Day 360 - 1st Year Round-Up - Top 5 Things to Do

Today's first time parenting tip - Let your baby do his favorite things often

Routine and repetition are good for babies, so if he wants to read that story for the 15th time or wants to sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for two hours in a row, it's actually a good thing. It helps them build memory and cognition.

So as part of the yearly round-up, here are my son's top 5 favorite things to do.

• Go to the aquarium


• Read books


• Watch cars and trucks drive by


• Dance and listen to music


• Play with the cat

Honorable mention - Crawl over Mom and Dad

Parenting, Favorite, Activity

Day 314 - So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Today's first time parenting tip - Take your baby to the local aquarium and watch them be wowed.

Looking for a fun activity you can do on the weekend that'll keep your baby interested? Try taking them to the aquarium. Our son absolutely loved his trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

Unlike the zoo, you can get right up close to the brightly colored fish. And unlike the animals at the zoo, they're usually swimming and moving around the aquarium. Our son was enthralled by the big tank they have with all sorts of fish swimming around in the same environment.

And most aquariums are very kid friendly, so you don't have to worry about being out of place. And it's definitely something adults can enjoy too. Our son loved it so much that we're going to do a fish theme for his first birthday.

Parenting, Fish, Aquarium, Fun, Activity

Day 284 - Find Something Fun and Family Friendly

Today's first time parenting tip - Find things to do near you at Parentography

The good folks at Lifehacker tipped me off to a new site for parents, Parentography.

The site is basically a way for parents to share information with each other about fun things to do in the area. Items like restaurants, attractions, activities, lodgings, parks, playgrounds and other family related activities.

All the reviews come from other parents, and the site is still in BETA right now, so things are pretty light. But as more and more people join, I can see this becoming a great tool when you're trying to plan some time out with the family.

I know whenever my wife and I want to go out to eat with the baby, its always a guessing game as to whether or not the restaurant has a family friendly atmosphere.

Another nice feature is the ability to create and view "excursions", which are combinations of family-fun activities that can range from a couple of hours to all-day trips.

This site will only be as good as the content people feed into it, so time will tell as to whether or not Parentography catches on. Things are also a little buggy right now, so I don't expect many people to latch on until they get the kinks worked out.

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Parenting, Resource, Activity, Restaurant, Review

Day 282 - Lighten Up

Today's first time parenting tip - Don't forget to have fun with your baby

The past few posts I've written have been advice geared towards doing the "right" thing with your baby. As my wife just pointed out to me, it makes it sound as if parenting is a no fun, do it by the book deal.

But of course it's not! There are tons of books, videos, blogs (this one included) that offer advice on what you should or shouldn't do for your baby. Don't get so caught up in it.

Throw out the rules every once and a while and just have fun with your baby. Today, I saw huge, tall hill with snow on it and no trees. My first thought was, "That's an awesome sledding hill." My second thought was "I want to take my son sledding."

Is sledding the safest activity in the world? No, probably not. You could argue that it's not safe for adults to do either. (When I was a kid we'd specifically sled down hills with trees on them. To an eleven-year-old, this was fun for some reason.) Will I take him?

Absolutely. I think he'd have a blast. We'll get him all bundled up, hop on the sled with him and take off down the hill. I'm confident enough in my sledding ability that I can stop us or bail out safely if we need to.

So take a moment, and do something fun with your baby today. Forget whether or not you're a good parent or not and just make them laugh.

Parenting, Fun, Laugh, Activity

Day 271 - Fun, Educational Bath Toy

Today's first time parenting tip - Check out foam letters and numbers from Little Tikes to make bath time fun and educational

Soon after my son grew out of taking baths on his back and really started playing, we realized we didn't have any tub toys for him to have fun with! We had a rubber duck and a washcloth, which was pretty much the extent of his entertainment.

So we went to the store and found Foam Letters and Numbers from Little Tikes. Our son LOVES them. They stick up on the wall and they're really big so he can grab onto them, throw them around and splash in the bath.

He even likes playing with them out of the bath too. We keep them in a big bucket in the bathroom and when he gets in there those are the first things he goes for. They'll be a great toy as he gets older and starts to learn letters, numbers and words. It's very easy to slap letters on the tub and make him laugh just by spelling a word.

Their site says these letters are for ages three and up, but they seem big and sturdy enough. Definitely keep an eye on your baby, and if you're not comfortable with him having a toy designated for years 3 and up, then give him a year or two and let the fun begin.

Parenting, Activity, Bath, Toy, Play, Fun

Day 270 - Play with Baby Toys

Today's first time parenting tip - Play with your baby's toys so they can imitate you

There is a lot to be said for exploratory, solo play for infants. It helps them learn to do things on their own, entertain themselves and develop independence. Equally important is social play with not only other kids, but with you too.

You're going to have to get right in there with them. There are some great toys out there, but your baby isn't going to know exactly what to do. If you play with them every day, you'll find they quickly get "better" at playing with toys.

For instance, my son got a set of stacking cups for christmas. Set them in front of him, and he might knock over one or two, but then he's done. So I build a big tower out of them. He'll crawl across the room just to knock it over. Next thing I know, he's taking the cups apart and putting them back together. He knows small goes into big, and he still loves knocking over what I build.

The important thing is that while you can lead a bit, you can't force it. If your baby isn't interested or wants something else, follow their lead. But if you play right along with your baby, they'll quickly learn lots of things, and this is a good habit to carry forward as they get older too. Play games with them. Take an interest in what they're doing. You'll have a better relationship with them in general.

Parenting, Baby, Activity, Toy, Play, Fun

Day 269 - Keep a Log

Today's first time parenting tip - Keep track of minor preferences and events in your baby's day-to-day, they could be significant.

There are so many different things to keep track of in your head when you're raising a baby, schedules, food preferences, medicine, doctor visits, day care, etc. And it only seems to get more complicated.

If you're looking for some order, or are wondering if there's a pattern to your baby's behavior, you might want to keep a little log of it. It doesn't have to be anything complex, just a little notebook and a pen. Write a short note with a date and time on it, and it's probably a good idea to keep the things you're tracking separate. i.e. All the notes about food preferences are together, all the notes about medicine together.

My wife and I just started our son at a home day care, and he came home today with a rug burn on his chin. The woman running the day care didn't mention it until we asked, and she said she didn't see it happen or hear him cry.

It could all be on the up-and-up, but we just want to make sure there's not a harmful pattern in this new environment. A rug burn here or a bump there isn't a big deal by themselves, but if we notice lots of them over time there's probably something going on.

That's what we plan on using it for. What are you going to track?

Parenting, Track, Activity, Food, Preferences, Organize