What do you do when you leave the house?

[bonjourmama]

Hi SAHmama's!

I have had a really hard time transitioning to SAHM. I know one day I will enjoy it more and I will get used to it (praying any day now)

But for the time being I need some suggestions for getting out of the house with my 7 month old DD. 

So far we go to the park, library time, and walk around Target on rainy days. What else do you guys do?

[nktigger99]

My kids are a little bigger...but before I was put on limited activity...we would go to the park, story time like you but I have also found going to the local malls play area is nice on not so nice days.  Also my kids actually really enjoy just running normal daily errands with me....they love seeing all the new people...I can tell they miss that now that we have to stay home during the day.  Also I would look into maybe a playgroup in your area...they can be a really great way to get out of the house!!!

[GoBecGo]

Monday: go to friend (C) who has 3 kids, aged 4, 2 and 1 (mine are 4 and 9months).  Every other week she comes to us.

Tuesday: stay home, FIL comes to visit in the afternoon and plays with the kids, XP comes for dinner then takes DD1 home to his for an overnight.

Wednesday: go to my friend/boss's (A's) house with the baby, have lunch, work on her admin for a few hours while the baby sleeps, DD1 comes home from her dad's for dinner

Thursday: go meet C at a toddler group, then go to C's for lunch, meet XP another friend (V) and her babe (same age as DD2) in a kid-friendly vegan bar/cafe in town, XP plays with DD1, V and i nurse and chat (and usually eat! lol!

Friday: in the house again, try desperately to catch up with some housework.  Every few weeks V cannot make thurs due to her working and we go to her on the friday instead.  This week DD's godmother visited us for brunch.

That's our week :D

[Addie]

Places we go: Storytime at the library, storytime at the JCC, storytime at the bookstore, toddler parenting group at the JCC, library for free play, coffee shop, bakery, grocery store, walks in the neighborhood, playground, park, Target, out for lunch, friends' houses for playdates.

I'm a big fan of getting out of the house every day when possible. I also agree with the PP that DS seems to enjoy just tagging along on my regular activities - not every activity needs to be child-focused.

[raelize]

that first year was hard for me cause i hadn't met any mommy friends yet, all my old friend were still single or working.  

i went to every LLL meeting within a 30 minute driving radius.  i met some friends there.  that was great for the first few years.  then friends moved, kids went off to school, i had to find a new group (we hs) and i have managed to do that.

when dd1 was 7 months old, we went weekly to:

LLL, a local AP parenting group, library, indoor play places, friends  houses, playgrounds, grocery shopping, museums, bookstores.

i also tried to get out every day, usually the morning.

i found LLL online and the AP groups through searching yahoo groups.  just search for natural parenting, attachment parenting, with your geographic area. 

once i made friends it was much easier to be a SAHM. 

[bonjourmama]

Thanks everyone! I looked up the local LLL around here and I am attending the meeting tomorrow. I really need to make leaving the house a priority as my DD does best when we are out and about. I just end up driving around and around! 

Your suggestions are helpful!

Addie, what is the JCC?

[mommariffic]

When DD was that age we went for a ton ton ton of walks (especially in nice weather!) I would find lovely park and cruise it. I'd bring a blanket, lunch and books for myself too : ) I would also (again walk because we lived in New York City) to get breakfast, or to a child-friendly coffee shop and we'd share a muffin or something...we'd see friends once a week or so, run errands, and once DD was crawling/cruising we would go to those indoor play center things that have mats and whatever else. 

Try looking on Meetup or something to find a local moms group too! 

[Addie]

JCC = Jewish Community Center. I don't know if they all offer similar services, but the one here has baby and me classes, storytime, and parenting support groups that are free and open to the community. They have lots more activities for members, but we haven't sprung for a membership yet. And no, you don't need to be Jewish to attend!

[bonjourmama]

Oh wonderful! Thank you mamas, all of these ideas are great! I am going to give it a go and try meet up. A little nervous, don't know why, but hopefully I can meet some mamas there. I am in a place where I am really different from others I have met so far, this is a very conservative and wealthy place (we are neither, ha).

[Ella Enchanted]

We currently don't have a car, so some days I'll walk 4 miles to the mall.  I bus back because coming back is mostly uphill.  Really, we don't get out as much as I'd like. :(

[bonjourmama]

Ella Enchanted: I know it can be so hard when you are stranded somewhere. Hugs.

[BellyBean]

We try to get out at least once everyday.  My DD takes 2 longer naps so finding things that I can squeeze in can be hard sometimes.   During a normal week we go to the Children's museum, Zoo, Library story time, the park, walks, and normally have 1 playdate with friends.  I also try to find toddler/infant classes through our local community center that fit her nap schedule.  We have done swimming, painting, yoga, and there are tons more that we haven't gotten a chance at like dance and gymnastics.

[Greenlea]

I live near Chicago so its hard to get out with the weather.  Mainly if I don't just run errands I go to the play area inside the library.  We have also gone to IKEA and my son will play in the kids section they have set up. Not the babysitting section you pay for, but they have an area where the kids toys are set up so you can see and play with them before buying them.

When its nice out we go to the park and walk alot.  I have two free smaller zoos by me we go to, playdates, etc.

[Summersquash]

When my DD was 7 months, we did storytime at the library, a little baby tumbling class (SO fun! and she learned to both crawl and walk there, so it was definitely doing something good for her development) and then just did normal errands together.  We would go to the grocery store, Target, the mall every once in a while (I'd usually put her in the Ergo for that), visiting friends, etc.  She sometimes did better than other times but really seemed to enjoy the changes of scenery that getting out did for us.

[Addie]

Ah, how could I forget the zoo? We got a family membership, which was some of the best money I ever spent. When it's nice out, we go 3-4 times per week, even if just to walk around for an hour.

[vegrunr]

Staying at home was a tough adjustmet for me too, at first- it's very lonely when you don't have any other friends that SAH

Some of the things I do with my son (6mos) are: library story time or just go to the library to read some books there and borrow some for home, trips to Target or other stores (sometimes to buy stuff, sometimes just to get out and do something), coffee shop (though I try to limit this since soy lattes don't come cheap!), grocery store, breastfeeding support group at local hospital, and I plan to go to the nature center and parks once it's nice out.  Oh, we also take walks if it's above 40 and not rainy.  I also found a local natural parenting group and look forward to attending some of their events.  Other ideas: Stroller Striders, Mommy and Me exercise classes, swim lessons

[McGucks]

I found that the only thing that lifted my post-partum stuff was getting out of the house.  With such a drop in income, however, it can be tricky since there are so many temptations to drop a couple bucks here and there.  My main destinations are LLL, a Mom's Group sponsored by the local hospital's Lactation Center, getting together with other SAHMs for playdates or mall walking, and going to the library.  We are also lucky that DH has a job where he works mostly by himself, so we go have lunch with him once or twice a week.  I used to get together with MIL once a week, but she complained it wasn't enough + it was pretty stressful for me (and not particularly enjoyable for DS), so I dropped back to a few times a month and mostly only when FIL is there & DH can be with us.  It is sometimes difficulty/stressful to get out of the house since DS is not one to play or hang out independently, even for 5 minutes, but it's definitely worth it for me to make the effort.  I am reliably more pleasant and upbeat if I get out of the house.  We go someplace most days, even if it's just a walk.  And please know--it IS an adjustment--going from a previous path to being a SAHM. I still kind of feel like I am living in a parallel universe, especially when I run into former co-workers.  And no, I don't always love it.  I get tired, frustrated, and lonely sometimes.  But I do always love my son and know it's worth it and the right thing for us for me to be home with him now.  Hang in there and try to find some other mommas to spend time with. 

Edited by McGucks - 3/19/11 at 4:56pm

[MrsBone]

Monday is my cleaning day..the day I sweep, mop and scour bathrooms, so DS keeps himself pretty well entertained while I clean, or he "helps" me. This is also the day I try and do a little batch cooking

Every other Tuesday is our co-op day, so DS and I are at my moms breaking down produce, dry goods, meat, eggs, etc. That fills up the whole day.

Wed thru Fri is usually playdates through my local playgroup or meet up with my best friend and let our kids play.

Friday I usually work in the evening for a couple hours while my mom watches DS.

Saturday's activities depends on the week, DH watches DS for a couple of hours while I practice for singing at church on Sunday....

Sunday is church activities for about half the day.

I don't have to do a lot of grocery shopping because of the co-op situation, which is lovely, but every other week or so I make a Costco trip and about once a week I hit the grocery store for things I can't get through the co-op, this is also the time I fill prescriptions, car wash, etc. Basically, DS just tags along with my errands unless we are doing a playdate.

[bonjourmama]

MrsBone, what a lovely schedule. I am so envious of all your fun weekly activities. Just curious, what sort of batch cooking do you do?

[happysmileylady]

Gosh, it's very rare that we leave the house for something that's child focused.  But I would guess that we are gone about as much as we are home.  There's just no sort of set schedule really.

The one thing that is "scheduled" and is child focused is my BF support group that meets at the hospital around the corner every Monday.  It's a free group that's very open-come if you want, or don't, no biggie.  I try to go at least every other week, but really we aren't having many problems and my 6 month old is one of the oldest babies there now. 

Other than that though, we are always out and about all over, usually running errands.  It seems like there's always one of them with a doc appointment or I have a dentist appointment which means dropping them off at family to be babysat for an hour or so, or there's a hair appointment, or I have to meet with a client (I am a photographer, just getting my business built up.) 

Last week for example:

Monday-BF group at 10, then met my mom for lunch afterwards. 

Tuesday-met with insurance agent to go over new homeowners policy.  Had to pick teen up from school at 4:30 due to after school meeting

Wednesday-grocery shopping

Thursday-pick up check at work, go cash check, pick up meds for DH, drive to other side of town to pick up a dishwasher found on CL

Friday-make a bank deposit for teen, had to pick her up from school again, and had to go get dog food because no one told me when I went grocery shopping on Wednesday

And this week,

Monday-missed BF group, baby had a dr appt, also had to pick up some office supplies

Tomorrow, I have to pick the teen up at school again, then take her back to school for an evening activity and pick her up from that 2 or so hours later

Wednesday I will probably go grocery shopping again.

My week might start off with no plans to run any errands, but it seems like it fills up fast.  I feel like I am ALWAYS running errands.