After the first few months at home, Elizabeth's activity times were getting a bit monotonous. I think even SHE was bored of lying on her back and gazing at the Baby Einstein hanging toys. I mean, you can only bat them so many times, right?
Once she mastered rolling from her tummy onto her back, she no longer took pleasure out of tummy time. Now, whenever I put her on her tummy, she moves her arms and legs out from under her and wobbles back and forth on her stomach....apparently this is called the airplane pose according to a book I have. She will need to learn how to crawl and the only way is by giving her more tummy time, but she doesn't seem to like it as much as she used to. Boredom, again??
I decided she was ready for some more vertical activities. As much as I could just carry her around all day or put her in the corner of the couch,
I could tell that she wanted to start trying out those legs.
Babi and Deda (my parents) bought a Jolly Jumper for Elizabeth. Babi said: "if she starts to cry, take her out of it, you don't want her to get a negative reaction and never want to go in it again". Babi also said "Children of friends of ours have one and they say that some kids last only 20 minutes, others last up to an hour".
Our Elizabeth?? She'll gladly last an hour in the Jolly Jumper. Closer to the end of that hour, I can tell she's super tired and wants to get out, but her legs just keep jumping away! I think she's also really happy that she can turn a full 360 degrees and see everything that's going on around her.
Her favourite things to look at (the things that stop her in her jumping tracks)? The cat walking by, me doing the dishes, daddy vacuuming, etc.
Most of all, what's awesome is that I can really see how she's mastered the art of jumping. She's learned how to kick down with both legs to get herself bouncing, and she has figured out that all she has to do is straighten her legs to stop. What a smarty pants!
And I must say, all that jumping has contributed to some reaaaaalllly good naps!
Awesome!!! I can't wait for lily to start using the jolly jumper! Looks like lots of fun.
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