My daughter Lou is now 8 months old, which means she has already started leap 6. I’d love to share my experiences from the previous leap, leap 5, which we experienced as pretty intense, let’s say extra spicy.
Leap 5 is intense, but you get so much in return
As I mentioned, I found leap 5 quite intense. The previous leaps weren’t too bad, except for leap 2, which really took the crown. But leap 5 definitely comes in a close second and made itself known. Even though a leap can be tough, what I really love is how many new things they can do afterwards. That thought helped me get through the harder moments. I found it especially challenging because she would cry when something didn’t work and became frustrated.
The fun phase: new skills!
Every evening we read to Lou, and by now we’ve collected quite a few picture books. Her absolute favourites are the ones with little flaps, she can now open and close them herself. She laughs so loudly while doing it; she truly enjoys it!
Now that leap 5 is over, she has a strong eye for small things and details. Labels and tags are no longer safe, and everything ends up in that tiny mouth. She actively looks for them and always manages to find them, whether it’s muslin cloths, towels or tea towels with labels.
“Mirror in my hand, where did I go? Mirror in front of my face? Oh, there I am, peekaboo!”
Peekaboo!
She absolutely loves playing peekaboo. She bursts out laughing, it’s the cutest thing! She bends her whole head to look for us. This is a great game to play during leap 5, because they learn about relationships between objects.
Another fun idea: playing peekaboo with a mirror. “Mirror in my hand, where did I go? Mirror in front of my face? Oh, there I am, peekaboo!”
Games from the app
In the app, you’ll find lots of games you can play with your baby. I play these games with Lou. At first she didn’t quite understand them yet, but the more I repeated them, the more she started to enjoy them.
The game where you discover instruments was a real hit. We have toys that make sounds, and she absolutely loves them. Anything she can bang with her little hands is a success, drumming away happily. When we moved or sang along, she had a huge smile from ear to ear.
Singing songs is definitely a good idea too. I may not have the world’s most beautiful singing voice, but luckily babies don’t notice that yet 😉. The reaction you get when you sing is so sweet. She moves her head along and looks at you questioningly when you stop.
Bath time is always a good idea!
And then there’s bath time, filled with plenty of bubbles and her toys hidden underneath. I don’t need to encourage her to search, this little lady does that all by herself. She knows very well that there’s more in the water than just a thermometer and a washcloth. So she immediately starts searching for her toys. And once she finds them, the fun really begins!
My advice during the leaps
Leaps can be intense. Sometimes you really don’t know what to do anymore and feel completely overwhelmed. My advice is simple: let it happen. Go with the flow. The changes after the tough phase are so wonderful to experience! And talk about it with your partner or other mums. They’re going through it too, or they’ve been there already.
Mandy, mum of Lou
