A couple of weeks ago, Jamie’s Mom brought us a mobile for Ryne’s crib. We knew that he liked to play with the toys on his bouncy seat, so we figured that the mobile would hold his attention. We just had no idea that it would melt his brain and make him putty in our hands. Needless to say, this is a valuable tool for parents.
You can’t tell by looking at a mobile just how powerful it is. This is what the parents see:
But this is what the baby sees:
The animals go round and round and the music lulls the baby into a state of well being until the baby falls asleep. This works extremely well when the baby is sleepy. If the baby isn’t sleepy, it could take repeated treatments. Don’t worry, the baby will eventually succumb to the will of the mobile. It’s only a matter of time.
The Baby is drawn into the world of the mobile. They think the animals are real and will want to be their friend. As the animals rotate you will see intense concentration, smiling, and reaching, as your baby seeks to join in their magnificent spinning world. When the baby finally gives in and drifts into that dream world, Mommies and Daddies are now free to get things done that they weren’t able to do while the baby was awake.
You have to move fast, however, as eventually the need to eat or the dirty diaper will overrule the comfort that they felt while under mobile-induced hypnosis. I am not sure who invented the mobile, but with the overwhelming majority of them having animals hanging down, I’m going to go with Noah. That would mean that this technique has been in play for close to 5000 years, but we weren’t aware of the power of the mobile. Spread the word! Let parents know that these are available to help at least get a nap in every once in a while if nothing else.
He’s really thinking, hey the one with big ears looks like my papa, and the brown one looks like my daddy…well you get the picture. He’s comparing them to people he knows.