It’s already been 5 weeks since Siyana came into our lives and we love every moment of it. No matter how much to try to learn during your pregnancy and get all the information from people and by reading up, you will still come across so many new things.
Each child is different and special in its own way and so there is no fixed way of doing things. Observation is one of the ‘keys’ of Montessori – observe every movement of your child. It is through this observation that you understand what your baby enjoys doing and what skills she’s developing.
Follow the Child
“Follow the child, they will show you what they need to do, what they need to develop in themselves and what area they need to be challenged in. The aim of the children who persevere in their work with an object is certainly not to “learn”; they are drawn to it by the needs of their inner life, which must be recognized and developed by its means.” – Maria Montessori
You must wonder but my baby has just begun Month 2! From birth itself, we must observe our babies movements/follow their movement so that we understand what their preferences are, what makes them feel secure, what they are interested in for their development. Yes, observing them shows you each of these and more.
For Month 2, observing Siyana has shown me a few things:
- I mostly need to feed her on demand (no 2 hour wait period as recommended).
- Letting her stretch when she wakes up. Oh how she loves stretching! And she needs a good 5-7 minutes to do that when she wakes up.
- Carrying her and comforting her when she needs to. Contrary to beliefs, I carry her a lot and when she needs and I did not have a problem later of her being habituated to me carrying her. In fact, she prefers being left down now and only wants me to carry her when she needs to be comforted. Children need to feel secure and loved at this age, we can discipline them later on as well.
- Keeping her hands and legs free for movement. I swaddle her very rarely and avoid using mittens too.
- Talking to her – she enjoys when we speak to her.
As you see, its very simple things at this stage but every child may have a different liking and that is what you should make a note of.
The Octahedron Mobile
After the Munari Mobile, we can introduce the Octahedron Mobile around 6-8 weeks (towards end of Month 2). You will notice that your baby now begins to follow a voice when he hears on, especially yours. Also, there is a lot more movement in them as well, so this becomes a good time to bring in the Octahedron.
The Octahedron Mobile is extremely simple. It is 3 Octahedron shapes in primary colours (red, blue and yellow). It is made with craft paper and so is light when allow it to move in the air. This mobile helps an infant in visual development, concentration skills and introduces them to colour as well.
Do you want to make an Octahedron Mobile for your baby? It is very simple to make yourself and you can follow this DIY link for it.
Did you make the Octaderon? How did your baby enjoy it? I would love to hear about it.