Mommy's Secrets

I've started teaching an English class for Mommies and Babies on Mondays. In class today we had a good discussion which got me to thinking... we have information that can be shared and hopefully will be helpful to other moms (or dads) in the area.

Today's topic was "Mommy's Secrets". Our discussion questions included "Where do you like to go with your baby?" and "What is something you wish you would have known before having a baby?"

Here is a summary of what we came up with:

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Where do you like to go with your baby?

0123 - a city-run place that resembles a jidokan (children's recreation center) for kids age 0-3 years old.

Kamiigusa Sports Center Kid's Room - The public sports center has a room that families can use for free. They just ask that you sign in at the desk so they know how many people are using the room. It's a great place to play on a rainy day! (There is a picture of the room at the bottom of the linked page)

Skip Kids - A cafe with a small American-style play space. There is also a separate ball are for babies under 1 yr. old so they don't get trampled. The food, staff and atmosphere is wonderful.

Local parks - we have many of them in Suginami-ku. It is great to get out and play on a sunny day!

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What is something you wish you would have known before having a baby?

- That not all babies sleep a lot and some babies don't like to sleep at night.

- It is ok to go out of the house in the first month after the baby is born. Many women in Japan feel trapped at home with the baby until the 1 month check-up as they are told not to even go out for a walk or to the grocery store. In class we agreed that for the mental health of the mommy it's best to not feel trapped in a small apartment for a month!

- You don't need to get a complete wardrobe in every size. Babies grow quickly so you may not even be able to use all the baby clothes. One approach is to buy things in every other size - for example get things in 50cm, 70 cm, 90 cm and skip buying things that are 60 cm and 80 cm.

- Babies can be very expensive. It is not just buying things... the utility bills may go up, budgets for travel need to be increased to cover an additional person, child care/activities need to be taken into consideration.

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During the baby (more like toddler) time today we read 2 books.

Chika Chika Boom Boom

and

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear (Sign and Sing Along)

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