Your challenge this week is to enjoy a pedicure and report back. This is your eighth challenge.
While your baby is still small enough for the infant carrier, take advantage of your relative “freedom” to get your toenails done. We’ve experimented with many places and techniques and find this to be a favorite outing with (or without!) a baby.
I have done this a number of ways and can honestly recommend them all:
- Baby in bucket seat. My mom treated me to a lovely pedicure at a fancy place when Milo was just over a week old. We brought him and he stayed nearby (like baby Scarlett pictured above).
- Baby playing nearby. I watched Whitney and her moms group pals getting their toes done up with babies on laps, nearby on blankets on the floor, or being held by the adoring staff.
- Baby at home. Alec had a few “training day” moments when I left him alone with a small Holden and a backup bottle of breastmilk. Though I was anxious, we were all fine. Related: Encourage Daddy time and relax already.
Did you complete this challenge? Love it or hate it, tell us how it went:
- Comment below.
- Share a picture with us on Facebook.
- Name your destination on Twitter or Instagram and use hashtag #rookiemoms.
- Or, link in the comments to your own blog post about this challenge.
Going tomorrow sans kids and I can’t wait!
Seriously?!??! They have a baby swing? I am SO there. Awesome!
Anyone wanna join next wednesday for the new mama special?
That sounds so cool, though I’d be happy to just find a place w/o the horrendous fumes!
I agree, fumes are a problem.
I just did this this week, baby in sling and it was AWESOME. Great idea!
And welcome to the newest rookie human!
PS Some places are well-ventilated, some are not. But if you go 10 am on a Tuesday and you’re the only one…you’re in luck.
I have done this a number of ways and can honestly recommend them all:
1) Baby in bucket seat. Did this with Milo when he was 8 days old at a schmancy, ventilated place. It was great.
2) Baby at home. Alec had a few “training day” moments when I left him alone with a small Holden and enjoyed a pedicure.
3) Baby playing nearby. During one of my pedicures sans Holden (at less than a month old), Whitney and her moms group pals had their babies along. Some sitting on laps, some sitting on floors — what a difference a few months make.
4) Baby in lap or sling. I’m glad to hear Mom101 had success with this version, because for me, it’s only theoretical!
getting a pedicure was definitely the first place i went sans baby. i’ve thought about going in with my babe but the thought of him maybe crying or wanting out of his carseat and me being mid-toenail- paint has hindered me. so pedicures are saved for saturdays when dad is home. and you’re right – dad needs the practice with the bambino on his own. 🙂
When my son was three months we flew from Chicago to California for my grandpa’s retirement party. It is the only time my suitcase has ever been lost by an airline. I left him with my brother (yes, a guy with a 3-month-old…there were plenty of people around to help him) while I went shopping for some clothes. It was fun to shop with my mom but painful because I was still nursing and didn’t make it back in time! Definitely an adventure.
Whitney, you are so right! Unfortunately, I have one too many picts of me with the same issue. I relate.
This is one where I would have been way too nervous to try with my first but probably wouldn’t even bat an eye at trying it with my second – If I ever found a time to do it!
This was my first rookie mom outing without my little stinker, when he was 5 weeks old. As soon as I was out of the house, I realized that I hadn’t been away from him before this. My first thought was, “Freedom!” But by the time my mani and pedi were over, I was feeling an overwhelming compulsion to get back. My mother-in-law had left her cell phone at home, so I had left mine with her because we have no landline, and I wanted her to be able to call 911 should something happen. This meant I couldn’t check in at all. (An aside: this is a woman who, weeks later, expressed relief when I pointed out the key hanging near the door because she’d thought I’d been locking her in the house with the baby each time I went out and honestly didn’t know she could leave. Oh my.) Had I realized that I would be incommunicado and feel this strong compulsion to get back to baby, I would have picked an activity for which I could control the end time; my nails just could not dry fast enough for me. On the other hand, maybe it was good to have been forced to stay away a couple hours, and my nails did make me look quite put together for a new mom (for about a week!).
I’ve been trying to find a place to get a “green” pedicure — less toxic for the people who work there, at the very least. Were I to bring the baby, I’d especially want a less toxic environment. Any recommendations as to place? The east bay is best for me, but the whole bay area is an option.
No way would I bring a baby to one of those places! I can barely handle the fumes. The idea of a baby, with all her newness (uh, for lack of a better word) being assaulted by those chemical fumes! Ack!
Heather, I know what you mean. Some of the places in our area are more “fancy” and ventilated. How do you feel about it being a good “leave baby at home” outing?