Hi
it’s Alice Seba from
http://www.babyandtoddlerville.com. It’s been a little while since we
talked but I did want to check back in with you and make sure that
everything is going well and that you have been able to get out a little on
your own so that you can get a little break and come back home and be a
better momma than ever.
Having
a baby is a great thing but we know doing it 24/7 without a little 15, 30
minute break here and there may end up being pretty tiring. Not only does
your being stressed out and tired affect you it affects baby as well. You
don’t just have to go out on your own to have a good time and feel a little
relaxed and enjoy yourself, there are lots of fun things you can actually do
with your baby because I know when I had one older child and one little baby
it was a little work to get out of the house.
Everyone had to be organized, I had to have all this stuff packed and so
sometimes it’s just easier to stay home. Being cooped up in the house can
get tiring for you, for older kids or older babies the same. We need to get
out and get some relief whether it’s running around or talking to other
people and things like that. So let’s make sure we also get out with baby.
One thing you can do is always have the diaper bag packed.
Every
time you come home when you have a spare moment just repack the diapers,
repack the wipes, whatever it is always have it ready so you don’t have to
scramble and worry about things like that. It’s just the more you have
prepared the easier it is to just get out on a limb. And trust me if it’s
hard now and it seems like it takes you 5 hours to get ready, as they get
older it gets easier.
I
remember when my son was very very newborn it really did seem like it was 2
hours before we could really be ready to go anywhere. But the more you do
it, the easier it gets so what are you going to do when you go outside?
What about things like simple – stroller and going for a walk. Great
exercise for you and baby’s love to look around and see their surroundings
and fresh air makes everyone feel great.
Shopping malls that have little playgrounds where it’s just for young
children are good, just watch your baby in there and let them play around a
little bit. Check with your local programs provided by your city or
something like that. You might have to pay but often they have good little
play groups.
For
example our local recreation center has what they call roaming rascals and
all they do is they set up this big giant gym filled with different big
plastic toys that kids can climb on top of and do different things, baby
toys as well and they just go crazy in there and really is roaming rascals
because you are in this big giant room, all the doors are shut and there is
nowhere for them to run away and hide from you.
It’s a
great way for them to get exercise and for you to relax a little. It’s a
little more relaxing than worrying about them getting into things in your
house that they are not supposed to. Get one of those little backpack
things for baby’s – a little older baby (you’ll have to check the age that
you are allowed to have them on your back or with certain backpack) and go
for a hike. Excellent exercise and with that extra weight on your back its
even better exercise because you are going to work a little harder and
possible work off some of that baby weight.
If
there are other moms in your area arrange play dates. We have a regular
play date with another friend of mine that has baby aged kids. Having that
date to just make sure we get out and do that is important because you can
think of all kinds of excuses to not to but if you have a set time every
week or every two weeks it’s a great time to get together. We trade making
dinner in our homes so for the mom that gets to visit the other house gets a
bit of a break.
Family
friendly restaurants can be fun. A lot of McDonalds and things like that
often have a little area on the side for babies and it’s just a change of
scenery, even a sit down restaurant where baby can sit in a highchair and
just enjoy something a little bit different. So don’t stay cooped up
inside! It’s easy to do particularly when baby is really young but just
don’t because you’ll feel so much better and it’s great experience for baby
to see and do other things. So until next time enjoy baby and talk to you
soon.
