by Heather
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.
by Whitney
Let’s face it: Before this kid was born, you had no idea that babies were so clueless about how to relax. Well, now you know. Your new roommate would like nothing more than to get back in the confines of the womb and forget this whole “birth” thing ever happened.
If there is one piece of advice I would give new mothers in their baby’s first month of life, it is to watch The Happiest Baby On The Block. Due to the convincing presentation on DVD of Dr. Harvey Karp, we are both big believers in the 5 S’s of the Happiest Baby on the Block – if you don’t have time for a book (and who does?), take the time for the DVD!
If you watched it before baby was born, watch it again now. According to Dr. Karp, the tools you need are:
- Swaddle
- Sideways/ stomach
- Shush/ white noise
- Swing/ jiggle
- Suck
Both Julian and Holden were swaddled for sleep, per Dr. Karp’s specific instructions, beyond their 3-month birthdays. Julian was held on his side and jiggled by every visitor who we trained on this technique. Update: at 17 and 11 months old, they both still sleep with white noise on for every snooze they take. It works!
Click on the DVD or the book to the left.
Try it. You’ll like it.
by Whitney
When we first added Goodnight Moon to our bedtime ritual, I thought, “This book is sort of boring.” After a few months, I thought “This book is painfully boring.”
One day, my friend Sunny said, “I see new things in that book every time I look at it.” What?
So I started paying more attention and here are my suggestions to keep your interest level tolerable as you read Goodnight Moon. Maybe it works with other books, too. You’ll have to tell me what you’ve found.
- The bunny is in a different position in bed each time the bed is pictured. Check it out.
- The mouse is in a different location on each page.
- The clocks advance in time as the moon’s position changes.
- How many of the words in this book do you know in another language? Test yourself and brag to your baby. “Luna!” “Cama!” “Conejo!”. No fair if you or your parents are immigrants.
- The light and dark areas of the pages vary. The art is better than I first thought…
- Is this a living room or a bedroom? Or… a studio apartment? Where’s the kitchen? Who made that mush? Think about it.
by Heather
Whether you do it on purpose (driving around town to induce a nap) or by accident (windows down, music blaring, begging baby to stay awake to no avail), sooner or later your baby will fall asleep in the car. Some people can get babies back to sleep after extracting them from the car seat, but that’s not the case with my kid. Sure, you’ll be delighted to see the blissed out look of baby sleep… but you might also wonder what the F*&k to do with yourself.
Here’s the tip: have a nap watching station all ready to go. With our house configuration, we can sit on the porch and keep an eye and ear on the car in the driveway. If you’re not so lucky, keep a lawn chair, cordless phone, and a stash of magazines (or your knitting), and a bottle of water handy. Instead of being frustrated, think of the blessed gift of time you’ve just been given!
Oh yeah, keep a close eye on the baby to make sure he’s safe and comfortably sleeping. 
