summer fun: the early days

July 6, 2012

i’ve seen a ton of lists featuring ideas for summer fun with kids — but the thing is, most of them don’t apply to someone as young as annabel.  she is currently 2 months [edited to add:  she’s 3 months now, but was 2 as of the writing of this post!] and summer weather is certainly upon us in NC, even if the calendar doesn’t agree.

as much as i’d love to take her to the zoo . . . the beach . . . disney world [ha], i realize i need to think a little smaller and more low-key for now.  reasons?

bath with daddy in our sink – currently the closest she has gotten to swimming

★ sunscreen.  as in, it’s actually not recommended by the american academy of pediatrics until babies are 6 months old!  that makes it hard to plan on spending hours in the sunshine without elaborate shade and cover-up schemes.

★ feeding schedule.  a is still eating every 2-3 hours, which would make traveling somewhat challenging.  i’m actually very sad to be missing my 10 year college reunion next weekend [shout-out to any williams alums attending, if there are any reading!] because it would have involved 2 plane trips and an hour car ride just to get there.  the logistics made my head spin so i decided to sit this one out.

★ attention span.  no need to rush annabel — the truth is that right now, she’s as enthralled by her own hands on the playmat or me emptying the dishwasher [seriously] as she likely would be by disney characters at this point.

in fact, the dishwasher scene is probably more exciting because it stars her favorite character — ME <– i realize this won’t last and she may end up a daddy’s girl, so i’m enjoying it for the moment.

BUT, i still want to get out and enjoy a few summer outings, both during the remains of my maternity leave and then later on over weekends off.

ideas for summer fun with a [very] little one:

1.  outdoor bbq with friends.  family friendly, and if it’s for dinner, the sun/heat issues are off the table.  plus, it should be easy to duck inside to breastfeed, or just use a nursing cover.

2.  brunch outside!  this is my favorite meal out with baby.  it doesn’t last terribly long [so no need to worry about feeding], the time schedule can be loose, and with an outdoor location, it’s easy to turn the stroller into a shady umbrella.

3.  early sunrise walks/runs with the stroller.  once i head back to work, the early AM will become my prime time to work out.  on days that i don’t want to hit the treadmill, annabel and i can head out for walks — and once her head control improves [3-4 months or so] we can take the stroller out for RUNS!  these would be done super-early to a) beat the heat and b) allow me to get to work on time.

4.  the beach.  i know — i used this as an overly ambitious example above.  but i still think we may want to try this for a weekend getaway!  we’re 2 hours from wilmington, and a low-key trip would be a fun escape from our usual weekend chorefest.  we’d have to really limit our sun time and make sure to cover her up with protective clothing, but i think this would be a nice adventure — perhaps in august or september [we have long summers here!]

wrightsville beach last summer — before baby!

other ideas?  i’d love to hear them.  also, if you’re a parent — how old was your little one when they first went swimming?  i’m ready to try annabel in a swim diaper, even if it’s just for a few minutes!

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