When, where and how should the felt baby mobile be installed?
You often ask me how to install your Balberg Shop felt baby mobile so that it can be used to best effect. A customer told me that they were co-sleeping with their baby and didn't know where to put the mobile.
The image of the mobile above the cradle is a hard one! We think that the mobile will hypnotise the baby and that we hope it will fall asleep on its own. On the contrary, a mobile above the crib is an anti-sleep device! Mobiles are superb objects for visually stimulating your baby. So they deserve a strategic place, let me explain:
When should I offer my baby a mobile?
Before the age of three weeks, your baby's main need is to sleep and to connect with you during his waking moments; hearing your soft voice, touching your face, observing your face closely, exchanging glances eye-to-eye... These are all stimuli that enable him to awaken all his senses and create a strong bond with you. The mobile is the first object that we can offer newborns from the age of three weeks. This is when babies need to develop their eyesight. Mobiles can play an important role in supporting a baby's natural development.
It is important to offer mobiles that come to life as the air in the room moves or as the adult stimulates them. We therefore want mobiles with no motorised mechanism, which would have a regular, artificial movement and give a false impression of the laws of physics and the environment surrounding the little human being in the making. Babies need to form an accurate image of the world in order to understand it and grasp it correctly. Babies need to have real, authentic, natural sensory experiences.
By observing simple, minimalist, identifiable hanging objects, babies can develop their visual acuity and concentration. The mobile is a real object of curiosity for the baby. Its material, colours and movements are all important factors. For example, the felt swallow mobile is adapted to the eyesight of babies who, from 3 weeks of age, can see the strong contrast between black and white and then red.
Where and how to install the Balberg Shop felt mobile?
As you can see, mobiles are reserved for playtime. You can hang the felt baby mobile above the play area. Ideally, it should be installed above baby's chest, at a height of around 30 or 40 cm, so that baby's eyes are at a good angle to the mobile (not above his head). Imagine being able to put it on and take it off easily so that it's a learning toy and not just a decorative element. You can then change the mobile week after week, taking into account your baby's needs.
You can also put up a very high mobile to decorate the bedroom or living room, and then you can show it to him as you walk or rock him in your arms across the room, showing him and explaining things calmly and slowly. Always leave enough time for baby to make his observations at his own pace.
What do we think of the mobile above the changing table?
The mobile above the changing table is a bit like above the cradle. The mobile will stimulate the baby, so he'll wriggle and wriggle, and rightly so! It's great to see the mobile moving!
As a parent, what you want during nappy changes is for your baby to be calm and relaxed so that the clean nappy can be put on easily, don't you? Haha! The best thing is to spend this changing time in a calm atmosphere. You can explain each changing stage to baby so that he is fully aware of his body and its sensations. Touch is a hyper-developed sense from birth, so imagine the sensory impact of our actions on this little human being who is discovering himself day after day.
I hope this blog post has answered your questions. You can find inspiration in the book by Charlotte Poussin Montessori de la naissance à 3 ans published by Eyrolles in 2016. This book accompanied me during my motherhood and the whole of Maria Montessori's philosophy continues to inspire my creative approach.
