Two #YGK Activities with a 6 Month Old

Hi!

So before Nora turned six months old I hadn't really gotten out and done any baby-specific programs with her. Part of it was intimidation and not knowing what the expect and the other part of it was not knowing what the HECK was out there. Even through all of my google searches I found that there wasn't a great resource in Kingston that provided parents with information on the activities available to them. Over time I am hoping to research and test out as many programs as I can and update y'all here!

Last week I did two different activities with Nora. We went swimming during the Parent & Tot hour at Artillery Park and we also checked out the "Books for Babies" program at the library. Let me give you the run down on both.

Parent & Tot Swimming

Here is a link to the Parent & Tot Swimming Details page.

Thanks to friend of the blog, Jaclyn, for recommending this!

Parent & Tot swim is for kids aged under 6 and their parents or caregivers.

What you'll need: $3.30 (price may change depending when you read this) (they also take debit), towel(s), swim suit for you and babe, swim diaper for the babe, change of clothing for both of you for after, LOCK for a locker.

We had a great time and will definitely be going again. Upon arrival, if you haven't been before you will be required to check in and get a card for your family. It was just Nora and I so the cost was $3.30 - such a great price!!! I was also able to add my husband to the card so if he ever takes her he can avoid that step. Because we don't have a membership we will be required to pay at the front desk each time in order to activate our card to get into the pool.

I opted to leave Nora's car seat in the car and carried her in so we didn't have to fuss with storing a car seat or stroller. Other women did have their car seat/stroller combos with them so if you are walking this is totally do-able- there is just no where to lock them up. I also put both of our swim suits on us (under our clothing) to save time upon arrival and since we had our clothing on over-top I just had to bring undergarments in and less to pack (YAHOO).

Once you've paid you'll then go into the family change room where there are lockers, benches and variety of large stalls for changing. Because we wore our swimsuits underneath we found a locker, stripped off our layers and took our towels out to the pool.

The pool is SUPER warm and awesome. For bigger kids there are toys to play with and lots of life jackets. There is a big ramp for walking into the water.

We played for about a half hour and then decided to get into the change room before the rush. I wrapped Nora up in a towel, we unloaded our locker and waited for our turn for a stall. There are also showers available if you want to rinse off. This was one thing I found weird.. Apparently there is a women-specific change room also but all of the women who were there for aqua-fit seemed to like the family change room and I had to wait to get into a change stall. A little odd that they wouldn't use the womens only room.. but maybe I'm missing something?!

All in all it was a great experience, we will definitely going back. They have sessions every day of the week. During the week it's always from 9:00am-9:55am (link above with all details).

Parking was also super easy, when I arrived the parking lot was full so we did a loop around and parked right on Montreal street beside the sidewalk into the centre. Was great!

"Books for Babies" @ Calvin Park Library

Here is a link to all of the events available at all libraries in Kingston.

COST: Free!

I had been looking for something music oriented that I could take Nora to in Kingston. I always see lots of the mommas that I follow on social media taking their kids to cool sessions with singing and interaction in different cities across North America. When searching for something online I couldn't find anything described this way so I decided to give this Books for Babies a try! It was great! There were lots of babies around Nora's age, they played music, had some toys for them to play with, we danced and just had a nice time in general. I also got to talk to some other adults which was super nice!

I'll also take the time to shout out to the momma-tribe out there. Nora spits up a TON (her sphincter hasn't grown enough to keep everything down yet) and of course during the Books for Babies she started spitting up as I was carrying her out to change her diaper. Another mom grabbed a paper towel, wiped off my shoulder and said.. "don't worry.. I totally know how awful it is to have spitty babies". I could have hugged her!

This session was SUPER casual. I showed up on time but people just kept filtering in. Apparently based on nap-time schedules. No registration was required and the host "Sarah" was so awesome with the kids.

I'll definitely be going back and hoping to check out some of the other library locations. I am also going to try to get to one of the "Rhythm and Rhyme" sessions to see which one we like better.

Parking was kind of annoying, the lot was full ( very few spots) so we had to park way down the street and walk up in the rain. Not a huge deal but something to note if you are anxious about going at all.. better to be fully aware! I also noticed on the Kingston Library site that some of the sessions require a registration. I'm not sure if this is because they are in high demand or some libraries have smaller spaces. Once I find out more about these sessions I'll do another post! If you are going to one of the registration-only sessions you need a library card account so make sure to pick one up, all you need is your drivers licence with your Kingston address on it.

Do you know of any other programming in Kingston for babies and parents? I'd love to learn more about what's out there!

Hope you found this helpful!

xo

The #YGK Mom

Nora surrounded by bubbles at "Books for Babies"