives him power to crawl around the house without getting tired.
Last but not the least, being DRY!! This is MUST when it comes to him. He can bear with water when he is taking bath. His cars talk to him and make him understand that he is becoming clean by taking bath. But he just cannot take it when his nappy is wet. Still he hasn't learned to give clear signals when he wants to free his tummy. He will make his tummy free silently, as and when it wants to be free. Be it living room or kitchen, just doesn't matter! All signals start after things are silently done under the covers. All activity slowly draws to a close. Energy goes down. Cars don't look attractive. Bollywood songs aren't attractive anymore. My cousin has slowly learned to read these 'post-signs' and change the diaper to get him back into action! In fact, these days she uses Pampers Baby Dry Pants on him to keep him dry from inside even when he silently does his 'job'. Dryness keeps him active with his usual energy. After all why compromise on his happiness just for being wet? Now even if he does his job, his cute booty dance continues and he is at his energetic best! When baby is happy, parents are definitely happy!
This post is a part of IndiBlogger Happy Hours topic "Dry baby, happy baby" by Pampers.
It is a nightmare for all parents and that too pretty much at the end of a tiring day to put their little ones to sleep in the night! After taking a good afternoon nap, babies are very energetic in the evening and as the day draws close to the end they somehow derive magical energy and curiosity to be active, thus putting the whole experience of putting them to sleep a big stressful evening ritual. Every parent at one time or the other will look forward to develop a set of bedtime rituals to set the right mood and ambiance for their little ones to prepare their mind to call it a day and put those active little brains smoothly into slumber!
Instead of following a random, unpredictable set of practices every night, it is wise to follow an easy and fun set of predictable bedtime rituals that will keep them entertained, relaxed, and most importantly give them enough clues saying 'Yo! It's sleepy time. Keeping all this in mind, it becomes very important to plan a set of fun and interactive bedtime activities that is guaranteed to work on a consistent basis to make it all soothing. This blog post is all about my idea of fun bedtime rituals to put the baby to sleep in a most relaxed and comforting way for a good peaceful night's sleep!
The foremost important step in all this would be to set a fixed time to sleep and that should not be compromised for any reason. The entire process of bedtime activities should start approximately one hour before the actual time we intend them to go to sleep. For this, the first ritual is to gently distract them from their active source of entertainment like Television, Computer or Video games and get them involved in a much relaxed no brainer sort of entertainment. The cues should be strong enough for them to realize it is going to be fun even when they are away from their most lovable entertainment systems. One can just start with a quiet and easy game like peekaboo to distract them initially and get them to the bedroom.
Then silently hide a toy or an object in the bedroom for them to hunt around. This activity will make them forget what they were doing earlier and let them concentrate on only one thing i.e to find that object! Later when they manage to find the object, raise their curiosity immensely by promising them an interesting story involving that object if they cooperate for a brushing session! Silently sneak in the activity of brushing their teeth, which is very important for their health reasons. Along with it complete their potty time for a stress free night and dress them up in a comfortable pajama to prepare for the night. The best part about each of these activities is that it is slowing sending them signals to go to bed even while they are eagerly awaiting that 'interesting bedtime story' without actually getting diverted by other entertainment around.
Once they get to the bed and willing to listen, build an interesting story around the object to drive their imaginations to a faraway fairyland. Involve them as a character so they can associate things personally in the story in a much interactive way. This activity will slowly develop their concentration skills and can also double as a base for their dream for that night. Slowly as they grow many knowledgeable stories can be fed into their brains smoothly this way. When their imaginations are already diverted to the fancy land, they are perfectly relaxed and more than ready to hit the bed and sleep!
Following such fun bedtime rituals on a consistent basis will slowly develop discipline in them to peacefully prepare for the night and also develop many healthy practices without them actually realizing it in a much stressful way!
This post is a part of IndiBlogger Happy Hours topic "Bedtime Rituals", an initiative by Pampers. Check out more information about Pampers and their initiative here. Also check out this video -
