I have a 6-year-old daughter, so you would think I remember what it is like to be with a baby on the move, but apparently it is like childbirth; you forget what it is like. So how do you keep up with them while they explore and inevitably get into everything (everything)? Here are a couple of tips I have learned along the way on keeping up with my active baby.
Related: 5 Things You Didn’t Know You Needed for Your First Baby
How to Keep Up with Your Active Baby
Play, play, play!
Once they are on the move, babies just want to explore everything! Get on the floor with some toys and just play together. Watching your baby’s face light up with excitement at new things is going just to melt your heart. Take your play outdoors, and sit on the grass and let him experience the different things outside.
Fresh air
I love to walk. Luckily living in Florida, I have the luxury of enjoying this all year round. The fresh air is great for baby! He either falls asleep from all the fresh air and sounds or sits up and just takes in all the sites. This also doubles as the exercise for me! Be sure to bring your growing baby some snacks. You can clean him up when you get home, and if you find he has stained his clothes from juice or something, you know what to use to get that out!
Learn to love nap time!
At some point, your active baby is going to crash into glorious sleep. Rather than using that time to catch up on the dishes, join him! Of course, if you have older children that need supervision, this isn’t always possible. Unless you institute family nap time! Even if you just rest your eyes for a power nap, you’ll feel more energized and ready to take on the rest of the day. Trust me, your baby is going to wake up ready to keep exploring, so you’ll need the rest!
Energize with healthy snacks
You can’t keep up with an active baby on an empty stomach! When you’re a mom to a tiny tot on the run, you’ll find yourself tempted to grab a candy bar and call it lunch. DON’T! Instead, stock up on healthy snacks, salad fixings and other things that you can make on the fly, like this refreshing Zesty Orange Quinoa Salad!
Keeping up with your active baby can be exhausting at times, but it can also be so much fun! Watching them explore the world and discover new things, there’s nothing else like it!
Do you have any other tips for keeping up with an active baby? Share in the comments!
they have so much energy we must learn to keep up I love your ideas, my favorite was be sure to rest when they did
Great tips…And it can also be so much fun! Thanks for sharing your experience!!
I think the best advice is to learn to love nap time. When they sleep you sleep. While getting on social media is tempting sleep is priceless at this age.
I miss having a baby around the house. When the twins were little, I remember being dead tired all the time because of all the crawling around and playing. Lol.
I definitely learned to nap when the baby napped. It was the only way to keep up with the baby’s energy!
You pretty much covered the most important things to do to keep up with an active baby. It wasn’t easy, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world!
all of the above are great tips – one thing – ENJOY your baby while he or she is still a baby! :)
Many moms I know keep fit by keeping up with their active toddler! Others take their kids on runs and walks in strollers to keep fit themselves.