Secrets of the City

We have a 6 month old and he’s pretty well behaved in public so we haven’t really altered our routine much aside from keeping later hours (his bed time is 8 PM sharp). Might I suggest earlier dinners at places which are a bit more kid friendly, a monthly date night (we’ve done about 5 of these so far) where you get a sitter and do your thing, and outdoor activities at parks, farmers markets, etc where there are already plenty of loud and screaming kids to help yours blend? Good luck! 

Beaches, parks, ECFE classes, walks, and other places there are kids and babies.

Hooray, one last kids in restaurants thread. Let’s do this one right, guys!

Hooray, one last kids in restaurants thread. Let’s do this one right, guys!

Self righteous: 

— adj

having or showing an exaggerated awareness of one’s own virtuousness or rights
 
Are you sure you’re interpreting their looks correctly?
But if you need a place to go, what about a brisk walk or jog around one of the lakes? Perfect! It defines active. No one really cares that much if an infant makes a fuss in a park. Worst case scenario, they just move on to another part of the park. And you get to show him or her off a little bit. People smile and offer unsolicited comments. Works all the way around. 

Parks, walks, other kids’ houses, to visit the grandparents, ECFE classes, etc.
Another option for saving on babysitter expenses is to find someone you trust who also has a child that age, and trade off babysitting once a month so you and your spouse can have a “date night.”

Maybe grandma and grandpa can take the kids for an evening?

Sometimes the flow of ideas and creativity here are just too much for a single board to handle. 

Restaurants that are adult and kid friendly for us: Brasa, Rainbow Chinese, Midtown Global Market, Punch Pizza.
 
Try a trip to Canterbury Park – fun for adults, noisy, good times.
 
We take our kids to the sculpture garden and to the Walker (as your baby gets older – they have a family day on the first Saturday of every month). 

There are parents who can travel to Europe with their kids without incident, and there are parents who complain that they can’t go to the grocery store. The only difference between these types of parents is how much they listen to the people who tell them that their life stops when they have a baby.
If ECFE was the only thing to do when I had babies, I would have died.
Here’s how to have a kid AND have fun on the cheap(ish).
I’m a huge fan of Open Field at the Walker. You can check out board games, yard games, art supplies, even iPads. And it’s free. There are picnic blankets you can borrow to sit on, and sun tents to keep you shaded. Plus, on nice days, the grill is open. Cheeseburgers–good ones–for 5 bucks and beer for 6 bucks. Thursday nights it’s open ’til 9, and the Walker is free on Thursdays. The rest of the week, it’s a daytime thing. But it’s pretty much awesome. 
Both zoos are totally kid-friendly, and Como is free. 
Walk the Stone-Arch Bridge, and grab a snack on the Aster patio at St. Anthony main. Good outdoor seating, fun beer list, and noisy enough that no one will care if your kid makes noise. 
Farmers’ markets are awesome with babies, as there’s lots for them to see and hear and smell. Plus you can pick interesting ingredients for a creative meal to cook together at home, which is exciting and romantic. 
Take a parent-child yoga class. You’ll find yourself surrounded by people who are active with babies, and they can teach you their ways.
Lifetime Fitness offers free child care with a membership, up to 2 hours a day. Go there together, and work out, or just sit in a hot tub and chat. A few hours of workouts per month make the membership free, if you factor in babysitting costs. It’s a really really good deal when you think of it that way.
The Art Institute sometimes does weekend family art stuff, as does the Walker (like Jason said). During those times, the museum is so full of noise and kids that no one will notice your noisy kid. 
Moving into fall, apple orchards rock and make for good kid photos. In fact, just going anywhere pretty and taking pictures of your kid is a fun way to get out and kill an afternoon. Get creative with this. You’ll like it.
In fact, just get creative in general. There’s plenty of fun stuff to do out there, if you turn the TV off and plan for a minute or two. 
As to the “accusing” looks of other people, pretend you don’t see them. Remember, the more stressed you are, the more likely your baby is to cry. Ignore them, and have fun, and soon enough the baby will, too.
Sorry to ramble. It’s just that there’s a lot to do.
 

The only difference between the kind of parents who travel Europe with their babies and the kind of parents who can’t make it to the grocery store is how much they believe that life stops when you have a baby. Put it this way: if ECFE had been the only option when my babies were young, I would have sold them all to the circus to reclaim my freedom. 
Some ideas:
1. Lifetime Fitness offers free child care with your membership, up to 2 hours per day. Think of it this way: Work out together a few hours per month (or just sit in a hot tub and talk), and your membership pays for itself in babysitting. 
2. Open Field at the Walker is AWESOME. Check out board games, books, art supplies, lawn games, even iPads. Then check out a blanket to sit on, and a sun shade to keep you cool. *This is all free*. Next, walk to the grill on site, and get a really tasty $5 burger and a questionably tasty $5 beer. Now play. It’s fun. Bonus points for doing this on a Thursday night, when there are fun activities on the field, and Walker admission is free. 
3. Farmers’ markets are great with babies, because there’s lots for them to see and hear and smell. Go to a farmers’ market, pick out fresh ingredients, and go home and create a meal together. Light candles, and enjoy the company.
4. Family days at museums. They’re full of noise and kids, so no one will notice your noisy kid.
5. Walk across the Stone Arch Bridge, stroll down Main Street, and grab a snack on the Aster Cafe patio. It’s noisy enough that no one will mind your baby, plus it’s got a great view and a fun beer list. And it’s pretty cheap.
6. Moving into fall, go to an orchard. It’s fun, plus it makes for great photos of your kid. Which brings us to…
7. Go anywhere public with a camera, and just take pictures. Babies are cute, and we’re biologically programmed to believe that ours are the cutest, so this never gets old. 
8. Picnic in a park. Try the MN Landscape Arboretum. Kind of a hike from most of the world, but worth it once or twice.
9. Parent-child yoga classes. Not because yoga is all that great, although there are those who say it is. Go to these classes because they’re full of people who want to be active *with* their kids. Learn from these people. They’re on to something.
10. Zoos. Kids love ‘em. 

katek has some great ideas, and here are some more we’ve found:
1.  MN Children’s Museum is great for ages 0-6.  Worth a membership, and worth a regular trip there.
2.  Ditto the MN Zoo – worth a membership, and bonus because it’s great for ages 0-95.  The outdoor exhibits are top-notch, but it’s great even in winter indoors.  Plenty to see and do, and 3 trips make it worth the household membership cost.
3.  Parks, parks, parks.  There are hundreds of parks within the Twin Cities, including about 50 great ones within Minneapolis proper.  Tons of stuff to do there, including free movies, concerts, beaches, play equipment, miles of grass, etc.  When your kid gets older (yes, I know you don’t feel like you can wait that long), there are “Kids Nights Out” at least monthly at many parks for as little as $5 for 3 hours of babysitting.
4. ECFE was great for us — met other parents in the same situations, and the kids got to simultaneously learn and play.
5. We HIGHLY recommend YWCAs and YMCAs.  Swimming classes can start as young as 3 months, and they have free kid-care for 2 hours while you work out, swim or just chill with a magazine.  Our kids started swimming at 6 months old and both are now (at ages 10 and 7) on the swim team, competing at club and state levels.
6. Festivals!  County fairs, neighborhood festivals, the State Fair, little out-of-town celebrations, etc.  (For example, we went to a Polish festival once that our then-toddler and infant LOVED – the older one still remembers it fondly).
7.  Travel, even locally.  You can stay for pretty cheap at smaller hotels/motels within 100 miles of the Twin Cities.  Pick a town, figure out a fun time to visit it, and go.  Bonus points for a hotel with a pool.  We’ve also stayed at hotels right here in town — you can get cheap deals (under $60 per night) on Hotwire or Priceline, and it feels like you’re away even though you’re 15 minutes from home.
8. Camping.  Related to travel, above, but different.  There are loads of cool state parks, county parks and city parks that allow camping, and if you’re not into the tent thing, many even offer camper cabins.  You can hike/walk, fish, swim, lounge, participate in scheduled events, etc. at most parks.  Some have boats, bikes or play equipment to borrow or rent.  Loads of fun, even with an infant.
9. The mall.  I know, right?  But seriously, kids love all the activity and lights, and there’s enough noise and activity that no one cares if your kid cries or loads a diaper.  Plus there are plenty of places to change them, eat, shop, etc.  And often there are kid-focused activities going on.
10. SCHEDULE A REGULAR DATE NIGHT AND STICK TO IT.  Whatever it costs, it’s worth it to have some adult time every so often.  We had date night at least once per month, and to defray the cost of babysitting, we did free or cheap stuff many times.  One rule we tried to follow: minimize discussion of the kid(s) — talk about ANYTHING else.  You’re paying to get a very short break from parenthood.  Go with it.

Know what’s AWESOME? When WP makes your comment disappear. And so you retype it. And it was rambly to begin with. 
 
Embarassing.
*shamed hanging of head*

Nah, you had good stuff to say.

Thanks for all the tips, folks! Who knew MNSpeak could provide good crowdsourcing info for new parents?
I’m bookmarking this thread and will start looking for a Y or Lifetime near Brooklyn Center right away–I didn’t know they offered childcare! (Or* infant swim.)
@Rat, you’re right, I can’t know others’ hearts. Strike the “self-righteous” comment.

I’m 5500 miles into a road trip that will wind up being around 6500 miles. I have 5-month-old twins. Needless to say, we just bring our kids along. We haven’t changed a whole lot with our schedule. We still go to 1 or 2 Twins games a month, sometimes with the kids and sometimes with our in-laws (they’re 45 min. away) watching them. We went down to St. Louis in June when they were 4 months old with my brother and his wife and their 3-month-old. We went to a Cardinals game, did an Anhueser-Busch Brewery Tour, went up in the Gateway Arch, etc.
 
When we took them to their first Twins game at 2 months one of them got pretty cranky when my wife headed out for a hot dog and left me with both of them. Like you, I was concerned about the looks I might be getting from others. Instead, a woman behind me offered to take one and was able to settle my daughter down. People tend to be really helpful and understanding. Our kids are generally pretty happy too, so that does help.
 
I think katek summed it up well with this: “There are parents who can travel to Europe with their kids without incident, and there are parents who complain that they can’t go to the grocery store. The only difference between these types of parents is how much they listen to the people who tell them that their life stops when they have a baby.”

Bring your kids to a more kid friendly environment. Bring their milk and diapers so that if and when they fuss, you are ready with the milk. Check their diapers maybe they a change. But really, don’t mind the other people around you, Im sure they’ll understand. Having a baby is not the end of your active lifstyle though there will be times that you would really prefer to stay at home especially when your kid is not feeling well.