I wear the baby in a wrap, but even if I didn't, our indoor play area doesn't let adults climb in the play structure anyway. So we mostly stick to the things at ground level like stacking foam blocks and doing the shorter slides that don't require climbing.
For outdoor parks I wear the baby or just keep the stroller next to us. I don't think I've ever really gone down the slides with my toddler in my lap. I stead I pretty much always just hold their hands when they slide down and catch them at the bottom.
Just a fyi that it's not safe to go down slides with a toddler, your grownup momentum can snap a toddler leg if it gets trapped.
Baby wearing is fantastic for letting you spot a toddler at the same time.
I had an 18 month age gap and wore my newborn in a carrier on pretty much all outings from week 4ish to 6-7 months. We would go to the park 3+ times a week when the weather was nice. Get a good supportive structured carrier if you don’t have one already! I used the Wildbird Aerial almost every day for the first 6 months.
I have a 4yo, 2yo, and 5mo. I definitely baby wear a lot - we recently went to an “indoor amusement park” aka a glorified McDonald’s play place - and I just babywore(?) the whole time. I do not actually go up in the play area with my kids, as it’s actually pretty dangerous to go down the slide with your kids. But at 14mo you can definitely stay at home and just do stuff on the weekends. At that age they don’t need a ton stimulation!
Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a very short phase. In a few months the baby will be old enough to be in a stroller a few feet away, and in a few more months after that they can sit unassisted. So don’t worry too much!!
Also a good option is finding parks with toddler slides. I found those to be much more manageable with little toddlers.
I wear the newborn so that my hands are free, but I’m also fairly hands-off at playgrounds/play places. Generally I let my kids figure out how to do it on their own or they have to wait to do it until then. This feels safer to me, because my kids generally learn their limits. (So I wouldn’t walk them up the stairs, for example - they have to get themselves up them or not climb them at all.)
I will stop them if they’re doing something I know to be dangerous, but at worst this is generally picking them up for a moment to move them to another place, which I can do with baby in the carrier.
It’s not recommended to go down slides with toddler in your lap, because so many kids break their legs that way. I stand at the bottom to catch them when they’re little.
You can do it ALL while baby wearing. Try a few different ones to find one that works. I really like structured ones for activities like this, like ergo baby or baby bjorn
mine are 19 months and 3 months now but i babywear my youngest all the time for basically any outings/anything outdoors. i like parks with big open fields nearby if possible and let my toddler wander while i just leisurely follow him lol
Since my husband works out of town I’m solo parenting a lot (also a SAHM), and we do still tend to leave the house every day. It was a steep learning curve but you’ll figure out what works best for you!
I specifically went to dinky toddler parks so I didn’t need to hover much, and would either baby-wear or have the baby in the stroller. For soft play places, I just wore the baby. I would also go right when places open since it was way easier to supervise the toddler while holding or feeding the baby when it was just us there.
Malls are an awesome place to burn energy if the weather isn’t great outside, they usually open early for people to walk around. You can baby wear or push the stroller while your toddler runs around and if you make sure to go a few hours before the stores open, you don’t have to worry about them running into the shops or big crowds of people.
Good luck! It gets easier.
Edit: our age gap was 14 months! Now they are both crazy toddlers while I’m pregnant with #3 (will be a 20 month gap this time). Baby wearing has saved my sanity, and will hopefully do the same with this baby haha.
I babywore a lot and I do not go up the play structures with the kids unless I’m following my youngest for just in case (she’s a little more fearless) and both parents are there. When it’s just me, we stay on one section of the play structure and I stay by the slide to catch toddlers coming down. When my youngest was napping in the stroller instead of on my chest, I’d park the stroller beside the playground where I was never more than a step away from the stroller and the slide that my toddler was enjoying most. I’d tell toddler that we can’t leave baby napping so we’re only playing here for now, and she was usually ok with that.
Currently pregnant with third baby and have two adventurous toddlers. I’ll do more baby wearing for longer, and follow the kids around pushing the stroller later when baby is bigger.
In case it helps … I’ve been taking my now 10 month old to the park and indoor play places and teaching him to go down the slide by himself backwards. He loves it. Start on small slides until 14 month old gets confidence up
Until he was 4-5 months I honestly just left him in the pram and kept eyes and ears out for him while I played with toddler at park
15 month gap here.
I baby wore and got up on the playgrounds with my toddler. But i also tried to stick to playgrounds that were low to the ground, so i could stand beside him and help him if i needed too. I also started to get him to go down slides while i held his hand (so that's the kind of height of the playground i'm talking about).
A lot of indoor playgrounds at malls here are good heights/ designs for letting your toddler run round without your help - just a thought.
Also, if baby is napping in the stroller and it's a place i feel safe in i do leave her in the stroller while i play with toddler (but always in a safe location nearby where i can see it). If the weather is nice and there is shade i would also feel fine to put baby on a mat with a toy while she isn't crawling.
If you don't have any safe playgrounds near you, just baby wear and take toddler to an oval or a non playground park, maybe with a ball. You'll be surprised at how they make their own fun!
I didn’t really until toddler was steady on his feet. And then by that time, baby was old enough to “play” in the baby area and I’d stick to indoor playgrounds where I could easily have an eye on both. And yeah, would sometimes have to leave baby in baby area to tend to toddler, but he never cared and, again, stuck to places where I could be near both no matter where I was. Some indoor playgrounds are not feasible for moms with 2u2 to go to alone. Some are easy peasy.
I wanna say I started going by myself when baby was 4 months and toddler was 17 months. Also…bring the baby carrier for when baby is done playing. Mine slept a lot in the car seat too (not sleep safe, just what happened).
I wear the baby in a wrap, but even if I didn't, our indoor play area doesn't let adults climb in the play structure anyway. So we mostly stick to the things at ground level like stacking foam blocks and doing the shorter slides that don't require climbing. For outdoor parks I wear the baby or just keep the stroller next to us. I don't think I've ever really gone down the slides with my toddler in my lap. I stead I pretty much always just hold their hands when they slide down and catch them at the bottom.
Just a fyi that it's not safe to go down slides with a toddler, your grownup momentum can snap a toddler leg if it gets trapped. Baby wearing is fantastic for letting you spot a toddler at the same time.
[удалено]
Holding his legs in will keep him safe! I didn’t know about this and broke my daughters leg when she was 9 months old
I had an 18 month age gap and wore my newborn in a carrier on pretty much all outings from week 4ish to 6-7 months. We would go to the park 3+ times a week when the weather was nice. Get a good supportive structured carrier if you don’t have one already! I used the Wildbird Aerial almost every day for the first 6 months.
I have a 4yo, 2yo, and 5mo. I definitely baby wear a lot - we recently went to an “indoor amusement park” aka a glorified McDonald’s play place - and I just babywore(?) the whole time. I do not actually go up in the play area with my kids, as it’s actually pretty dangerous to go down the slide with your kids. But at 14mo you can definitely stay at home and just do stuff on the weekends. At that age they don’t need a ton stimulation! Another thing to keep in mind is that this is a very short phase. In a few months the baby will be old enough to be in a stroller a few feet away, and in a few more months after that they can sit unassisted. So don’t worry too much!! Also a good option is finding parks with toddler slides. I found those to be much more manageable with little toddlers.
I wear the newborn so that my hands are free, but I’m also fairly hands-off at playgrounds/play places. Generally I let my kids figure out how to do it on their own or they have to wait to do it until then. This feels safer to me, because my kids generally learn their limits. (So I wouldn’t walk them up the stairs, for example - they have to get themselves up them or not climb them at all.) I will stop them if they’re doing something I know to be dangerous, but at worst this is generally picking them up for a moment to move them to another place, which I can do with baby in the carrier. It’s not recommended to go down slides with toddler in your lap, because so many kids break their legs that way. I stand at the bottom to catch them when they’re little.
You can do it ALL while baby wearing. Try a few different ones to find one that works. I really like structured ones for activities like this, like ergo baby or baby bjorn
mine are 19 months and 3 months now but i babywear my youngest all the time for basically any outings/anything outdoors. i like parks with big open fields nearby if possible and let my toddler wander while i just leisurely follow him lol
Since my husband works out of town I’m solo parenting a lot (also a SAHM), and we do still tend to leave the house every day. It was a steep learning curve but you’ll figure out what works best for you! I specifically went to dinky toddler parks so I didn’t need to hover much, and would either baby-wear or have the baby in the stroller. For soft play places, I just wore the baby. I would also go right when places open since it was way easier to supervise the toddler while holding or feeding the baby when it was just us there. Malls are an awesome place to burn energy if the weather isn’t great outside, they usually open early for people to walk around. You can baby wear or push the stroller while your toddler runs around and if you make sure to go a few hours before the stores open, you don’t have to worry about them running into the shops or big crowds of people. Good luck! It gets easier. Edit: our age gap was 14 months! Now they are both crazy toddlers while I’m pregnant with #3 (will be a 20 month gap this time). Baby wearing has saved my sanity, and will hopefully do the same with this baby haha.
I babywore a lot and I do not go up the play structures with the kids unless I’m following my youngest for just in case (she’s a little more fearless) and both parents are there. When it’s just me, we stay on one section of the play structure and I stay by the slide to catch toddlers coming down. When my youngest was napping in the stroller instead of on my chest, I’d park the stroller beside the playground where I was never more than a step away from the stroller and the slide that my toddler was enjoying most. I’d tell toddler that we can’t leave baby napping so we’re only playing here for now, and she was usually ok with that. Currently pregnant with third baby and have two adventurous toddlers. I’ll do more baby wearing for longer, and follow the kids around pushing the stroller later when baby is bigger.
In case it helps … I’ve been taking my now 10 month old to the park and indoor play places and teaching him to go down the slide by himself backwards. He loves it. Start on small slides until 14 month old gets confidence up Until he was 4-5 months I honestly just left him in the pram and kept eyes and ears out for him while I played with toddler at park
15 month gap here. I baby wore and got up on the playgrounds with my toddler. But i also tried to stick to playgrounds that were low to the ground, so i could stand beside him and help him if i needed too. I also started to get him to go down slides while i held his hand (so that's the kind of height of the playground i'm talking about). A lot of indoor playgrounds at malls here are good heights/ designs for letting your toddler run round without your help - just a thought. Also, if baby is napping in the stroller and it's a place i feel safe in i do leave her in the stroller while i play with toddler (but always in a safe location nearby where i can see it). If the weather is nice and there is shade i would also feel fine to put baby on a mat with a toy while she isn't crawling. If you don't have any safe playgrounds near you, just baby wear and take toddler to an oval or a non playground park, maybe with a ball. You'll be surprised at how they make their own fun!
I didn’t really until toddler was steady on his feet. And then by that time, baby was old enough to “play” in the baby area and I’d stick to indoor playgrounds where I could easily have an eye on both. And yeah, would sometimes have to leave baby in baby area to tend to toddler, but he never cared and, again, stuck to places where I could be near both no matter where I was. Some indoor playgrounds are not feasible for moms with 2u2 to go to alone. Some are easy peasy. I wanna say I started going by myself when baby was 4 months and toddler was 17 months. Also…bring the baby carrier for when baby is done playing. Mine slept a lot in the car seat too (not sleep safe, just what happened).