When I first had Billy in 2016, time stood still in so many ways. It was the beautiful realization that I was now a mother, a job that I had been waiting for my entire life and all the work to get here (pregnancy and personally) was worth it. I was able to relish in enjoying baby snuggles, however, I was always thinking about the future. What would life be like with a 3 month old, 6 month old, 5 year old? My personality is one that wants to know the next step and the beauty of parenting is you cannot get to the next step in an instance. Time also stood still as I was a stay at home mom with a newborn and frankly, I was bored. I was always used to being on the go, working multiple jobs, and managing my time to fulfill as much in a day as possible. As a newborn Billy slept a lot, he ate well and I was nursing on demand, so I was busy but it was lonely being home alone with someone who didn’t talk back yet.
Figuring out how to fill my time
Life consisted of figuring a lot out. I was trying to get him on some sort of schedule for naps, feeding, and sleeping at night, however, schedules don’t happen right away. Billy was growing before my eyes and I was able to witness the fruits of my labor. You see how successful you are doing as a nursing mother when you take a monthly photo of your baby and watch the rolls grow. I was so proud of myself, and felt like I was conquering the new role of mom but I needed something else. This is where a wonderful, affordable resource came in – the library!
I was looking for “play” groups with a newborn, frankly just to meet other new moms and have conversations in common with others. My oldest sister, MaryBeth, had her second daughter three weeks after Billy was born and if it wasn’t for her and her wisdom on nursing, teething, sleeping, etc, I would have been completely lost. We shared many memories at the library together with our babies, which are memories that I cherish. I took Billy to his first library class at 4 months old. We went to a music class where Billy sat on my lap as he wasn’t sitting up yet, and just looked around. I realized he was probably way too young as other children were running, dancing, singing, etc. Rather than running out right away, I stayed and basked in the tunes of “the wheels on the bus”. It was a way to get out of the house, to get ready for something, and to bond with my baby as well as other mothers in the same stage of life.
I started at our home library, but did you know you can go to any library you want just to play in their playroom? I started checking out the surrounding libraries from my house and worked myself into 6-7 of them. You can also sign up for classes as a non resident and hope they have enough room in the class, which happened many times for me. Billy and I would take on the morning and work around nap time to check out as many libraries as we could for their great playrooms and programs. As he transitioned to fewer naps, I would bring lunch for him and myself to eat so we could stay at the library longer or maybe hit up a playground on the way home. I was creating a fulfilling schedule for both of us.
Various programs
The library has so many classes to offer. One of the best programs we did over the years was stroller strides, which is a workout class with your baby in the stroller. This was an amazing experience because it encapsulated getting a workout done but not requiring any childcare and they engaged the children in the workout as well. This is one that I do not see anymore but I did it for years about 5-6 years ago. This class continued on at state parks where I would meet other moms with their strollers and we would do an hour long workout with our babies. With one baby, this was manageable and we had our rough moments with kids wanting to get out or get in the stroller but we made it work and rolled with the punches along the way. (Get it)
As Billy got older, the more classes he was able to be a part of. Most classes were music based, although some were distinct learning concepts on various topics like colors, shapes, numbers, letters or a combination of all of those topics as well as book themes. Usually, the classes consist of reading many stories, doing some kind of movement and/or music and then completing a craft at the end. The classes were fun for the kids and a social time for the moms. Billy learned how to socialize with other kids during class, how to share in the playroom, and he was well acquainted with germs as a result. After class, as well as the playrooms there is also technology the kids can use. They have ipads with various learning games as well as computers. All of my kids learned how to use a mouse at the library, which is a skill that they will need to know in the future. We are not a huge proponent of using ipads except usually to travel or at a sporting event. I do not mind them having some ipad time as the games are educational. The library offers night time programs as well that can be good to fill a dull winter night. The truth is I have only met a handful of friends from library classes but I know about fifteen to twenty grandmothers as that was typically who was watching the babies. I can talk to anyone and sometimes I had even more in common with the Grandma’s 🙂 (a caveat Dadjogger likes to point out).
Adding more children
After having Ben, we continued those classes and we would just bring baby Ben as a tag along to Billy’s classes but we went right back to the beginning of introducing babies at such a young age to music and movement. Ben joined in on our library, lunch, park dates which were great skills for getting out of the house with two kids. Unfortunately, right as Ben was about to be a full blown toddler, Covid hit and the library closed for years. However, we did some virtual classes just to keep the kids engaged in something different while we were locked in the house for months on end.
Next, Charlie came and that required a lot more planning. Planning of naps, meals, as well as managing many different ages. Some classes are for 3-4 year olds, some are only for 1-2 year olds but we made it work as best as we could. Bringing three kids to the library and keeping an eye on all of them as they all wanted to do something different became an Olympic sport. But the more I did it, the better I got at it.
A great resource for all ages
To this day, the library is a huge part of our lives. We are there at least 3-4 times a week, sometimes even twice a day. This past Tuesday, Charlie had an Eric Carle class in the morning from 10-11 am and then we were back for Billy and Ben’s chess club from 4:30-5:30 pm. We love the library especially, in the winter when we don’t have as many options for play. However, we are also there in the summer for the summer reading program, which helps to log the books that kids read for the summer and then they can win prizes for their efforts.
Some other classes that my boys are in now are a book club which meets at an ice cream shop. The boys read the book, discuss it with the group of children and the librarian and then get to enjoy ice cream (for free) after completing a craft. Another one we love is a pizza party, which is hosted at a local pizza shop and the kids share the story that was assigned to them and then get to make their own pizza. These are memories that we make as a family that will stick with us for life.
Museum Passes
If you look at your tax bill, the library is a small fraction of the enormous bill we pay for your taxes, something like $400. But the perks of utilizing the library are endless! Another perk of the library is utilizing their museum passes. These are on library websites and you can check out a pass to various museums, fish hatcheries, farms, play places, etc. You simply have to check out the pass ahead of time and you either pick it up from the library or print it out. We have been to so many places for free using this library system. We have been to the Long Island Children’s Museum, Fire fighter museum, Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, Harbes farm, The Intrepid, Old Westbury gardens, Garvies point, the Empire Pass (we went crabbing), and so many other options.
Challenges to complete
All three of my boys completed the 1,000 books before Kindergarten challenge that the library offers too. It is more work for parents as we have to log every book down that they read but we started at age two and all finished it before they turned four years old. They were able to repeat books and you log every 50 books and then they received a prize for each log. It is a great little challenge to complete and we enjoyed it each time through.
So, whether you’re a new mom or a seasoned parent, I encourage you to explore what your local library has to offer. You might be surprised by the wealth of resources and opportunities waiting for you and your family.