Take the lead & invite a friend

As a stay at home parent, there is much to organise, plan & execute.

Apart from the obvious household chores or activities, there are babies & kids to feed, change & play with, a vehicle to pack with nappy bag, munch bag, hand bag & buckle in children, lock & alarm the house then make your way leisurely or frantically to structured indoor activities like mainly music, jumping beans, wriggle & rhyme, story telling, plunket etc.

So what about a good ole fashioned walk to rejuvenate your spirit & enrich the soul? Some fresh air when the weather permits provides the perfect solution for both parent & child, so why not invite a friend to share the experience also.

Any destinations in mind, how about a park with a lagoon? Apart from enjoying a walk pushing your child in a stroller & or carrying your child in baby carrier. The kids will also love the wildlife & inspirational setting to walk, run or crawl and feel different environmental textures between their fingers and toes.

Do yourself a favour and call a friend or fellow parent to arrange an outdoor walk. Sometimes a drive may not be required, often there are parks or reserves close to home that could prove to be a flexible meeting point. This option is also necessary when a vehicle may not be available for use.

Think about other options too, such as a regular walking group where you have many parents either from coffee groups or friendship groups that connect & catch up on a rotating basis or when available. This approach provides you with ready made options when your calendar activities alter or change.

Looking for coffee groups, try your local community centres, search on-line portals such as Mums On Top & Connect 2 Mums. You can also try your local Plunket as a starting point.

Ultimately take the plunge, take control & enjoy the benefits of both indoor & outdoor activities with your child/ren & a friend/s.

First drive with your newborn

When you held your baby in your arms for the first time, I'm sure your emotions were running wild.

Please tell us about how you handled your first drive with your newborn?

Was your first experience a drive back home after being discharged from hospital, or something entirely different?

I remember the feeling of elation, holding my baby in my arms for the first time. That feeling was erased though when on discharge from hospital it was a cold & miserable day and my newborn baby, my partner & I were to drive home. I can recall trying to get baby clothed & ready in her capsule in my hospital room. I fiddled for a while trying to make sure she was comfortable & warm with what I thought would be the most appropriate clothing for the weather conditions outside.

Getting her to our vehicle without being stopped by passer bys or hospital staff was time consuming & nerve racking to say the least. It felt like it took us an hour to reach our vehicle, which under normal conditions would have taken 15 minutes. When we reached our vehicle, under cover, we were under pressure to put baby's capsule with her in it, into it's base for safe travel.

Why were we under pressure? Someone else was waiting for our car space. Being our first time placing our daughter in our vehicle, we didn't want to be rushed so waved traffic on. Baby was sleeping which was helpful because her Daddy was fussing with the base for the capsule & seatbelts to make sure we were set. It also didn't help that the vehicle we were in, was our brand new 4WD that was collected on the day I was discharged. Why? We didn't have time to prepare in advance, the baby capsule set up.

All the same, we all eventually settled in and then excitement was in the air. Rob & I had achieved the thrill of adding a child to our family circle and were relishing the drive home actually, all 10 minutes of it hahaha.

I look forward to your story.

Cheers & happy adventures,

Maria