When my husband had to be gone for six whole nights on business leaving me alone with baby Holden, I panicked and called in my smartest mom friends for advice.
They had perfectly reasonable suggestions about lowering my expectations, keeping it simple, and making plans to keep from going stir crazy.
This tip came from my friend Molly, a mom of two, and thus an expert:
Think about one thing you might do if it were just you on your own, or perhaps if you were going to play host to a dear friend who you rarely see and wanted to impress. Visit a museum with an important art show? Take a drive to a beautiful place and go for a hike to see the magnificent view? Go to a cafe and chat with the strangers at the tables nearby just to feel the buzz of the city?
Now then – dive in and do that thing with your boy even if it seems like it might be stressful. I promise, it won’t be.
It will be fantastic and fulfilling because it will be the first time you intentionally planned something for your shared enjoyment and edification. A touchstone for all the many many times you will do things together, just you two, in the coming years.
Not wanting to let Molly or myself down, I saddled up the boy with most of his corresponding gear and we tried a new brunch spot, just the two of us. Me with a cocoa and him in his nasty highchair. We flirted with folks at other tables and shared our food. He ate some of my pancakes, scrambled eggs, and strawberries (I did have to pull the pancakes and strawberries apart in a decidedly un-adult fashion) while I licked some of his cheesy cauliflower off my hands.
What would you do with your baby if you treated him like a dear friend you wanted to impress? Now, go do it!
This is your 45th weekly challenge.
Now I’m crying.
On a related note, I’ve been surprised, when obligated into an activity that I had no choice but to bring my son along to, how well he coped. I used to work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and one Thursday, I went back to have lunch with colleagues. Other work friends asked if I could have drinks after the work day. I never would have planned to have 9 month old Nick at the Museum all day, but we went for lunch, stayed all afternoon, and went out for drinks at 5. And Nick was a trooper – 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. So, I heartily agree with Molly – the worst that can happen is that it will be as difficult as a bad day at home, except you’ll have had a special day out and about.
I completely second this idea (yes, i know, I’m seeing it a little late
but thought I’d throw in my 2 cents for anyone who finds it after me! 
)
Some of my favorite, and least stressful, moments with my son when he was a baby are like this (and I was a VERY stressed mommy when he was a baby). We were staying in a hotel for a friend’s wedding when he was 6 months old, and he of course woke at 6am while Dad was still asleep. I threw clothes on myself, put him in the umbrella stroller, and walked down to the (thankfully open) coffee shop in the lobby. I had coffee and a muffin, I don’t remember if he was old enough to share the muffin.
But it was lovely and relaxing instead of stressing about being awake, him being awake, wanting to go back to sleep, etc. I wanted coffee and breakfast, off we went. 
It’s a bit harder now that he’s 4 (and was MUCH harder when he was walking and refusing to sit down or even stop running!) but as a baby, it was so much less stressful than trying to engage yet again with some random baby toys alone on the living room floor.
I have to agree. I have been going pretty much anywhere with my son (now 10 months) since he was a few weeks old. I know that this free-wheeling lifestyle is soon coming to an end- but maybe not. He does so well in restaurants and in public places. We make friends, explore new and old places and enjoy life together. If I stayed at home all day I would lose my mind. I think babywearing is the key to our success. Thank god for the Ergo!
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My little guy (3 months) and I took a stroller tour at the Art Instiute of Chicago last month. I was a bit nervous, but we had a blast. Hubby encouraged me to make a day of it, so we strolled around the museum, went to see a parade downtown, and got lunch. He cried while I was ordering my food, but it made me feel more comfortable about dealing with crying in public! looking forward to our next date
I agree with this and enjoy it in the younger months when your child will still work with you a little bit. My son is almost 2 now and will throw some serious tantrums so we have backed off those things for now until he passes that stage.
Great post – My girls are 4 and 5 and I am happy to report that I am able to almost take them anywhere now – without a lot of effort. I can’t believe I am actually saying this… I really thought the day would never come. Not to mention.. the time it takes to get out of the house for activities is also on the decline.
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