When the Pookie wakes up in the morning (some mornings, like this morning, at 5:00!) and wakes up from his naps, he almost always spends about 30 minutes playing in his crib. He's done this pretty much since we moved him into the crib in his nursery around 6 months old.
We have never experienced anything like that before. A child playing quietly by himself/herself in his/her own safe and secure crib? Without screaming for someone to come in and rescue him/her? Easily entertains and amused by himself/herself? Unheard of! Needless to say, we have been thrilled and try to encourage it.
We had a really nice mobile hanging over the crib for a while, but when he could reach it and sit up, he was tearing it down so we took it down. This was one of those mobiles that has two parts, and we were able to take down the hanging part but leave the music box part in the crib. We had had that music box in crib for the Pumpkin once we took down the mobile part of it, but she pretty much never played with it until she was out of the crib. The Pookie seems to like pushing the buttons to get the music going.
But we also put in a piano music player that attached to the side of the crib, which we had for the Pumpkin but never put in her crib because she pretty much had no interest in that either. But the Pookie seems to love it! We would turn it on, and it would say "peek a boo" and he'd cackle and settle down to watch.
Because those were working pretty well, I thought maybe the crib aquarium I'd seen in the store would help lull him to sleep without the need of a parent! Although that has yet to happen, he sure does love turning it on and play with it and watch it when he wakes up.
These days, he often turns on two of the toys or all three of them, making a cacophony of electronic noise. He LOVES it. He sits or stands in his crib, turning on and looking around at each noise maker, turning them up as loud as he can. When I walk in the nursery, he looks up and me with this big grin on his face! I smile and call him my maestro!
I have a feeling this will not be the last time a bunch of racket that gets on my nerves will be music to his ears that he insists on playing at the loudest volume he can.
3 comments:
I miss the days when Monkey would be playing safely in his crib. He truly is a monkey now and makes me nervous with all of his shenanigans (i.e. putting bolts up his nose, jumping off the couch and climbing things he shouldn't).
No matter how noisy it may be at least you know he's safe!
Caramama - you give me such hope for our second and a consistent reminder that we may not get Dorothy Part II when it comes to temperment and sleeping. Thank you for highlighting the joys of having a second child.
We have that little piano, too!
Hmmm, maybe I should try putting it up in the crib and see if Petunia will play on her own in the morning. The problem is, she's been waking up at 4 a.m. (!!!) and needing a lot of help to get back to sleep. I don't really want her up and playing, on her own or otherwise, at 4 a.m.....
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