We did it! At 10 months actual age and 7 months corrected, our little preemie babe born at 27 weeks is sitting up independently! It took some time obviously, but my goodness – is being able to sit up ever a game changer! And not only for him and his play either… For me too- hello, being able to set your baby down on the ground for just a minute while you put on your shoes! Have I mentioned that I’m so proud of this little guy? The moment a ‘oh goodness, he’s so behind’ thought even considers creeping into my head, I remind myself that there was a time not very long ago that I wasn’t even sure we’d be leaving the hospital with our baby and gain some quick perspective. And so we celebrate each new milestone {whenever they happen} instead. ☺
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Recently, to help him practice his wobbles and become less tippy, we’ve been doing some baby sitting practice using sensory bags… A fun and simple way to play while sitting up!
I love sensory bags because they’re soooo easy to whip up and they allow babies to play with things that would normally be totally off bounds. Because I knew that I wanted ours to be hung on the walls this time around, I decided to use inexpensive clear hair gel as the main filler {it’s thick enough to stay put instead of moving to the bottom of the bag like water would – if you can find it, I find that gel in tubs is thickest}. Then I gathered up some packing tape, a couple of decent quality zip-close bags, and some large glass gems and sparkly pompoms {that aren’t pictured here}.
For added durability, I first taped around the three closed edges of the bags.
Then I squirted an entire bottle of hair gel into each of my bags…
And placed some glass gems in one and some sparkly poms in the other.
And while I did all that, this happy little guy watched excitedly.
Then I simply taped the bag to the wall {zipper side up, of course} using painter’s tape so as not to damage the walls, and sat Sam in front of it.
The bag caught his attention immediately and he started smushing and bang on it right away.
I did wonder if he’d try to get the glass gems and become frustrated when he couldn’t, but that didn’t seem to bother him.
He was having too much fun squishing and booming instead.
And in the meantime, he was getting some great sitting practice.
Now I’m by no means an OT or physiotherapist, but I do let him wobble around and work on keeping his balance and catching himself. Of course I do my very best to catch his little head in my hand if he’s completely toppling over, but I think the wobbles new sitters experience are probably an important part of their path to completely mastering sitting.
And while he really doesn’t wobble much anymore, when he does, I do my best not to intervene.
After playing with the glass gem sensory bag for a while, we took a little break and played with some other things – tummy style {Sam just loves the little blue cups that are a part of this Green Toys tea set}.
Later on we played with the sparkly pompom sensory bag and though it’s hard to say, I think Sam enjoyed this one even more.
Access to big sissy’s crafting supplies – yipee!
Just look at that concentration and those little curled toes, will you?!
We’ll definitely be bringing these sensory bags back out soon!
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Great ideas as always Jen. Your little man is seriously adorable!
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This little guy sends me all mushy inside every time i see him. He’s just gorgeous. You amaze me with your ideas Jen. You are so on the ball and organised. Yes, be proud of Sam but definitely be proud of the wonderful work you put towards these gorgeous kids of yours. You’re amazing!!!
Love the idea! A little worried my little guy will either try to eat it or to it off the wall or both… He’s a bit crazy haha. I suppose I can try one and see what happens!
Just stumbled across your post and love the idea of this style of sensory play. I too have a preemie that was born at 26 weeks gestation and now he is currently 6.5 months adjusted. We are having such a trying time with sitting upright!! Cassius is very refluxy and Im certain sitting up puts so much pressure on his little belly. I will try this style of sensory play and see if he likes it!! Thank you for the great idea!!!
Great ideas! Where did you get your floor mat at?
What a great idea, I’ll have to try!! Just out of curiosity (and play room envy!) where’s that gorgeous green foam mat from!?
xo,
Maria
I’d just like to say I love the little play area set up. I was checking that more than the sensory bags. Where can I get one of those little play mats.
Thank you!!! Also, where did you get those colored stacking wooden blocks that are diffrrrnt shapes in the background in his room? I want them for my little one!
Contrats for your little Hero!
We Aldo have a premee of 27 weeks and he is perfect now. He is twenty month baby and 17 corrected.
I like this idea of sensort bags. If i hace another baby sure i Will use theme.
Thanks!
So cute! Where did you get the colored bead abacus in your photos? ❤️
This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Our 27 weeker just began sitting too. He’s 10 months (7 adjusted) as well. He’s doing awesome but we need a little help with stability. Thanks for the tip!
I don’t normally comment on stuff but I love the sensory bags, and I really love how excited you are over your little one’s accomplishments! I’m the proud momma of a 5 month old and life couldn’t be any sweeter! I’ll be trying out some new sensory games soon, so thank you! And thank you for rejoicing in your children’s milestones ❤️ It’s so nice to see!
This is a great idea! Will try this with my little one as her balance for sitting depends on how interested she is in an object. Where is the green mat from?!? Love it and haven’t seen anything like it before! Except the the multi red, blue, and yellow mats from back in the 90s.
That is such a great idea. I don’t have any littles anymore, but I clicked from Pinterest to come see your idea anyway. Very clever, and what a cute little boy you have!
Thank you for sharing such wonderful news with us. Your kid is just great. The idea of sensory bags is great and I think I can use it in my life with my son as it is a great opportunity to develop tactility and get the child involved in a new and useful game. This is a great idea, thank you.
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I love the idea of this, sou tried it this weekend, but my 7 month old just kept pulling it off the wall. Haha. I guess it was just a different form of entertainment for her than I had planned.