So much of a 24-hour cycle with a newborn is dedicated to basic needs: feeding, diaper changes, bathing, dressing, and (hopefully) sleeping. But as weeks pass, you’ll start to notice that your baby is staying awake for slightly longer stretches. I’ve had many families ask the same question: what are we supposed to do with our baby? Once those basic needs are met and you have some time before the next nap, what are some ideas for how to interact?

Here are some suggestions for connecting with your baby:

Read

One of my first suggestions is always to read to your baby. Brightly-colored board books with simple, short stories are a popular choice, but not the only option. The important thing in the early weeks is for your baby to hear your voice, so you can also read aloud from whatever book you want to be reading.

Sing

There’s no friendlier audience than a newborn baby. No matter if you are a trained singer or completely tone deaf, your baby will appreciate your singing. And just like with reading, it doesn’t matter what songs you choose. You may be excited to share the lullabies your parents sang to you when you were young. Or if that’s not your thing, but you know all the lyrics to 90s boy band songs, those work just fine, too!

Tummy Time

Not only is tummy time important for baby’s development, it can be a fun activity for you to do together. With baby on her tummy on a mat or blanket, arrange some colorful toys in a semicircle around her head to encourage her to lift and turn her head. You can also incorporate some toys that play music to add interest. Some babies are initially not a fan of being on their tummy, but you can start with short, frequent exposure to this position. Safety note: babies should always be awake and closely supervised when they are placed face-down.

Narrate Your Day

Even when you know the importance of your baby hearing your voice, it can be hard to know what to talk about! One tip is simply to say aloud whatever you’re doing or thinking. If you’re unloading the dishwasher, you can say, “Let’s put away all the forks. The bowls go up in this cabinet.” If you’re preparing lunch, you can talk about all the foods you’re putting on your plate. No matter how mundane the task, you can share language with your baby.

Walks

Once a mom feels physically ready for some gentle exercise, I encourage a daily walk for both physical and mental health benefits. Sometimes this can be a great chance for a mom to escape for a few minutes on a solo walk, but other times this can be a nice activity to do together with baby, either in a stroller or baby carrier. You can incorporate language into the activity by speaking out loud about observations from your route: “Look at those fancy decorations” or “there’s a cute dog” or whatever you see.

Introduce Textures

You can encourage baby’s reach and grasp by introducing interesting textures. Some toys offer fabrics that are crinkly, smooth, silky, etc. You can also just find items around your house, like different types of clothing that have varied materials.

First Toys

While babies often don’t show much interest in toys for several months, you can start to introduce infant-appropriate toys early on to encourage development. Link toys, soft rattles, high-contrast picture cards, and music toys can be good starting points. You can place baby on his back on a blanket and hold a high-contrast card about six inches from his face. Slowly move the card from side to side to encourage him to turn his head. Similarly, you can dangle something like a link toy about six inches from his face to start to encourage reaching.

Finally, it’s important to remember that you don’t need fancy or expensive gadgets or toys to interact with your baby. Babies thrive on contact so just your touch and voice take care of so many of baby’s needs. Simply being present with your baby and finding little ways to connect will result in meaningful bonding.