I have always been an “on-the-go” kind of girl. I cannot sit still very long and I am always planning my next move, whether that is making plans for a fun GNO (girls’ night out), planning our next family vacation, buying tickets to watch our favorite sports team, or just spending a Saturday shopping at all my favorite boutiques.
Five weeks ago, all of my go was put on a (temporary) halt when we welcomed our precious little boy, Wally. As most new parents do, we have been staying home to avoid germs and to get used to this new life, but I am here to say that new mama cabin fever is real!
I love having this time at home with my little one. I love not having to focus on anything other than him, I love our one-on-one bonding time, and I even love having more time to do things around the house, during his naps of course.
However, some days the cabin fever is too real and I need a change of scenery.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have been kicking cabin fever to the curb with some of these “field trips:”
Getting Some Grub: Eating out at a restaurant with a newborn has shown to be pretty easy since he sleeps through all of our meals (knock on wood). Everyone told us to take advantage of this time and take him out to eat, and we are taking that advice. Although his naps help us enjoy our time out at a restaurant, I think our strategic planning helps too. When planning our lunch/dinner outings we make sure we are going on an unpopular day or night at an unpopular time (for example, Monday at 5pm) to avoid crowds and extra stress. We learned this trick by making the mistake of trying to go to dinner downtown on a Friday night at 7pm. Since we have learned from this mistake, it has been smooth sailing at our other dinner and lunch outings. Wally and I have also enjoyed some quiet mother/son time at some of my favorite coffee shops. One of my favorite outings so far was at Starbucks where I enjoyed a latte and a book, and he enjoyed a nap!
From One House to Another: Our families live about an hour away from Chattanooga. To get a little change of scenery, we have been going to the grandparents’ houses for a night. Spending the night at our parents’ houses have gotten us out of our house and, of course, given our families some extra time and snuggles with the baby.
Getting Outside: Almost every morning Wally and I, along with one of our dogs Dottie, have been going on walks. We walk around our neighborhood or at a nearby park, and we have even taken our morning walks to the zoo. We get some fresh air before it gets too hot outside, and a little bit of exercise. I really enjoy our morning walks, but I think Dottie likes them most of all!
Taking a Drive: As we are still learning to be parents and care for our newborn, some days are a little harder than others. When we have a rough day, a simple drive around town hits the spot. We all load up in the vehicle, dogs included, and take a 20-minute drive. Sometimes we end up somewhere and other times we just drive and take in our city.
Back to Reality: One thing that is really helping with cabin fever, is starting to get back into our normal routine. A simple trip to the grocery store or going to church takes a little bit more planning these days, but it feels great and is enriching for us all to start getting back to the norm.
As we are still in the newborn phase, we are taking it a little slow and branching out slowing. But don’t worry; I have already started planning our trips for this summer and fall!
