From the category archives:

Month 1-3

Getting used to having a new baby in the house takes time. Take some baby steps and build your confidence. Here are 25 great activities to try during maternity leave (not all at once, ok?)

Activity #96: Go swimming

April 16, 2008

Taking the baby in the pool is both scary and funny.
If you are alone, think carefully through the logistics of how you are going to change your clothes, change baby, get in the pool, get out of the pool, get on dry stuff and get back in the car. You are not as [...]

Declare crock pot night

April 7, 2008

As I stare down the gun barrel of being alone with one toddler and one newborn while my beloved husband returns to work, I simply don’t know how we’re going to eat dinner anymore. But I think I have it covered for at least one night a week.
I’m going to declare next Monday (and [...]

Getting used to having a new baby in the house takes time. Take some baby steps and build your confidence. Here are 25 great activities to try during maternity leave (not all at once, ok?)

Activity #498: Peruse Porn For New Moms

March 26, 2008

Aside from The Rookie Mom’s Handbook (of course), this new book from Chronicle has got to be my favorite baby shower gift idea this year. Porn for New Moms is a collection of photos of hunky, shirtless guys doing the things that turn women on: holding babies, folding laundry, and preparing food. [...]

Activity #26: Get butt naked

March 25, 2008

First, my apologies to any pervy googlers. Next, the activity: At least for a little while each day, allow baby to have some time naked, unencumbered by the shackles of a diaper. Just think, this is how your kid lived inside you, just last month in fact.
You may want to put an underpad (chux [...]

Getting used to having a new baby in the house takes time. Take some baby steps and build your confidence. Here are 25 great activities to try during maternity leave (not all at once, ok?)

Activity #23: Drink beer

March 6, 2008

I was never much of a beer girl in my twenties. Blech, I thought. And then I got pregnant (with boys if that matters) and sipped a little iron-rich Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day and changed my mind to YUMMMM!
Guinness is still my beer of choice. In fact, my mom was kind enough to [...]

Activity #79: Take a walk on the wild side

February 20, 2008

Take longer stroller walks to change the scenery and get a little exercise. Explore shady paths, cute shopping districts, hilly neighborhoods, wherever!
Even light industrial areas have noises and sights that might appeal to babies (but beware toxic smells and enormous trucks!)
Try to get a photo op in front of somewhere decidedly “mature”. There [...]

Getting used to having a new baby in the house takes time. Take some baby steps and build your confidence. Here are 25 great activities to try during maternity leave (not all at once, ok?)

Activity #61: Count your friends

February 14, 2008

Whitney called me yesterday for advice about Scarlett’s nap and potential childcare arrangement and what to do about disrupting her sleeping mojo. I made up an answer and recalled how Milo got a funky nap schedule when he started “school” at 7 months old. If she liked what I said, she probably felt good about [...]

Activity #324: Mitten up

January 25, 2008

Is that an expression? Well, if button up is… I figured I could use it.
Anyway, when Holden was a few days old, Alec tried to give him is first manicure. This innocent ritual ended with snipping off the end of his little thumb and us putting mittens on him for the next three [...]

Getting used to having a new baby in the house takes time. Take some baby steps and build your confidence. Here are 25 great activities to try during maternity leave (not all at once, ok?)

Activity #94: Count your steps

January 16, 2008

Invest in a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps each day. You’ll be surprised how many steps a mom can take just running around the house, but if you’re going to reach 10,000, you’ll need to take a walk outside for sure. This is good motivation to get some fresh air.

Both Whitney and [...]

Activity #100: Take unbelievable photos

January 14, 2008

If you can believe it, this is Julian at not-quite four months. Sort of an odd moment that was captured here, when we propped him against the couch and moved our hands just for the picture to be snapped, as the kid did not actually crawl until 10 months or walk until 14 months.

Getting used to having a new baby in the house takes time. Take some baby steps and build your confidence. Here are 25 great activities to try during maternity leave (not all at once, ok?)

Activity #195: Build muscles at Bootcamp

October 30, 2007

If you are like I was, by the time my baby was 10 weeks old, I had not exercised for about 6 months. Baby Bootcamp was my re-introduction to sweating and I loved it. I am not a gym-goer in my normal life, and Baby Bootcamp was perfect for me. Here’s why:

Exercising [...]

Try a dream feed and sleep better

October 19, 2007

Whitney passed along this mama tip to me and now I’m telling you; if your baby is starting to skip that 10pm feeding and you want to stretch those sleeping hours to ones that are more convenient, try the dream feed. She says it didn’t work for them, but we used the dream feed [...]

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