Last Friday, I talked about some free service for new parents that really helped me out when my son was really young. Today I thought I’d let you know about some fun activities to get you out of the house and out of the malls during the winter. Of course, right now Winterlude is on so that is a MUST. Even if it’s with baby in a backpack to check out the sculptures and have a Beaver Tail. With Family Day weekend coming up it may be a bit crowded but it’s kind of fun to be among crowds again after being couped up all winter either at home or the office.
As a new parent, if you are mourning the loss of your date nights and miss going to the movies, you can go on a date with your baby to either Movies for Mommies or Stars and Strollers. The sound is turned down so as not to upset tender eardrums and the lights are left dimmed so you can still see around you. They have stroller parking and changing supplies and sometimes free baby food samples and other goodies. Best of all, no one will glare at you if your baby start hollering or if you need to breastfeed or walk up and down the aisle if your little one wants to stay on the move.
Want something a little more active? My son loves the water so check out the City of Ottawa’s recreation guide for information on swimming lessons and public swim schedules. Trips to museums and the National Gallery of Canada (free admission for children 12 and under) are great when baby is still happy in the stroller.
When they get a little older they’ll have fun exploring things on their own. The Canadian Children’s Museum is fantastic. Another fun one is the Canadian Museum of Nature. Did you know it’s free on Saturday mornings! Bonus! The Aviation Museum has a play room full of toys for kids and who doesn’t love the crazy kitchen in the Canada Science and Technology Museum. My son also loves all the big steam engines there. Once the weather warms up, bring them to see farm animals at the Canada Agriculture Museum and they can see for themselves what goes Moo.
Finally, I recently took my son to Cosmic Adventures and he was a little scared with the big kids playing tag and practically running on top of him so I’d recommend the upstairs section for ages 3 and under the first time you go. Careful! I heard kids get addicted to this place and it isn’t all that cheap!
Did I miss anything? Please tell me about anything other great activities in the Ottawa area. I’ve never taken my son to Gymboree or Star Gymnastics or some of the music classes I know are out there so I’d love to know what you thought of their programs.
Last Saturday I went to see the ice sculptures in Confederation Park. The sun was shining and most sculptures were still being chiseled and carved to life. I’ve been to Winterlude just about every year since I moved here in 1998 but don’t remember seeing the early stages of the competition. It takes such craftsmanship and a toughness against the cold to make these works of art. I had photographed many an ice sculpture throughout the years so I thought I’d try to spice things up this time and only brought my Lensbaby along. What fun! It gave my images such a dreamy effect. This year they had a special exhibit of sculptures made of recycled plastic. Really creative stuff (see the snake image). Although I didn’t go for a skate on the canal this time, I did make sure to grab a Beaver Tail pastry. Mmm!
I hope you have a chance to go to Winterlude – another great free event to enjoy with your loved ones.
Today is Friday and also the day I decided I wanted to share with my son who is in daycare the rest of the week – so I hope you don’t mind if I make this blog a more personal one. On Fridays, I usually take my son to a local playgroup. I started taking him when he was 14 months-old and still home with me full time. I just wish I had known about it sooner – which is why I hope that this blog might help someone else realize all the great FREE services new parents have access to in Ottawa. First of all, a week after my son was born, a public health nurse came to my house to check up on us. How awesome is that! I didn’t know this was standard practice until I got my ‘welcome baby’ kit at the hospital. She weighed my son and asked me how things were going and if I had any questions (what new parent doesn’t?!). She also gave me a list of local Well Baby Clinics. Something else I hadn’t heard of but was pleased to discover one such clinic took place once a week at the community centre down the street from our house. The proximity was especially important to me because my son was born a week before Christmas in 2007. Do you remember the winter of 2007-2008? Many cities broke their snowfall records and Ottawa got a whopping 436.7 cm (171.9 in) just shy of the all time record of 444.1 cm. We had only one car that my husband used to commute to work and I was recovering from a c-section (my stubborn boy was breach). So you can imagine that venturing outdoors with a newborn was a daunting task. I was worried about the cold, slipping on the ice and hurting my incision and/or my baby. No way could you push a stroller with that much snow so I bundle him up in a Moby wrap under my coat and walked to the community centre to get my baby weighed once a week and have an opportunity to chat other new moms while I waited my turn to see a public health nurse. I could ask them anything from advice on breastfeeding to this or that normal. The clinic sees baby up to 3 months and it was such a comfort to know he was gaining weight (he was slow to gain in the beginning) and developping normally.
Fast forward to the following winter when once again stuck indoors and developing another case of cabin fever, an online search allowed me to discover a free play group that ran 4 days a week from 9:30-11:30am. By then, friends that had been on maternity leave at the same time as me had returned to work so this was a chance for my son to interact with other children, new toys and activities and songs while I could socialize with other parents. They offered snacks to the kids and sometimes had workshops for the parents on various topics relating to child development. These were nice breaks while the facilitators supervised the kids. Right now on Fridays, one of the facilitators comes in half an hour earlier to teach a parent and tot yoga class.
I have been so impressed with how the play group is run and the diversity of parents and care-givers who use it. The facilitators are well-educated and great with the kids. My son now asks for them by name and loves to give them hugs.
So for any new parent that is sick of winter and tired of the mall, drop by a local play group! The Ottawa Public Library also has some great programs so check them out too – click here and use the Search Library Programs for Babytime or Toddlertime.
I hope this helps! I would love to hear about any other programs that are useful to new parents so I can pass the information along to my maternity and newborn portrait clients.
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Whether you own a business or want a personal site for a blog or your upcoming wedding, I’d be happy to discuss how I can help you get started with a web design package that suits your needs.
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