This post is dedicated to the places that I/we have ventured with le babe. We are in a peculiar place in our lives where we do not have regular schedules and have always been people who make spur of the moment decisions about going places. From as simple as going to the grocery or taking a legit road trip; IT IS ALL DIFFERENT WITH A BABY. ***It CAN be done though*** and this is how we do it and what we have learned. Beware we have been many a place in the last year so this post is a bit long.
Gammy's & Grandma's
Start small! As I have been struggling with a bit of unwelcome anxiety or at least have found out how motherhood can spawn it, I recommend going to familiar places with familiar people around you for awhile after bringing home little poopers. You will know your surroundings, you can mentally prepare for where you will change/feed the baby should the need arise and you know that family is generally not going to give you grief should baby cry and you end up crying with her. Plus grandmas tend to have things like blankets and toys should you have forgotten to stock them in your new diaper bag.
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| My Mom & Papaw with Ara & I |
Speaking of stocking diaper bags; we figured out the hard way that the cost for leaving the diaper bag behind can run between $25-50 (pending if you find clothes/toys while at the store... the baby sections are mini money black holes). We keep our diaper bag constantly stocked and ready to go so that when leaving the only thing I need to add are food items. Our essentials?:
- Min. 5 Diapers (poo-splosions be real)
- Min. half a pkg of wipes
- Sm. changing pad
- Baby Tylenol
- Teething tablets
- Plastic grocery bags (for dirty diaper/clothing items)
- Bibs
- Extra set of clothes
- Burp cloth/rag
- Spoons
- Sm.toys with clip
- Babyfood/bottles (added)
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| Donnie's Mom & Ara |
The Mall & Stores
I personally think the mall is the next best place to venture to. This is mostly because many department stores have aMAZing mothers' rooms. At Polaris Fashion Place my favorite/most convenient bathroom (for you to take stroller in) is at Macy's and the best changing/nursing location is Von Maur's Lady's Lounge. Both large, comfortable and non-threatening. Also if you are breastfeeding your first baby and still trying to get the hang of public nursing this is a great "warm-up" as only women are around. There are also many nooks all around malls to tuck yourself away in. Also I was a bit shy of family restrooms (b/c I didn't quite know that they were basically for parents) but take advantage of them! they are spacious, have changing tables and sometimes even chairs/benches to nurse.
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| Ara & I in the Tuttle Mall |
Eventually you're gonna have to learn how to go to stores with the wee one too. Errands and groceries don't always wait till everyone can go out for a family outing. For us (because Ara was so small for so long) we didn't try putting her in the cart seat for a long time. I therefore learned how to use the stroller system for most of my shopping (saved the heavy items like milk for when Donnie could run out). I would hook my diaper bag on the back of the stroller to leave the underneath for items and I also quickly understood the importance of the giant carabiner hook known as "The Mommy Hook". You can hook your re-usable bags to fill on it and then also put any shopping bags on it as well.
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| Daddy & Ara playing around Wal-mart |
Changing babies at the stores isn't too difficult as many have changing stations in the restrooms, however figuring out how YOU are supposed to use the restroom without sitting the baby on the floor or leaving the baby hooked into the changing station is tricky. I basically avoid it, hold it etc. , but sometimes this is not what is going to happen. I therefore usually attempt to cram the stroller into the handicapped stall with me. This is sometimes easier and sometimes harder. Worse case scenario: think happy thoughts, cover a small section of the floor with paper towels, shudder, go as quickly as possible, hope that baby will stay on the island of paper towels and push the incident out of your mind till later when you give her a bath.
The Zoo
My favorite form of exercise since having a baby has been walking around the zoo. Again so many nooks to tuck yourself away in to breastfeed and really there are so many moms around during the day that you can learn to be braver. The Columbus zoo does have two nursing stations, however you have to ask someone for the key :(. While I did do this a couple times (for some air conditioning) most of the time I would just park at a bench for awhile.
Most of the time Ara would fall asleep while I pushed her around which gave me some mind clearing time and I love taking pictures of the animals. This outing has been primarily for my own enjoyment and getting out of the apartment, however she really started getting into watching the fish in the aquarium. I know our experience this summer will be incredibly different as she'll be walking, but I can't wait!
Restaurants
Think! Some restaurants are NOT baby friendly. One of our favorite places (Thurman's Cafe) is such a place. They do not have a changing station in the bathroom, space for a baby carrier or highchairs. Once you make this mistake once, you will not do it again. Luckily the one time we went with baby it was with a LOT of family members who took turns holding Ara. This did not stop me from having a breakdown and crying from frustration though. We now only take her to places where we know ahead of time if it will accommodate all of us and reserve some of our old favorites for date nights.
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| Us with My Grandma, Uncle, Cousin, Mom & Step Dad |
Fireworks
Ara did them like a champ! She even slept through Red, White and Boom! As a precaution however I did make some "baby earmuffs". I basically took a square scarf (you could use a bandanna) and rolled two handfuls of pillow stuffing in and tied it on her little head. She looked silly, but I felt better for avoiding potential hearing damage.
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| "Earmuffs" in Action |
Rochester
Our first real road trip! We went up to spend time with Donnie's family twice this fall. For us the success of such a trip hinged on having one of us in the backseat with Ara. This not only provided some entertainment, but also allowed us to be able to feed her without having to stop anywhere. We did make stops along the way at which we made sure we changed and fed her, but being able to quickly attend to her while on the road allowed us to make great time.
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| Us with Donnie's Dad, Mom, Brother & Grandma |
This was also the first time we made use of our pack n play. It made an excellent portable crib! Other things we noted were to always bring extra diapers and wipes (we just brought one new-ish container of wipes and one small package of diapers). We also had our inflatable ducky tub (just in case) and probably too many changes of clothes.
Niagra Falls
On the way back we gave in to the temptation and stopped. I'm so very happy we did. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast. We even did the maid of the mist! Ara slept through the mini hurricane on a boat and we got soaking wet even with the ponchos. Ara however stayed dry. They allow strollers on the boat and we tore up a poncho and tied it strategically to cover her up. We ended up buying her a souvenir of our first "family vacation" which was the ducky in a poncho. It was the first toy she smiled at and wanted to hold.
Picnics & State Fair
Always remember sunscreen! I actually learned this after a few trips to the zoo. Mostly this is because I am fair and tend to burn early in the summer and therefore panicked when I realized I got burnt and didn't have ANY sunscreen much less on Ara. She was fine (she was sleeping shaded in her stroller) but spray and sticks of sunscreen have made it to the summer diaper bag pack list.
I have also started keeping a blanket with a plastic back in the trunk for picnics/outings. This ensures that those on the blanket stay dry should the grass be dewy or you want to sit somewhere it has rained. The one I have (was a free gift at a theatre conference) folds up and has a strap like a bag so its super convenient.
We also took her with us to the state fair this year. Donnie and I met at the state fair singing in the All Ohio State Fair Youth Choir and so Donnie even proposed to me at the state fair. We therefore always go (at least once) every year for our anniversary (we also do a nice dinner). Again, because she was so young, she really didn't get much out of the visit, but it was a stroller friendly place with lots of places to sit down with her.
Pumpkin Picking & "Trick or Treating"
Pumpkin picking was awesome! I loved sitting her among the different types of pumpkins, gourds and fall foliage to take pictures. We always go to Pigeon Roost Farm which is super close to my mom's home and is also a tradition. This will get even more fun when she is old enough to enjoy a hayride, petting zoo and corn maze.
This year on beggars night it was rainy so we did not go around pushing her in her stroller. Instead we went to visit specific family friends (and taking all of their candy). It was great because she didn't have to be out in the bad weather and we still got to dress up as a family, go somewhere and see people we don't get to see too often.
Newport Aquarium/Cincy Getaway
So Donnie and I got a little stir crazy around the holidays and decided to get out of town. I think I went so stir crazy because it is around this time every year in the past that Mom and I would make a trek up to NYC. Donnie and I were also talking about going to NYC on our own and staying with a close friend, but decided that Donnie ought to spend his winter break from school at home relaxing and catching up on his games.
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| We took a carriage ride |
We decided to go to Cincinnati so that we could have just one night away without too much travel time, get a hotel for a reasonable price and take Ara to the Newport Aquarium. This was awesome. She loved the aquarium so much that she didn't take her morning nap. She was fascinated by the fish and the penguins. It is funny to think of a baby really enjoying anything besides putting toys in their mouth and eating, but she was truly enthralled which made Donnie and I feel like excellent parents for taking her.
COSI
"Center of Science and Industry" is a wonderful educational resource in Columbus. However, I would generally say that I just plain like the zoo better. We got a discount membership so I thought we'd give it a shot for somewhere to go during the winter months. There is an amazing play place for young ones, but for a baby we really found two parts of the play area that are the best: the splash table and the play mats with a mirror.
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| By the Mirror |
The splash table is super fun but do make sure to bring extra dry clothes or plan to wait quite awhile as the staff will dry them back in their office area for you. There is also an "art" area. We enjoy stopping in to see what the day's project is. When they do paints, I go ahead and let Ara get messy and do some hand prints (she's going to be changed after the water table anyway).
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| Splash Table |
For the most part the other exhibits are really geared towards older kids, so this could be much more fun in the future. Also the majority of the exhibits stay the same throughout the year, so there is really not much to keep you engaged after the first visit whereas at the zoo, the animals are constantly doing different things everyday. While I definitely know that we'll visit next year I'm not sure that we'll purchase a membership (members still have to pay for parking and many of the special events/classes).
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| Ara's 1st Piece of Art |
Doctor's Office
Mentally prepare for crying baby post shots. Give baby a dose of tylenol to curb said crying. Also write down questions ahead of time so as not to forget them. Enough said.
Roller Skating-ish & Bowling
So we do not keep Ara on a strict normal baby schedule. This is mostly because we are night owls and I am staying at home. She does have a loose schedule but seems to adjust to changes very well. I love this because if a friend invites me out on a night that Donnie works I don't have to miss out (and feel sad and lonely). She chilled with us and I think really actually enjoyed watching people and the moving lights: Disco ball ooooooh ahhhh. I didn't skate but rather spent time chatting with friends and played some arcade games. Bowling however was really easy to do with baby. She people watched and ate puffs while friends and I looked after her.
Disney On Ice
We got super discount tickets and again I was pleasantly surprised with how much she really REALLY enjoyed this. She was starstruck and even clapped and squealed.
Church
Mommy's guaranteed break every week. At first she would sleep right through service, but now that she is awake and ready to play we take her to the nursery (which I've volunteered for one Sunday a month). This is great. She observes the other babies crawling, walking and playing and then tries to keep up. She also doesn't cry when we drop her off (thank goodness). Below is a picture of her and most of the babies around her age (almost all of whom are boys).
Babysitting, Play-Dates & Birthday Parties
Babysitting surely has been an eye opener to what it might be like to have two kids. Conclusion: exhausting but certainly exciting. I do think that Ara is doing so well (for a preemie) because she sees the older kid and tries to keep up.
Play dates are truly awesome because it gives me some adult time with someone who understands mommy woes. These pics are from a trip to the Play Cafe in Clintonville. The coffee is super cheap but yummy and it is nice to have a change of scenery. I think this will be a very useful place when she can play on her own/with the other kids while I have some blog/facebook/games/design time at one of the tables.
We have been to one birthday party and it was so nice! Ara got in some quality play time with balloons and again watching older babies/kids. Also it was so fun to watch the birthday boy smash his cupcake and get icing everywhere (even his hair)!
Photoshoots
Always bring toy/s that will get the kid's attention and make them smile. Also Pinterest and google pose ideas and print them out to take with you so that you don't forget/waste time with the photographer!
Final thoughts about getting out with baby in the first year... have fun! Take pictures of your wee one fitting into silly small places/with things you encounter in the big world. If they cry, stay calm and always have food and a pacifier handy. Keep diaper bag stocked and ready to go. Keep trunk of car geared to go (Pack n play, umbrella stroller, reg stroller, blankets, moby wrap, baby carrier, etc.) Take a friend/husband when you can but force yourself to be comfortable on your own because you can do it!
