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D.C. Area Babies
Laura2
member
Getting out of the house...
Laura2
member
We live in Fairfax and have a 3 and a half month old. I feel like since he was born we've been a little "trapped" in the house. Anyone have any suggestions about what to do to get out of the house with a young baby. I feel like if I had a 2 or 3 year old I'd know what to do (zoo, aquarium, etc) but my little guy is so young he wouldn't even know we were there. What do you all do on the weekends?
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Re: Getting out of the house...
At that age, do whatever you need to do for your sanity if you have a kid that's the go-anywhere type. Target, bookstore, coffee shop, mall. Regular old life is an educational experience for a little baby
Now, I didn't really do much of that myself. I was a little "trapped" myself during mat. leave. Look at me of all people giving advice :P
Other options are to meet friends for lunch. I have met a few of my friends that are working for lunch. I just drive near their office and meet them there. Also, you could join a mommy group of some sort. Some mommy groups start young so your kids can grow together.
Holy Cross Hospital offered some exercise classes that you could do with your baby so there may be some options like that in your area.
Definitely get out of the house! After the first few weeks, I made it a point to get out of the house for at least an hour every day. Like pp said, meet friends for lunch, go for a walk (go early if it's too hot) and do things that you think are fun and talk to your LO about what you're doing, what you're seeing. Most days I would go out in the afternoon and DD did great. We went to the mall (I would take her out of the stroller in the dressing rooms and play with her and have her look in the mirrors and she loved that) r she would nap and look around at everything. INOVA Alexandria hospital has a great new moms group that meets every Mondays and Tuesdays. You should be able to find it on their website. I think INOVA Fairfax has one too but you can go to any of them. They're free.
Good luck!
I agree with pp, just go anywhere and everywhere. The more you get out, the more comfortable you will be doing it--practice makes perfect!
If there are any museums that you want to go to, this is a great time to go--the National Gallery of Art is my favorite :-) And with your LO being this small, you can actually stop and appreciate the various works/exhibits and read about them. At two years old my son is all "go! go! GO!" if I try to even read a nutrition label at the grocery store ;-)
Like pp have said, literally every new environment is fascinating for him. Will he know he's seeing a priceless Cezanne at the NGA? No, but you will...and you need to make sure to get out of the house for your own sanity!
DD was born just before all the blizzards in 2010, so I definitely felt trapped. Whenever the weather cooperated we'd go to Target (I would hardly by anything, just walk around), Tysons or Fair Oaks (the women's room at Nordstroms have comfortable Mommy rooms), Old Town Alexandria, Panera or Starbucks (where I could read while she slept). We also would meet friends for meals (many of them were pregnant, so it was fun "practice" for them as well.
I think I wrote this exact post in about March. LO was colicky, so not only was I terrified to take him out, but he was always crying, and I only really felt like I could comfort him at home.
Anyway, ladies here said "Just do it." And I did my best. From that time on, we went out for a walk every day and ventured further out (to Target, or the grocery store, or a local park, so not super far!) at least twice a week. He was still colicky and cranky, but sometimes the car ride soothed him and sometimes seeing the new sights soothed him, too.