How To Garden With A Baby
On Monday we talked about some amazing news… (check it out here) Actually, I’ve been talking about it a lot lately because I’m so excited/nervous/terrified all at the same time. See I did a crazy thing and quit my part-time job as a dietitian, to stay at home with my baby. And when the hubby and I talked about if/when it was going to happen he would jokingly say “well you better start gardening more so we have food to put on the table” or “this summer this (pointing to our large garden) will be your project.” But gardening with a baby can be a challenge. Last year my garden was a mess. We got lettuce, some peas, carrots, and maybe a few tomatoes and peppers. I also found a surprise watermelon at the very end of the season. It was not good by the time I found it. Y’all I was overwhelmed! I had a baby at the very end of June who was having lots of breastfeeding issues and I could barely get off the couch (you can read my super fun birth story here). So the garden went to the way side.
But this year folks is much different and I’m determined to get a good yield from the garden! So I wanted to share with you some easy ways to garden with a baby.
5 Tips for Gardening With A Baby
1. Wear them! Baby girl loves our Tula carrier and I will put her in it and head out to the garden. She gets to explore all the sights and sounds and I get to garden. Win win. You can also use a ring sling (like this one or this one), woven wrap (like this one), a Moby is an inexpensive wrap for younger babies (like this one), whatever you have.
2. Utilize a Pack-n-Play (like this one). This is one of my absolute favorite way to garden with a baby. I just put her in this with some toys and cover the Pack-n-Play with a fitted crib sheet to protect her from bugs and the sun. She is so content playing in there while I work in the garden.
3. Have your husband, partner, family or friend help with watching the baby. My husband is a super helpful guy. Sundays are usually the day when he will take August and I get to work on the blog and the garden without distractions. Well until she is hungry of course. It’s wonderful.
4. Have the baby work right in the garden with you. My least favorite way since I’m not a fan of yanking chunks of dirt out of her mouth every 5 seconds and I don’t like a super dirty baby, but if you don’t mind go right ahead. This is how my friend gardens. One day, while I was still working and she was watching August, she took her out to the garden with her plopped her in the dirty and let her play. So it can be done. She was also kind enough to bathe her afterwards.
5. If all else fails you can join a CSA or shop at your local farmers market. Same awesome stuff without all the work. I’m kind of kidding here, but kind of not. I can’t grow everything I need so I do still utilize the farmers market.
What tips do you have for gardening with a baby? I would love to hear them!
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We just bought some land and I’m excited to start gardening again. I have two little ones and I was thinking about a pack n play. I also wear my infant in a moby wrap. However my 2 year old is a different story. I will have to get him involved with helping me or get daddy to watch him. He loves being outside though so I am hoping he will like doing it with me. We shall see. Loved this post.