By Jillian Eldredge, Executive Director

As newly minted parents, many of our routines have changed. This includes how we spend time together both indoors and in the great outdoors. Coming home from the hospital we drove down our bumpy dirt road past forested areas on both sides and got very excited, all over again, for the life we hoped we were creating for our son. He would grow up by the lake and in the woods- a child of the great outdoors. But- that vision we had for him included a child of 5 or 7 or 12… not a newborn infant! How could we continue to enjoy time together outside and raise our child with a love of the woods NOW and not starting several years from now?

Our answer so far is, there’s a learning curve and it is always changing! 

At about 4 weeks old I mustered the courage and energy to figure out one of those baby wraps and take our first tentative steps outdoors. No small feat! Mission finally accomplished (with the help of a husband, YouTube, a mirror and a very patient baby). We were OUTSIDE. Once I got past the anxiety (would he fall out, was he breathing, was he hot/cold, would he get a sunburn, would bugs bite him….), it was…. anticlimactic. He slept the whole time. Every time. 

Summer heat meant that a stroller replaced a wrap (those things are hot!). Still, there was lots of sleeping. There were also new considerations like – “is that trail stroller accessible?” and “how steep is that hill?” There was also some philosophical questioning – Was he enjoying himself? Was this “doing anything” at all? Did it matter? My husband and I were enjoying ourselves and that was no small matter in the midst of adjusting to our new lives and sleep patterns. 

Finally, my three month old “woke up” to the world. He started looking around and grabbing things! As new worlds were opening for him, they were also opening in terms of our ‘play’ with him and his exposure to nature. It was time for sensory play!

These days, our son enjoys morning garden walks. He likes to grab at the flowers and the tomatoes. We point out all the colors and talk to him about the animals we see. Yesterday, there was a giant yellow butterfly!  In the afternoons if it’s not too hot, we lay out in the gazebo and look at the trees. A very “busy” little boy, he will lay still and stare at the leaves above him for what seems like an infant-eternity. 

There’s also been lots of opportunity for sensory play. With the help of a mom blog, I got the idea to sample garden herbs with our son. I picked a sample of each (parsley, basil, rosemary, sage) and rubbed them between my fingers under his nose. Rosemary got quite the strong reaction! Soft ferns, long grass and last year’s crinkly leaves also provided lots of opportunity to feel different textures.**

Life is definitely not exactly like it used to be, but through our son we are slowly rediscovering our own backyard one leaf, flower and herb at a time. We know the years will fly by and before we know it we’ll be building all those tree forts we imagined on that first drive home. Until then, we are content to stop and smell the flowers with him. 

**Be sure to monitor your child closely, consult a pediatrician and use only plants known to be safe and non-toxic. Wash your and your child’s hands after touching.