Rookie Moms

Tip for breastfeeders: It may sound weird, but I did it and so did my friend Maureen: Take an old tank top or soft cup bra and cut holes where your nipples go. Seriously.

Wear this whenever your nipples need to be untouched. Preferably not when your father in law is around.

The uber-formal version of this is an organized childcare co-op, but I want to suggest the regular old swap variety.

Whitney watches Holden at her house one evening and then I watch Julian another evening. Just like that. And it’s free. And, crazy as it may sound, it can be super fun to watch someone else’s baby (unless they cry a lot, then it is pretty frustrating).

If you have a group of fairly responsible friends with similar aged babies and you want to try something a little more formalized, I can suggest Babysitter Exchange as a means to track requests and who’s done what for whom.

Another variation on the theme is to host a “kid party” with babies, toddlers, or preschoolers at your place for a Saturday night so their folks can go out for a real dates, and then get a date night in return. Read more details on the Adoptive Families website. The more the merrier… if you’re brave enough.

The time really does pass quickly when you get outnumbered so it’s anything but boring.

Now, go on a date already!

Real grown-ups probably have one of these in their house already. I am just getting started. I am doing this to help Julian learn his grandparents’ faces.

I suggest assigning this task to family members, both to get it done faster and so that no one complains that they don’t like the picture you chose of them. Call all the grandparents and tell them to bring you a framed picture for this wall. (They should be highly motivated when you tell them it’s for baby to get to know them better. ) To build an outing around this, go out to a frame store and decide what kind you want. Or check out (pictured here) the Picture Wall Company product that will make this as easy as possible.

Once your wall of fame is in place, walk by with baby and point everyone out and say their names.

If you want to get high-tech, check out BabyMeetsFamily.com. It’s a video, sorta like Baby Einstein, that includes pictures of your family and you. You upload the pictures on the web site and then they mail you a custom DVD.

My friend Linda suggested this one… maybe you can try it?

Get a disposable water camera and get in the tub (or pool) with your little one and take splashy photos. You can take underwater pictures of their cute feet! We just did this, but haven’t gotten any photos developed so I’m not sure yet how successful it’ll be.

If you’re a digital photo household, don’t let these pictures sit around forever, sites like KodakGallery.com will accept your film and convert it to digital. I think you can even do it at Walgreens.