Rookie Moms

A few weeks ago, I gave Megan the thrill (or the scare) of being recognized in real life from her work on her web site, Jumping Monkeys. I spotted her in the park, and her unique combination of children (twin boys and an older girl) made me think that she was indeed the person I thought she resembled, although I had only seen her in a few pictures on Flickr. So of course I did feel like a stalker when I approached her, but when I introduced myself, she didn’t seem frightened by my menacing five feet zero inch stature, or my late-third-trimester heft. In the next week, we exchanged some emails, and Megan, who is a veteran mom (not a rookie!) to toddlers Milo, Huck, and preschooler Annabella, shared a great activity with me.

Every Friday morning I take my kids (2, 2, & 4) to the local soup kitchen where we pick up several boxes of food and deliver them to people who’ve recently moved out of the homeless shelter and are still trying to get back on their feet.

I’m pretty sure my two year olds don’t understand why some people have food and some people don’t. Even my four year old is only beginning to understand what we’re doing. (Last week I thought she was really getting it, until she said, “If they don’t have enough food, why don’t they just go to the grocery store more often?”) Still, I hope I’m at least planting a seed about the idea of giving back to your community. Plus, it’s become a routine and kids love routines, no matter what they are.

If you can’t find a volunteer opportunity that’s kid-friendly and you don’t have reliable child care, enlist your mom-friends to help. If you have a playgroup and you’re comfortable leaving your kids for an hour or two, trade off and each week have one mom go to volunteer job while the rest of the moms watch the kids.

Visit VolunteerMatch.org or type “volunteer” and your city into a search engine to find opportunities in your area.

Shelly, the founder of My Spoiled Rotten Baby, wrote to me with her story, and it seemed appropriate for the Rookie Moms audience. After delivering her son via cesarean birth, she decided that moms needed a little more support than she received during her birth experience. She started teaching childbirth education at a prestigious hospital in her area, and spent a lot of time as a labor and postpartum doula.

Eventually, as her personal situation changed, she was no longer able to be in an on-call situation. The desire to stay in the ‘new Mom/ baby’ industry was strong enough for her to take the leap into running a small business full-time as a newly single-mother. Go, Shelly!

She says:

I wanted to take my passion, combine it with my experience as an educator and doula, and throw in a little fun. Thus, Spoiled Rotten Baby came to be. Spoiled Rotten Baby is an online luxury and baby gift company featuring some of the products that Moms would love to have, but won’t buy on their own. We have 100% organic Egyptian cotton clothing for baby, all-natural products for labor, postpartum, and breastfeeding, chenille and silk-edged blankets, Bumble Bag diaper bags, and more. What makes Spoiled Rotten Baby stand out is the fact that everything is beautifully hand-packaged in our signature gift boxes; complete with hand-tied bow, linen-textured tissue, and pretty little gift card. Luxury that is ready-to-give.

Shelly has other suggestions for new moms, and she’s compiled them into a one-week agenda of free entertainment. Even if you don’t live around Issaquah, the outings on this schedule might give you some ideas for new things to try with your baby. (PS If you think Shelly looks too hot to be a rookie mom, don’t worry, she’s had seven years to recover from pregnancy and birth. You’ll get there, too.)

Monday

Boehms Candies Factory Tour: The best way to start your week – with chocolate! The historic Boehms Factory is located in the heart of downtown Issaquah. Open daily, families are invited to check out the factory and retail shop for a free self-guided tour. The best time to come is between 9 am and 2 pm weekdays, when the candy makers are in production and you can actually see how candy is made. Guides tours are available during the summer. Free samples are available for both the self and guided tours. Open daily. (425) 392-6652
Self-guided tours: Free

Tuesday

KidzBounce: KidzBounce is the perfect place for moms to gather and visit while the little ones literally bounce off the walls. Featuring a room filled with giant bounce houses, this place is a favorite for regular drop-in visits as well as birthdays for kids (and adults!) of all ages. Parents will love it because it is a safe, clean indoor environment. Kids will love it for the various giant slides and obstacle courses. KidzBounce is just 6 minutes East of Issaquah. Drop-ins Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. (425) 222-5439
Parents and kids under 2: Free

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While baby is still small enough for the infant carrier, take advantage of your relative “freedom” to get your toenails done. In the East Bay, we have Cure Spa that offers special service to mommies (like access to a baby swing).

Rookie mom, Emily, suggested hitting the drive-in movie as a great baby-on-board date night.

The last time I went to a drive-in I was driving cross-country with my pal, Rachel, and we actually watched the movie Twister (in which a drive-in theater is decimated by a tornado). I only wish the drive-ins near Berkeley were still operating!

Emily tells us about taking her two-month old to the movies:

This is perfect for my baby - she falls asleep on the drive there, sleeps through most of the movie, and when she wakes up (and cries), no one can hear her, and I can breastfeed discreetly in the car.

When she is fussy, my husband and I take turns bouncing her on our laps, just trading off every 20 minutes or so. This has allowed us to see all the first-run adult movies.

Oh yeah, and since the sound comes in through our car stereo, we don’t have to worry about loud movies.

For Peninsula moms, there is one in San Jose off Capitol Expressway). Check out DriveinMovie.com to see if the drive-in movie is still alive and well where you live.

We agree with Emily that having a baby DOES NOT mean the end of loving movies.

Related activity: Go to the theater where crying is allowed.