From the category archives:

Bay Area

Activity #304: Enjoy modern art

by Heather

A fun suggestion from our friend and fellow rookie mom, Rosa, is to pack yourself up and head into the city for a museum outing. Assume you go to a cocktail party sometime soon. When someone asks what you do, instead of mumbling about maternity leave or bursting into tears when you think about how you can’t drink much because you have to nurse every 3 hours and wake up at 6 am, change the subject and say “Have you seen the Rothko show?”

art lover Many museums waive admission fees on the first Tuesday of the month. Make that your big day.

Rosa reports that SFMoMa was a successful outing. “Both babies were intrigued by the colorful modernist paintings and sculptures,” she brags. “Mommies get to chat and enjoy the art too.”

For our Bay Area mommas, she suggests that you arrive late morning to San Francisco and use the Nordstrom mother’s lounge as home base. There is a great changing/nursing area for comfort and privacy. You can lunch in the mall’s basement food court, Sony Metreon or if the weather permits, eat outside in Yerba Buena Gardens.

Becky in Boston said that her baby Nick was a trooper at the Museum of Fine Arts. “He was patient. After lunch he nursed and went to sleep in the stroller, I pushed him around and looked at art, when he awoke, we looked at art together - I was amazed at what a great day we had together.”

I took Holden to the BAM/PFA here in Berkeley with some other mommy friends and he enjoyed it a lot (which means no screaming fits — yay!). We ate a nice lunch at the little cafe and negotiated tables, strollers, nursing, and crowds. Parking was kind of a pain. Seriously folks, what do you do when someone parks too close to your car and you have a bucket car seat baby with you?!

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Activity #240: Screen your baby’s vision

by Heather

AKA Attend a private puppet show.

this part was tricky Because of a little known program called InfantSEE (a public health initiative spear-headed by former President Carter), Holden’s eyes were checked for major vision problems by a nice person playing with hand puppets and shining lights in his face.

If you ask him, I think he liked it only ok, but I’m telling you that there are at least three good reasons to find a Dr. in your area and go do it:

It’s totally free
It’s an outing for you and baby complete with a light show, puppets, and a professional entertaining her exclusively
And, most important, it will give you peace of mind that her eyes are developing as they should or it will set you on the path to correcting any major vision problems early!

The free program applies to babies from six months to a year in age.

So, now I guess I need to confess that I did this for Holden but didn’t get around to it for Milo… Scarlett, there’s still time for you!

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Activity #532: In the case of a failed nap, treat yourself kindly

by Whitney

My very smart friend Joanne actually used to be my employee. Now she is both a mama and the sole proprietor of her own online store, PenolopePoet.com, and sells beautiful jewelry. (Click here to see my favorite item.) Joanne just emailed me her take on “how to cope when baby doesn’t nap.”

There are days when my little guy does not want to nap. Sometimes, this will happen a couple days in a row. On the days when I’m feeling stretched, I treat myself. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Take wide-eyed baby and their favorite travel size toy and get in the car.
Step 2: Turn on some tunes. My suggestions: Norah Jones, Feist, David Gray…and depending on the album, maybe even Tom Petty. Keep it mellow and upbeat. (Omit Green Day and other rockers for this trip.)
Step 3: Let the adventure begin. After everyone is all buckled-up in car and the tunes are rolling, pick a starting destination that makes you happy. I like the Starbucks drive-thru on San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. Other drive-in places work just as well. The drive-in saves you from having to lug baby in and out of the car. Order coffee, tea, diet-decaf soda, or even water. Doesn’t matter, just pick something refreshing that you enjoy.
Step 4: Wash your vehicle in a drive-thru. The windows will be nice and shinny and you’ll feel sparkly clean too.
Step 5: Find a place to take in a view. I like to drive to the top of the hills and marvel at the sweeping view of the bay. Take a few deep breaths and feel your energy return.

More often than not, my little guy nods off to sleep in the midst of our travels. Not always. Even if he isn’t asleep when we get home, I feel recharged and more prepared for whatever challenges lay ahead for the rest of the day.

Don’t worry if your baby doesn’t transfer from the car to crib without waking up. Bring some reading material. Roll down the car windows, relax and read while he continues to catch his zzz’s.

Depending on your neighborhood, this little exercise is equally effective with a pair of good walking shoes and a comfy stroller. Take along headphones with upbeat music, grab a latte, and stroll around to all that places that make you feel good.

Be kind and gentle to yourself.

Wow - I’d love to collect tips for people who, like me, are dealing with a three-year old who doesn’t nap. How can we be kind and gentle to ourselves when a little elf keeps emerging from his bedroom every 30 seconds asking if rest time is over? Thoughts?

Related Rookie Mom activities (in the spirit of being kind to yourself even without a nap-skipper):

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