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Now what?!
After we brought our newborn daughter home and the initial excitement of learning how to keep her alive wore off, I started wondering, “What exactly are we supposed to DO with a baby?” I started researching ways to prove I was incompetent or that something was wrong with her. I read parenting books so I’d “get it right” in the future but all that did was fuel my worry engine. Add some sleep deprivation and I nearly lost my mind after the first month.
The only thing that helped was to get out of the house, each and every day. New parents, take note: Yes, it’s inconvenient, but your baby needs to get some stimulation every day. The sooner you get out and join the parent community, the happier you (and by extension, your child) will be.
Plus, as you’ll soon find out, it’s actually sometimes easier to get in shape (and eat out, and see a movie, and go to museums) with a wee baby in tow versus a dawdling toddler.
Here are some of our favorite activities to do with babies and toddlers so you (and they) can get the support and social engagement you need. Use the arrows above the image to scroll through all the ideas!
Get outside
Do it. Really. Get outside. Nothing can improve a baby’s mood (and yours) like getting outside. Just the other day my teething and fussy 5-month-old nephew spent a contented 30 minutes outside listening to the rain dropping on our camellia and winding dried maple leaves around his finger.
Hard to get out on your own? Consider finding a local hike or outing through Hike It Baby, a growing organization that helps outdoors-oriented parents meet up. Another option is to search Meetup.com for a number of mom and dad groups that plan hikes and outings all over the greater Seattle area.
Other strategies to do on your own and with others: Find a good roster of any-season parks and rotate your visits. The minute our daughter could hold up her head we were swinging and sliding with her. Get a comfortable carrier so you can carry your child close as an alternative to the stroller.
Don’t forget to blow their minds with beauty. Make a trip to one of the area’s amazing local gardens to get some calming endorphins and make your baby happy. In the Seattle area, I recommend the Volunteer Park Conservatory, Seattle Japanese Garden, Kubota Garden, Bellevue Botanical Garden, and (a bit farther out) the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. In the South Sound, wander along Tacoma’s Ruston Way or explore the beach at Titlow Park. You can also wander around for free in one of the beautiful nurseries in the area, such as Swansons, Sky, Watson’s or Molbak’s.
Swim and splash
Babies tend to wake up ridiculously early, so why not hit the family swim time at your local pool? The greater Seattle area, from Everett to Tacoma, is abundant with family-friendly pools. Especially worth the effort are the Mountlake Terrace Pool and Lynnwood Pool, which both feature a separate shallow baby area and water that’s warmer than many other public pools. The Rainier Beach Pool, remodeled in 2013, is wonderful, as is People’s Pool in Tacoma, also recently renovated.
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Make sure you bring multiple swim diapers (disposable or reusable) and plastic diaper covers, as well as bath toys. The age you take a baby to the pool depends on your comfort level and the temperature of the pool. I first took my daughter to the pool at 5 months old and she loved it. You can also take a baby/parent swim class through one of the community center pools.
In the summer, hit the fountains and spray features around Seattle and the Eastside, plus all those in the South Sound. There’s a bounty of local beaches worth a visit, especially in summer, but also fun for dipping fingertips in any season. Babies will spend hours playing in the sand as long as they have some shelter from the sun.
Get a membership to a baby-friendly museum
Many of our region’s terrific children’s museums have gated spaces for children under 3. KidsQuest Children’s Museum in Bellevue is loads of fun, as is Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia. The Children’s Museum of Tacoma is sweet — and affordable, offering pay-as-you-will admission every day. Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo has a separate gated area for younger kids inside the Zoomazium, though it can get crowded with older preschoolers.
The Seattle Aquarium and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium are fabulous in every way once your baby can sit up and focus. Whereas outdoor zoo exhibits require a lot of searching for the animals, aquariums provide up-close and stimulating views of beautiful sea creatures. They also have sensory stations that are compelling for babies and toddlers.
Tip: For a birthday or holiday, you could ask the grandparents for a gift of a membership to one of these attractions. The beauty of a membership is you just pop in for a bit whenever you like and never have to feel like you must see every animal or play with every exhibit to get your money’s worth.
Go to story times
Many libraries and bookstores feature baby and toddler story times, which can be fun for preschool siblings, too. Even if babies don’t seem to pay attention, they are still getting something out of it.
You may be a regular at your local branch, but put these destination libraries on your route for something new, and try these fun, one-of-a-kind story times when your kids get beyond the baby stage.
In the library children’s sections, you’ll also usually find baskets full of board books for babies. Nothing does more for future literacy and instills a love of learning more than reading to your child. Start early (earlier than you might think) and do it frequently. You can also buy books for cheap at your local Goodwill or Value Village.
Go to a kid-friendly cafe
Check out the kid-friendly coffee shops in your area and find the one that works for you and your crew. Most of them have some kind of play area or at least some toys. Try Cafe Arta inside Third Place Books in Ravenna, Vios on Capitol Hill, Firehouse Coffee in Ballard, Common Ground in Renton and Issaquah Coffee Company.
Just a few hours spent out of the house can improve your mood, even if your child is teething, fussy, hitting or otherwise causing consternation. Chances are you’ll meet a parent in the same boat and get a good chuckle out of it all!
Hit the indoor play spaces
Because of our rainy climate, most of the Seattle area’s community centers have indoor baby and toddler play times. You can usually find one near you Monday through Saturday, and as of a couple of years ago, entry is now free. The play spaces are gyms or smaller rooms with lots of toys and things to ride on.
Issaquah Community Center’s toddler time opens early at 8 a.m. five days a week. Shoreline’s Spartan Recreation Center is also open five days a week. Both cost just a few bucks.
For lots more ideas, see ParentMap’s giant rainy-day indoor play list for Seattle and the Eastside, and also our rainy-day play list for South Sound families.
Eat out, see a movie or get some exercise
Having a baby does put a crimp in one’s style, but you can still do some of the things you enjoyed doing before you had to carry 20 pounds of equipment everywhere.
Eating out is a key form of entertainment in my family, so we started hitting restaurants when my daughter was 2 weeks old. It’s fun and useful to expose little ones to foods from different cultures, and if you can get to pretty much any restaurant by 5 p.m., most are typically happy to seat you before the child-free patrons arrive. If your baby is in a loud screeching phase, head to a noisy pizza joint. To save on kids’ meals, check out ParentMap’s guide to where kids eat for free or cheap nearly every day of the week.
A few local movie theaters offer “mommy and me” morning showings, where the lights are kept dim and crying and breastfeeding is totally okay.
If you want to move your body, many local gyms and fitness studios offer on-site childcare. You can also sign up with Stroller Strides or one of the many personal trainers who offer daytime fitness sessions for moms (or dads) with babies.
Or head out for a walk pushing your little bundle along one of these Seattle and Eastside-area paths, or South Sound-area paths. With a more rugged stroller, take one of these beautiful, in-city forest walks.
Join a support group
Joining a support group gives you direct and actionable support during one of the hardest transitions of your life. It also helps you add to the extended community you’re creating for your child.
If you live in a metropolitan area, you should have plenty to choose from. Local groups include PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) and Listening Mothers, plus numerous Meetups focused on different interests and attributes. Families of Color Seattle (abbreviated FOCS and pronounced “folks”) offers parent affinity groups for families of color and other groups.
Don’t have the budget? Many of these programs offer scholarships or reduced rates for low-income parents. If you have friends with same-age babies, you can form your own group for free. The advantages of the formal programs, such as PEPS, are that you meet new people, get access to parent educators and facilitators, and join the wider community of other people who have gone through the program.
There are also many neighborhood-based online parent communities; ask a neighbor if there’s one near you. You can buy/sell things to local parents through these lists, as well as get good advice, tips and recommendations on anything from parenting issues to pediatric dentists.
If you need help with breastfeeding, support groups and lactation consultants are readily available through hospitals (try Swedish Hospital, Overlake Hospital, Kaiser Permanente or your local hospital), La Leche League, maternity stores or recommendations from your pediatrician.
Enroll in an infant/toddler co-op
Co-operative preschools often have parent-infant classes. Your baby learns to socialize with other children and you get to meet other parents. A trained preschool teacher leads the class, but each parent has a job to do during the class (like prepare snacks or help with part of the play area). During class and the monthly meetings, you get to attend parent education classes taught by a certified parent educator. (This comes in handy when you encounter the behavioral issues that kick in with toddlers.)
A co-op has many benefits. First, your child spends a bit of time away from you during class, which helps build confidence and independence. Also, your child gets to do messy art outside your home and gets used to the structure of a classroom. This area is lucky to have a plethora of established, excellent and affordable co-op preschools. Many co-op preschools offer scholarships.
