Our second in this 52-week series of weekly rookie mom challenges gets you out of the house once again.
When your baby is in a good mood (or better, sleeping!), scope out the “safe places” at your local shopping destinations where you can feed and change your baby. This will allow you to get out of the house every day and know that you don’t have to race against the clock to get back home.
Things to stake out:
- Changing tables in restrooms
- Comfy chairs for nursing
- Other moms with babies in strollers or carriers
I like the children’s area of any bookstore. Find a quiet corner and a tiny chair, and pull out your boob or bottle.
Did you complete this challenge? Love it or hate it, tell us about it:
- Comment below.
- Share a picture with us on Facebook.
- Name your destination on Twitter and use hashtag #rookiemoms.
- Or, post a link in the comments to your own blog post about this challenge.
Baby too old for this? Try Activity #164: Help a rookie mom (with all your hard-earned wisdom) Baby not yet born? Even easier! Walk through the shopping areas you know and love scoping out new mom zones you never noticed.
[illustration by Amy Saidens]
In Nashville I love Cheekwood Botanic Gardens because there is a lot to see, but some private benches that are good for nursing.
Crossroads mall in St. Cloud, MN has nursings rooms and special changing areas complete with sinks to wash your hands near the rest rooms.
I have also heard of some moms using dressing rooms for privacy while nursing. You will just have to find a store that has a large enough room.
hi whitney!!!
it was great meeting you at blogher!
i thought i’d see you again to talk longer,
but the whole weekend was a blur of activity.
congratulations on your book + best wishes.
did you hear about the new cafe for mom’s in san jose’s willow glen district? i think it’s called baby buzz + it has an amazing array of activities for mom’s + babies
When my little guy was small, I always had the best luck going into Motherhood Maternity stores. If I didn’t feel like going into a restroom to nurse, or there were to many distractions for my son at other locations, Motherhood staff would always let me hang out in their dressing rooms to nurse and change him. It was comfy, quiet and private.
The Westfield Shopping Centre in San Francisco has a family lounge near the restrooms on the food court level. There is a private bathroom, some toys, a couple of changing tables, and three privaye dressing room type nursing areas. There is also a rather loud tv which I don’t understand. Also in San Francisco is Day One and Natural Resources which have gliders for nursing and changing tables. They also have a scale to weigh your baby. Great to stop in when your running errands. Finally I just sit in a dressing room if I’m out shopping to nurse. I usually bring in some clothes to try on so it is legit, but if they’re not busy most stores will let you just hang out in one. Anthropologie has large, comfy dressing rooms.
I learned that the furniture department at any department store has great places to breastfeeed. I discovered this while perusing the patio furniture at Target, but I also hung out at the recliners in J-C Penny’s, the sofas in Macy’s and even the patio furniture at Home Depot…
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I couldn’t have survived the first year without Barnes and Noble as a halfway home point in my neighborhood. Ikea is also great, especially during the week. It’s empty and their family restrooms are perfect. Except the one in Brooklyn has a child’s booster seat positioned directly over the garbage can, which I think is a bit strange. Haha.
I just did that this weekend! Went to Borders in Tualatin OR, and hung out there with my 14 month old, and my friend and her 5 month old. We had a blast!
When my daughter (now 2 1/2) was a babe, someone gave me the tip that she loved going shopping downtown (San Francisco) because there was always a nice hotel or department store nearby with changing tables, lounges, etc. My best out-and-about freedom came when I learned to nurse while my daughter was in the Ergo — the best!
In Chicago Michigan Avenue is perfect. Yes the crowds are there, but the big, old, department stores are filled with huge fancy ladies lounges and big comfy chairs perfect for breast feeding a baby. Macy’s Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s all have them and they are awesome. My little man is 6 mths old and more than once we have made the trek downtown to stroll with confidence we would find plenty of places to stop.
I love the Rookie Moms challenge – Marion is 3 weeks old today, and I will definitely be checking in here for some ideas on getting out and about with her!
Today marked my first car ride alone with the bambino, and after dropping off a few visitors at the SFO airport, I decided to hit up Babies R Us to purchase every brand of pacifier (why does my baby hate them all?). I was also thinking this could be a good place for an out-of-the-house nursing mission. If only Babies R Us didn’t give me the heebie-jeebies….I ended up feeding the peanut in the back seat of my car in the parking lot. The ‘mother’s room’ was so gross and depressing!
I have done it all lol, breastfed my baby girl standing up against a empty register at Toys r us, changing my year old on-top of the packaging table in the same store (it amazes me they have no place for doing those things!), nursed and changed in the back of our car, nursed sitting on the pier, nursed in and changed my little ones in a sofa in the public liberary
Don’t let anything stop me getting out and about with my kids
I admit I have put on my nursing cover and nursed my baby while shopping in Target. But I do like the idea of going to B & N. There is a lounge for moms at the Shops at Mission Viejo, but I don’t think it would be as fun as sitting in a comfy chair at Barnes and Noble.
[...] second in the series of 52 weekly challenges for rookie moms is to go on a reconnaissance mission. Here are a few Whitney-and-Heather-approved safe places to change and feed your baby in the East [...]