Cheap Entertainment

It's been said - I don't know who said it, but I am sure I heard it somewhere - that there's nothing like a cheap thrill.  Well, how about some cheap entertainment for your littlest one?!

Brought home a St. Patty's Day helium balloon for NHV.  She gave it about two minutes of her attention.  Yeah, it's green.  Yeah, it floats. Oh, the smiley face is cute.  Okay, done.

What I quickly noticed was that CJV couldn't take her eyes off of it.  She would strain her neck to watch it float by.  Her eyes would focus on it, and the rest of the world seemed to just fade away.  And then, from the far reaches of my MommyBrain, I remembered this idea mentioned during the Newborn and You class I attended with Natalie.  

Prop your baby on her boppy pillow and tie the ribbon of a helium balloon around her ankle*.

At the time, when I was sleep deprived and worried about every little thing, this seemed like such a unimportant tidbit, so I filed it away.  To be honest, I was much more focused on keeping my baby alive and less concerned about her having a good time.  Well, the second time around is different, folks.  Entertainment and distraction and occupation (keeping the little ones occupied) has become the name of the game.

Charlotte loves this little game.  With the ribbon secured around her ankle, every little movement of her foot causes the balloon to dance around.  She looks up at that balloon and kicks and amuses herself.

From a developmental standpoint, this exercise provides the chance to build visual focus and tracking as well as experience with cause-and-effect.  It could easily fall under the category of an Eebee Adventure for the youngest learners :)

Big Fat - Common Sense - Safety Disclaimer (CMA):  The ribbon should be tied loosely - don't want to cut off the circulation to her foot!  Your baby should always be closely supervised, especially with ribbon/string nearby.