This post was written by South African mom blogger Tamlin Wightman, who blogs at With Child and I.
My four month old, Forrester is the greatest little travel companion and contentedly plays with his soft stuffed dinosaur on our car rides. I watch him in the mirror and talk to him nonsensically. He must know I’m in the car although he can only see a tiny me in the reflection. I don’t know what he thinks when he feels a pat on the head out of nowhere, with no body or face claiming responsibility for it.
When I was his age, my parents would take me on drives to get me to stop crying. The verdict is out over how often this happened as my parents’ memories have been made unreliable with time but it’s something they’ve always spoken about: how movement would put me to sleep. As an adult, the back seat makes me very ill, so perhaps they strapped me in there one too many times. But for now, baby likes it. He likes the carrier and floating through the forest or over beach sand, and most often his eyes will give in and the lids will drop as he breathes sleepily and softly against me.
As he gets older, he actually stays awake to see and smell and hear the wind through the pine trees, dogs frog-hopping across log-strewn ponds, sea gulls’ violin cries, and other small people playing in the ocean’s waves. I trust that all of this is stimulating that little brain, as he seems entertained by it, which gives me a little peace and quiet. But it’s also creating the beginnings of our tales that will start with, “When you were a baby…”. Memories of our little life together. These are three of our favourite places to go. When we want to spend time in nature. Or when we really just need to get out the house.
Beach Boys
Barefoot, sandy, surrounded by happy people. Blue skies, colourful beach huts. There are many lovely beaches in Cape Town but Muizenberg is only a short drive from our home. This was the very first place I drove baby alone to, the purpose being to face the anxiety I had over being behind the wheel with him in the car seat. It’s also the last place I visited before I gave birth, the day before in fact. The ocean feels like freedom and there’s something so relaxed and humble about Muizenberg in particular. I love dipping baby’s toes in the water, drinking coffee made by someone else, and seeing what the rest of the town is up to.
The Secret Garden
There are so many corners to explore in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens that you can never get bored. You can, however, get lost. So it’s a good idea to take the pram in case baby is having a no carrier day, and refusing to stay in his pouch. You’ll want to have your hands free to take photos of all the plants — and baby in the plants. And baby in front of the steel dinosaurs in the plants… Take a flask of coffee and sit on one of the benches, looking up at the mountain, which looks truly Jurassic from this angle, and feels a lot like Reunion Island. I love listening to the tourists’ different accents and getting baby to touch the flowers and feel the lawn. Just stay clear of the bees.
Disclaimer: The first time I went here with baby I had a panic attack. I got to the entrance and saw big signs announcing the presence of baboons. Since having a baby and living in the south of Cape Town where baboons literally run through the streets, I am very afraid of coming across them while baby is with me. (I’m not going to tell you that I have a family friend who once had a baboon take her baby through an open window in the house and run off with it down the street. But I will tell you that mother ran after the baboon, who eventually dropped the baby on the dirt road.) I made it out of the botanical gardens alive and stocked up on two canisters of pepper spray that week. I’m not sure if this would anger a baboon more or protect us well, but having mace on hand makes me feel better prepared, come what may. * The truth is the gardens rarely see baboons and no one I know has ever seen one there. The truth is also that most mothers are probably not as ridiculously paranoid as I am.
Into The Woods
Tokai Forest is a favourite as it’s also close to my home, has swings and streams and hidden painted rocks and teepees made from loose branches by little hands. It’s quiet and peaceful, but also full of activity with hawks flying through the trees, dogs chasing squirrels, bicycles rushing past, horses and their riders, and other babies and their families. The dogs come with and remind me what freedom and joy look like. I feel a million miles away from whatever I need to get away from that day.
What are your favourite baby-friendly escapes?
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