Staying at home with your baby can quickly begin to feel like being on house arrest if you don't go out of your way to get out of the house and shake up your routine.
Are you home alone with your baby? Has your child got you mentally fried? Need a break, but have no one to baby sit? Put your baby in a stroller and go for as long a walk as you need to feel better. The benefits of going for a walk are many (more than I will bother to go into).
Going for a stroll is a great way to collect your thoughts and more often than not when I put my son in his stroller and go out for a walk with him, he is asleep before we make it back home.
Just getting twenty minutes of sunshine I've found can make me feel a world better. It's good for your child to get familiar with the neborhood. And it's nice to be able to have your child buckled in some place safe (the stroller) for a breif outing. I find that pushing a stroller can reduce my mommy-anxiety.
I mean when you're at home and the baby is awake you have to watch them like a hawk to keep them safe.
Personally I find that I feel best when the stroll takes a minimum of 20 minutes. Now I would point out that going for a stroll is substantially different than taking your child for a walk where their feet are doing any amount of walking. If you are out walking with a child who is too young to be trusted not to randomly run off into the street or the yards you walk by, a walk can be stressful rather than relaxing. It's not good for your back to be perpetually bent over to keep a toddler stable. But at the same time you don't want your child to get hurt while you attempt to enjoy some fresh air. I would also point out that little legs don't walk as fast as you might. They may also tire more quickly than you. Are you ready to carry your child if they get tired mid walk? I tend to keep walks shorter than strolls. You of coarse will find what works best for you.
But do take the time to get out every day and you will feel better for it.
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