Dancers Mobile

After I made the Munari-inspired mobile and saw how much Lydia enjoys it, I decided to make her another Montessori mobile. I thought the Dancers mobile was really interesting and it looked fairly simple to make.

From Bella's Casa on Etsy

I found a pattern on a blog called Texas Health Moms, so I printed it out and got started. I just happened to have some gift bags made from pink, green, and blue holographic paper, so I used those for the dancers' heads, arms, and legs.

Materials:
 - Pattern
 - Holographic gift bags in coordinating colors
 - cardboard - black thread
 - yarn
 - tape - glue
 - metal ring for hanging

I cut out the patterns then traced each one onto the back of the gift bags to make the front of a dancer. Then, because each dancer is two-sided, I flipped the pattern over and traced another to make the back of a dancer. I cut out each dancer from the holographic bag and assembled the heads, arms, and legs. I taped black thread to the back side of the dancers, then taped on the fronts. After I had four dancers dangling from black thread, I assembled the cardboard hanger.

To make the hanger, I drew a triangle on a piece of cardboard and rounded out the points so it wouldn't be a hazard if it fell. I cut out the triangle, traced its pattern onto the back of some of the holographic paper, then glued the paper to each side of the triangle. I punched holes in each of the points and tied on the dancers. For the center dancer I threaded a needle with the black thread the dancer was hanging from and pushed it through the cardboard. I held it in place with glue.

To hang the mobile I used the same yarn I used for the Munari mobile. I just tied one end of a strand of yarn through the holes in each of the three points, then tied the other end of the strand of yarn to the metal ring for hanging.

I love that I have two mobiles that I can move around the house with her. I hang this one off of some of Chip's drum equipment (a drum mic stand maybe?) and put it beside her bouncer.

She does like this mobile, but I don't think she likes it as much as the Munari one. And lastly, I have a video of Lydia listening to Christmas music and kicking the dancers to make them move. She loves this game! Sorry for the sideways video.

Munari-Inspired Mobile

This Munari-inspired mobile is a big hit with Lydia! I used this template after researching many different types of black-and-white mobiles.

Most of the time this mobile is hanging from the ceiling above Lydia's changing table just over her head and out of her reach. It has definitely helped calm her down during diaper changes to give her something of interest to concentrate on and interact with while mommy or daddy changes her diaper. I've noticed that she's a lot happier during diaper changes now that this mobile is in place.

The mobile is hung on a carabiner so that we can move it around the house with her. I've hung it from the lantern light above our breakfast table and from the ceiling fan in our bedroom while she's in her Nap Nanny.

Photos taken on October 10. Lydia looks so small!

We also put together a make-shift mobile hanger using one of Chip's drum mic stands so that we can hang mobiles above Lydia's awake mat. She really loves this. Notice how she is concentrating on the images, working on her ability to focus and to track object with her eyes.

Photos taken on November 2. Lydia's got chubby cheeks!

Lydia following one of the images to her left.

I didn't follow the directions from the website exactly. Here's how I made the mobile. I chose six different patterns and printed out copies of each one. I cut them out and glued them onto the back a front of card stock (mirror-image style) that I had cut to fit each image. I just used old cereal boxes and Elmer's glue. After the glue dried, I hot glued one image perpendicular to the other. A couple of hole punches and some string later, and tada! We have a mobile. I would say the whole thing took about three hours to complete.

Since I've made this I've already tackled and made another mobile in the Montessori series - The Dancer. It looks a little more "homemade" but Lydia likes it, too. Another post on that later if I ever find the time. I return to work on Wednesday, so I have no idea when I'll be able to post next. Hopefully before her 3-month birthday on November 16.

Lydia's Awake Time

A few days ago I noticed that Lydia was really looking at me. Funny thing to say, I know, but up until that point her eyes just seemed to wander randomly or in reaction to a noise. This time she was focusing on my face and really looking. I started researching ways to stimulate and encourage her developing vision. I found that newborns are visually attracted to areas of high contrast - like my eyes when she is staring at my face or black-and-white images.

After reading a couple of blog posts from some Montessori moms, I thought I'd make a movement/awake area for Lydia. I got my inspiration from how we montessori and Feeding the Soil. I'm not really a gung-ho Montessori follower or anything, but I do like some of the ideas presented on those blogs. 

I already had a mirror I wasn't using. I printed some black-and-white images, and voila! Instant movement/awake spot for baby Lydia.

Yesterday during Lydia's awake time I snapped some photos of her.

Wow - she is really loving this spot! After her afternoon bottle she is usually awake for about an hour. I've put her down here for the past few days, and she's been entertained for about half an hour. She stares at the photos and watches herself move in the mirror.

I made a mobile from some of the black-and-white images to hang over Lydia's changing table. I'm trying to hang it today. I'll post some photos of it once I get it hung. I hope it helps her calm down during diaper changes. Right now she get fired up and really upset throughout the whole ordeal.