Having a baby is expensive. There’s the new furniture, the tiny clothes, the toys, the hospital bills, and the well-checks. Babies also takes a lot of time and energy. You’ve probably heard “sleep when the baby sleeps,” but you also have to clean and occasionally eat. If you’re like us with a baby who prefers not to sleep…well, that’s tough. Every parent has to find their own formula to balance things out. If you’re a parent of an infant, here’s some practical tips to help you maintain balance.
We have partnered with Store Brand Formula to bring you this post, but all opinions are our own.
5 Easy Ways To Spend Time with Your Baby
1. Join a Mom’s Group. Almost every city has a mom’s group. They’re easy to find through facebook or recommendations by friends. Find one that’s compatible with your lifestyle and you have a great resource. The local mom’s group in our area offers everything from Bowling Nights for mom to Holiday Parties for the entire family.
2. Check out the Infant and Toddler Classes At the Local Library. Our local library offers 3 classes a week for babies and toddlers. They include story time, baby exercise and even baby sign language and Spanish lessons.
3. Story Time. Spend a few minutes each night reading to the baby before bed. Tip: Choose sturdy books the baby can’t rip to make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.
4. Cooking Time. Let’s face it, it’s hard to cook with an infant or toddler in the kitchen. Give them their own pot and spoon and allow them to spend time in the kitchen playing with their toys.
5. Exercise Walks. Not only do you and the baby get some time outside, you get exercise. It’s a win-win!
If you’re like us and can’t (or don’t) breastfeed, you’ve got another wrench thrown into your life. Making bottles takes time, especially when you have a tiny human screaming at you because you’re not moving fast enough. Plus, it’s expensive, and you always run out when you least expect it. Hello to midnight store runs!
Although Critter has to use a special hypoallergenic formula for severe food allergies, she hasn’t always needed it. When she drank milk based formula, and later soy based formula, we knew we could use store brand formula and feel good about it. Store brand formula is nutritionally comparable to nationally advertised brands, but it costs a lot less. In fact, it costs up to 50% less! If you’re like me, you can use that money you’re saving to get some takeout on mommy-doesn’t-cook days. Just like a well-fed baby is a happy baby, a well-fed mom is a happy mom.
My secret formula for a good life might not work for your family. So, Store Brand Formula wants to know what your formula for a happy life is! Head to ShareYourFormula.com, and enter your name, email, zip code, and your baby’s birthdate by April 24, 2017. Then, use the Store Brand Formula emoji keyboard to show your formula for parenting happiness. Once you agree to the contest rules and confirm that you’re 18 years or older, you’ll be entered to win $1,000 and a year’s supply of store brand formula. (This is 52 containers of your favorite brand of store brand formula.) There will be six random weekly winners, so don’t miss out!
What’s your formula for parenting happiness?
Win it! One person will receive a $25 virtual Visa gift card. Please note, the virtual gift card can be used for online purchases only.
Playing with her at the park
Reading or Rocking in the rocking chair!
My babies are grown but love to spend time rocking my grandbabies.
after bath time cuddling together
My youngest niece is a little over 1 and I miss her very much. Very investigative child and starting to grow up on me. I like to see all the kids. We’re gonna do an egg hunt this weekend and family dinner. I will be glad to see them.
Picnics!! We love to eat outdoors!!
Oh I love a good giveaway. Free money as the prize? Yes please!
I love holding and chatting with our 4 month old granddaughter.
Singing and reading are my top two. I also like watching him eat food he REALLY likes.
Going on walks, playing with the dogs.
It’s fun to take walks in the park in the sunshine and fresh air.
I play a lot with my baby… we have story time and tickling time! I will try to do cooking time and walking time with her too!
I don’t have kids yet but I like spending time with my nieces and nephews playing outdoors.
We love to play peek a boo.
Rocking in the rocking chair is my favorite.
Storytime is the best! Cute baby!
Oh I love rocking and reading a book! Precious times
I loved rocking and singing to my baby.
We liked to go on nature walks.
Playing in the back yard, blowing bubbles.
I love reading her stories.
Reading and making crafts together!
I just love holding him and watching him sleep!
This post melted my heart. I think joining a mom group is perfect to spend more time with your baby and make new friends!
Trips to a local zoo is always a fun way to enjoy time together – looking at all the cute animals
My favorite way to spend time with my baby is cuddling or reading stories before bed time.
Trips To the park are a favorite here!
I love to go for walks with the stroller.
We like reading together.
Aw what a cutie you have there! SO basically anything we do is the best time ever. Lately we have both loved going on walks at Stone Mountain and also the Zoo has been a ton of fun since its Spring!
Taking her out for a stroll at the park.
I love your tips on ways to spend more time with your baby. This post is very helpful for new mothers.
I have a friend who just adores her mom groups. She said they saved her in so many ways.
When I was little, my mother took us to the classes at the library. It was the highlight of our week.
I did all those suggestions when my boys were babies. I even formed my own local moms group and I really enjoyed the play dates with other moms and kids! 🙂
I love going to the park and spending time together.
These are definitely some great ways to spend more time with your baby! She is so dang cute!!!
This is great advice for parents looking to spend a little ore time with their babies. It is especially important for parents that both work outside of the home.
I like to play games with my little one
Down time, just before sleep, or just after lunch when baby is full and happy. That way I’ve got a sweet, snuggly child on my hands. 😉
I love taking mine to the park.
My favorite way to spend time with baby is to play fun games and toys with him!
Definitely reading to him, it is such a great bonding experience.
I love carrying my 5 month old nephew and showing him around the house. He looks at everyday things like they are the most interesting things in the world! So cute!
My favorite activity when spending time with my children was feeding time. It was fun to watch their funny facial expressions with every new taste and texture. I loved it when they picked up their tiny spoons and tried to feed me too. Honestly, the kind of activity does not matter, it is the time you spend with them, giving them nothing else but your undivided attention.
I remember when my daughter was little. There were certainly things that I could have done to engage more. I think they hikes are something that are. reat. I can even do the now.
When my kids were little, I loved teaching them new things, like numbers, letters, colors and shapes. They get a big bear hug for every correct answer. Oh, they loved hugs! For me, parent happiness is a happy, healthy, loving child who grows up to be a responsible adult.
My favorite way to spend time with baby is playing with him……either indoors or outdoors. It’s wonderful to see him discover new things.
I can tell you right now, my sanity relied on find a mom group. It was so nice to connect with other mothers going through exactly what I was going through. Everyone has become a really good friend. People I can call up to watch my kids without any questions asked. It’s been wonderful knowing them.
Right now my lil dude is only 8 weeks but he really loves his tummy time with me!
She is such a cutie pie. I loved spending time with my kids throughout the years. When they were really little I loved getting on the floor at their level and playing with them.
Totally agree with story time. My doctor says engaging in reading at an early age is very beneficial for baby!
All my babies are grown up and moved out of the house. Waiting to hold my grand babies. Read them books and tell them stories.
My favorite time to spend with baby is bath time.
My favorite way to spend time with my daughter is listening to music and dancing together!
I still enjoy cooking with my daughter and we always love taking walks outdoors. These are all great ideas for spending more time with your baby or your kids.
Board books were the best invention ever! I love being able to read to my little one every night without a lot of worry!
we love to snuggle and read
Reading to him.
I love rocking with her. Snuggling and smiling.
I spent a lot of time holding my babies and reading to them.
Reading and singing are my favorite ways to spend more time with a baby.
These are great suggestions, especially since babies grow up far too quickly. My kids and I enjoyed a lot of time at the park when they were little.
I like the idea of letting the little ones play with cooking toys while I’m working in the kitchen. These are some wonderful ideas!
i always loved snuggling after bath time
Reading is my favorite way to spend time.
Great giveaway for the gift card! Even my AT&T account gave us a gift card instead of coupons or credits. Well worth it.
It’s so important to find quality time to bond with baby. These are great tips for a new mom. Thanks for sharing this giveaway.
We like to sit on the porch and read.
The fresh air and sunshine are perfect for spending time with baby.
I never had any problems hanging out with any of my children. Matter of fact we were together all the time day in and day out making memories and growing together.
I was outside everyday with my kids on the swings or the beach. Now I get to play outside with my grandkids and still love to make up imaginary places
I love rocking and singing to my grandbabies.
I enjoy reading to my grandson,at bed time! It’s so funny even though he’s 2,he can tell me what comes up next in the story line!!
Bath time with lavender, toys, & lots of hugs & kisses.
I used to love going to storytime when my kids were little! We also took lots of walks in the park in their stroller. Now they’re both in college. Time flies!
We love reading and going outside to see the cows, horses and pets.
I enjoy play time with the little one.
I like singing to my baby
i love reading with my daughter
Story time was always my favorite way to bond with the kids. I love to read, and I wanted them to love it, too.
My formula involves making more time for family these days. Being self-employed, I have to be cognizant about the amount of time I put into work.
When my kiddo was a toddler we did all of these things. I didn’t have as much success with the moms groups that I was hoping for but everything else here I did with my son.
I like singing songs with my baby.
Name on entry form: Mami2jcn
i enjoy just hanging out and playing with the toys with my baby.
My favorite way to spend time with my grandsons is by taking them on a walk on our local greenway!
I always enjoyed exercising walks when my kids were little. The fresh air, sunshine and spending time with my baby were precious times and I have so many great memories of those days. These days, I love to spend time riding bikes with my grandkids.
I took a lot of walks with my kids when they were little, too. Great way to get some exercise 🙂
I was in my local MOMS Club when my boys were little and it was great for them and me. We all made some lasting friendships in town through that group.
Holding him, playing in the floor.