Activities for a baby in the DC area
March 3, 2015 6:49 AM Subscribe
I had a baby almost 6 weeks ago (soon she will be able to experience the world!) and I have absolutely no idea what to do with all of this time. I will be staying at home for the foreseeable future and I am struggling with a fair amount of cabin fever.
Where does one meet other stay at home parents? What are fun baby and me activities in the Maryland suburbs? I am located in Silver Spring, but we are near metro and have a car. I know the National Mall will be an amazing respite, however I would also like to know about resources for classes and um, fun things that people did with babies.
Where does one meet other stay at home parents? What are fun baby and me activities in the Maryland suburbs? I am located in Silver Spring, but we are near metro and have a car. I know the National Mall will be an amazing respite, however I would also like to know about resources for classes and um, fun things that people did with babies.
In addition to libraries, check other public museum/learning-related places. Where I live there are free baby storytimes not only at the city and county libraries, but also at a museum and two different wildlife rescue places. My city's recreation department and the local Jewish Community Center both have baby/children gym time for a nominal fee ($10ish) (and the JCC doesn't care if you are actually Jewish). Those are moreso for when the kid is a few months older, though. Over the summer your local parks & rec might offer mom/baby swim classes - they are mostly ridiculous for "teaching" anything, but it's fun to play in the water with baby and meet other moms.
There's also activities for you that are designed for baby to tagalong. I went to a couple Babes and Barre classes that were fun, and it felt amazing to exercise. Those are designed for a baby that can fit in some type of carrier on your chest, so you might (or might not) be another couple weeks from that. A friend of mine went to one of those stroller workout classes in a park and hated it, but maybe you would like it.
If you are nursing you could take the baby to a 11am movie and sit in the back and breastfeed; all they want to do is lay on you like a lump, anyway. One of our local movie theaters has a weekly kids movie where it's basically expected that the kids will be noisy and you don't have to feel embarrassed if your kid makes noises. After being cooped up inside for six weeks I would have been willing to watch pretty much anything, so check your local movie theaters to see if they have any mom/kid programs like that. There may be more options over the summer.
posted by gatorae at 7:09 AM on March 3, 2015
There's also activities for you that are designed for baby to tagalong. I went to a couple Babes and Barre classes that were fun, and it felt amazing to exercise. Those are designed for a baby that can fit in some type of carrier on your chest, so you might (or might not) be another couple weeks from that. A friend of mine went to one of those stroller workout classes in a park and hated it, but maybe you would like it.
If you are nursing you could take the baby to a 11am movie and sit in the back and breastfeed; all they want to do is lay on you like a lump, anyway. One of our local movie theaters has a weekly kids movie where it's basically expected that the kids will be noisy and you don't have to feel embarrassed if your kid makes noises. After being cooped up inside for six weeks I would have been willing to watch pretty much anything, so check your local movie theaters to see if they have any mom/kid programs like that. There may be more options over the summer.
posted by gatorae at 7:09 AM on March 3, 2015
New parents' groups, while often super-obnoxious, can also be invaluable during those first few months. Not sure if you're already hooked in to one, but if not here's a list of groups in your area.
posted by saladin at 7:21 AM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by saladin at 7:21 AM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Check out www.pacemoms.org. My PACE group helped me feel more confident and less alone. Bonus, all the kids will be right around the same age as your baby, which is so helpful going forward.
posted by weezetr at 7:23 AM on March 3, 2015
posted by weezetr at 7:23 AM on March 3, 2015
If you are facebook, there are no doubt tons of "Silver Spring Parents" groups and suchlike. These things can be very hit or miss, but if you find a good one, it can be invaluable for sanity. I know one of the big ones in my neighborhood is fantastic, and the parents have been friends for many years since meeting up initially.
posted by gaspode at 7:28 AM on March 3, 2015
posted by gaspode at 7:28 AM on March 3, 2015
If you have a neighborhood listserv, suggest meeting other new moms at the library or other local social place at a certain day/time. I bet other parents in your area are feeling exactly the same way you are and are just waiting for an opportunity to connect.
(FYI met some of my best friends this way, six years ago. Don't be shy!)
posted by nkknkk at 7:30 AM on March 3, 2015
(FYI met some of my best friends this way, six years ago. Don't be shy!)
posted by nkknkk at 7:30 AM on March 3, 2015
There is a regular meeting of moms and babies in Takoma DC -- the group is called Takoma Mamas, and info is available on its Facebook page. I met tons of other moms through Takoma Mamas with my first and expect to meet more with my second (11 days old) once he's old enough. I also did a PACE group, which I had a mixed experience with (but I have friends who really enjoyed their PACE experience). I'm also in SS so feel free to MeMail me if you have questions about either group or any of the other new moms stuff in the area. (Caveat that I am not a full time SAHM.)
posted by devinemissk at 7:34 AM on March 3, 2015
posted by devinemissk at 7:34 AM on March 3, 2015
Seconding parents' group - just to throw another one out there, there's the Joy Troupe in northern Virginia, I know several people who belong to one of their age cohorts and really like the group of parents they've met that way. Looks like their Maryland/DC chapters aren't as active, so it might depend on you being able to get over to Arlington etc.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:36 AM on March 3, 2015
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:36 AM on March 3, 2015
A friend of mine started Mom Meet Mom specifically for cabin fever and new baby reasons. It's a social networking site for moms to meet other moms.
You could try to see if there are any other DC people on there.
posted by zizzle at 8:22 AM on March 3, 2015
You could try to see if there are any other DC people on there.
posted by zizzle at 8:22 AM on March 3, 2015
Baby groups are great and all... but do things that you want to do with your baby. If you'd like to go to a museum, go with your baby. If you like shopping, take your baby. If you like to visit paint your own pottery places, take your baby.
Invite friends out to lunch, go bowling with a friend (the friend is key, need someone to hold baby while it's your turn)
Maternity leave can be as exciting or laid back as you want it to be.
posted by MadMadam at 8:29 AM on March 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Invite friends out to lunch, go bowling with a friend (the friend is key, need someone to hold baby while it's your turn)
Maternity leave can be as exciting or laid back as you want it to be.
posted by MadMadam at 8:29 AM on March 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Just to expand a bit on the storytime suggestions: before I had my child, I wondered what was the point of taking a kid who could in no way read or pay attention to a story to story time? But, in fact most story times I went to were geared towards little ones--often they incorporate puppets, songs, scarves/toys for visual stimulus, etc. It is just a way to provide an engaging experience, and frankly something different to do besides sit at home with your little one. Even a baby as young as a couple of months will find the colors and sounds interesting. Also, I often found babies to be fascinated by toddlers (and vice versa).
For myself, I found a few benefits to going to storytimes. First, just plain something to do, on a schedule. Second, it was interesting to observe other kids and their parents--it's a whole new world of kid stuff and parenting, and being out among other kids and parents can give you ideas. Third, it provides an opportunity to grow your parent network. If you become a "regular" at a story time, you can become friendly with other "regulars", and that can morph into someone to go to coffee or a park with. Even if none of these grows into a full-fledged friendship, it can still be nice to have a casual grown up interaction to look forward to in your day.
In addition to libraries, you can often find storytimes at bookstores and coffee shops. Another bonus: they're almost always free! (Unlike other kinds of baby "classes" like music or Gymboree, etc.--not that there's anything wrong with those, just that you can get a lot of the same kind of benefit from free storytime.) They tend to each have their own vibe, so you might want to try a few out to see what you like best.
posted by msbubbaclees at 9:11 AM on March 3, 2015
For myself, I found a few benefits to going to storytimes. First, just plain something to do, on a schedule. Second, it was interesting to observe other kids and their parents--it's a whole new world of kid stuff and parenting, and being out among other kids and parents can give you ideas. Third, it provides an opportunity to grow your parent network. If you become a "regular" at a story time, you can become friendly with other "regulars", and that can morph into someone to go to coffee or a park with. Even if none of these grows into a full-fledged friendship, it can still be nice to have a casual grown up interaction to look forward to in your day.
In addition to libraries, you can often find storytimes at bookstores and coffee shops. Another bonus: they're almost always free! (Unlike other kinds of baby "classes" like music or Gymboree, etc.--not that there's anything wrong with those, just that you can get a lot of the same kind of benefit from free storytime.) They tend to each have their own vibe, so you might want to try a few out to see what you like best.
posted by msbubbaclees at 9:11 AM on March 3, 2015
The hospital where my kid was born had two new parent/baby groups -- and was open to everyone, whether or not you gave birth there. The first group was birth up to something like three months, and the other was for age three months to a year. I first went when Kid BlahLaLa was 3 weeks old and it was SO. GREAT. Just being around other parents (okay, it was all moms) who had tiny little newborns. I adored it.
And then when he was about 6 months old we joined a Kindermusik group. Some people are all rah rah about what this does for baby's brain, but whether or not that's true, it was just plain fun, and we met several parents/kids who we are still friends with to this day, almost 12 years later.
Other things to do: I visited every damn museum in my city. I went for long walks with the baby in the stroller. Stuff like that. From now till your kid crawls is the golden time for doing whatever you like and carting baby along.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:50 AM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
And then when he was about 6 months old we joined a Kindermusik group. Some people are all rah rah about what this does for baby's brain, but whether or not that's true, it was just plain fun, and we met several parents/kids who we are still friends with to this day, almost 12 years later.
Other things to do: I visited every damn museum in my city. I went for long walks with the baby in the stroller. Stuff like that. From now till your kid crawls is the golden time for doing whatever you like and carting baby along.
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:50 AM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is probably for a kid who is a little older, but here it is anyway:
Every day except Monday, you can go to the Orkin Insect Zoo at the Natural History museum downtown and watch them feed the tarantulas. According to the website, they will let you hold/pet some of the other insects.
Schedule here.
My mom used to take me to this occasionally when I was little and it blew my tiny mind. I think it was only once a week back then, because the tarantula was named Friday At Eleven Thirty, because that was when they fed it.
But now, wonder of wonders, you can watch this three times a day. Live tarantulas. What other event could possibly be this good?
posted by Adridne at 2:57 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Every day except Monday, you can go to the Orkin Insect Zoo at the Natural History museum downtown and watch them feed the tarantulas. According to the website, they will let you hold/pet some of the other insects.
Schedule here.
My mom used to take me to this occasionally when I was little and it blew my tiny mind. I think it was only once a week back then, because the tarantula was named Friday At Eleven Thirty, because that was when they fed it.
But now, wonder of wonders, you can watch this three times a day. Live tarantulas. What other event could possibly be this good?
posted by Adridne at 2:57 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
MadMadame gives the advice I'd give. In the 6 weeks to 6 months age range you have what my wife termed as "cute luggage." We took the boy anywhere we wanted to go, subject to it not being too loud and being able to easily leave if he got cranky/loud. We did it so much I had to put this in my shortcuts because it was us.
We did do baby-specific things but in the first half year I would seriously avoid anything that involved paying for it because their sleep is so unpredictable. Maybe other kids napped on a more clock-based schedule than mine but we never knew when our kiddo would zonk out. I still somewhat resent the $150+ we spent on a baby&me community thing; he was asleep half the sessions and I didn't need to play with a parachute.
That said, there's often those story times that are free. Arlington does a lot of them at their libraries and it seems so does yours. Pre-crawling I don't know that your kiddo will get a lot out of them but I learned some songs to sing the boy. It's nice to get to meet some other people with similar aged kiddos and that's a good reason to do those closer to home.
Do you have some sort of baby-wearing contraption?
posted by phearlez at 4:16 PM on March 3, 2015
We did do baby-specific things but in the first half year I would seriously avoid anything that involved paying for it because their sleep is so unpredictable. Maybe other kids napped on a more clock-based schedule than mine but we never knew when our kiddo would zonk out. I still somewhat resent the $150+ we spent on a baby&me community thing; he was asleep half the sessions and I didn't need to play with a parachute.
That said, there's often those story times that are free. Arlington does a lot of them at their libraries and it seems so does yours. Pre-crawling I don't know that your kiddo will get a lot out of them but I learned some songs to sing the boy. It's nice to get to meet some other people with similar aged kiddos and that's a good reason to do those closer to home.
Do you have some sort of baby-wearing contraption?
posted by phearlez at 4:16 PM on March 3, 2015
I thought babies liked being driven around in a car. You could do scenic drives, but guessing where the baby is likely at developmentally, I think it might be a nice thing for you to do for yourself, with a nice cup of coffee or cocoa.
posted by discopolo at 5:58 PM on March 3, 2015
posted by discopolo at 5:58 PM on March 3, 2015
« Older Looking for an IOS app to shift the pitch of my... | Need new alarm clock before the old one drives me... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:50 AM on March 3, 2015