Quality Time

Daddy and Mommy are constantly struggling to spend Quality Time with Erik. Time away from him is so much, even though he sleeps 3 of the 9 hours we are away from him. Still, Erik is spending 6 hours without his loving parents Monday - Friday. That is 30 Hours in a week! Of course, during this time, he's with his Grandma Katy who loves him to death and just adores him. However, as parents we wonder if Erik is sometimes bored, especially since Grandma Katy doesn't drive and rarely gets out of the house (even for a neighborhood walk, since its getting chilly now). It's not that she can't drive, she is just isn't comfortable with driving yet in the U.S., especially with Erik in the car!

Are we over analyzing the situation? Erik is only 6 3/4 months old (6 more days and he'll be 7 months old!). Do babies actually get bored? Daddy had bought many different types of toys for Erik to do during his waking hour so he can play and explore to his heart's content, including the much used and loved jumperoo. We also try to make up for the time loss as much as possible so when we get home, we try to muster up all of our energy for our lil' Erik. But we wonder, is this enough stimulation for him? As a result, Daddy and Mommy are discussing about at least part-time childcare for Erik outside of the home. Not for the caring portion but for the social and interaction portion with peers (i.e. other babies).

So I'm going to open this post to our readers. For the parents, what are your general thoughts or experience with your babies? For everybody, what type of creative activities can you guys suggest or come up with that will help little Erik explore and play during the day??