The British Museum
First up was the British Museum, which was the closest to our house and roughly walkable with the stroller. I was able to check the stroller for free, which was helpful - until he got tired and I was carrying him and all our stuff. We got there as soon as it opened, which meant that we briefly had a whole room to ourselves - which was super cool. He was excited about everything - and loudly asking "What is that?" while trying to touch everything. Mostly - he did pretty well, convincing me that taking him to museums isn't a terrible idea.
all to ourselves
I thought these guys were cool - but the kiddo thought they were pretty scary
The National Gallery
Next up, we tried the National Gallery one weekend. Because there were two of us, we skipped the stroller. This wasn't our best trip, as we spent most of the time in the restroom trying to convince him to go. It was pretty packed - so we took turns carrying him and trying to show him the art, while the other person had a quick minute by themselves to try to look at things. He was actually pretty happy to look at the paintings - particularly if there were any boats in them.
the only picture I have from this trip.
Tate Modern
Next up, one very cold and rainy day the boy and I tried the Tate Modern Art museum. We had to take a bus to get down there, and then walk across the river, which was his favorite part. There is a huge swinging ball that he really wanted to touch, and then a whole exhibit of swings that he oddly didn't want to touch. We breezed through the free parts of the museum quickly, had our snack break, and then went back home to dry off. I asked him every few minutes if he wanted to stop at the potty - to which he clearly said no - so we made it all the way home without any accidents.
trying to touch the huge ball
swing exhibit - the only thing in the museum he didn't want to touch
snack break. I don't know what these cheesy smiles are about.
So I've been feeling like I'm playing this video game lately, called Get Out of the House. As I learned during maternity leave, it is really critical to get outside every day, or he gets cranky and I go insane, but it seems ridiculously hard to get outside. As soon as I get the hang of things, suddenly it gets more difficult. Inevitably, I am physically exhausted and completely stressed out, but this is still much better than staying inside all day.
- Level 1: 2 adults and a stroller
- So the easiest approach was when we were both home in the beginning and could use the stroller. We would take turns pushing the stroller, with the other person navigating and holding doors or blocking traffic as needed. Anything we needed to carry could fit under the stroller.
- Level 2: 1 adult and a stroller
- Then he started work, and I was on my own. I still took the stroller out, which was helpful to hold all my stuff, but difficult because I would have my phone out to navigate while I was pushing and trying to dodge all the pedestrian traffic on the sidewalks. The sidewalks are not stroller-friendly - there are very few ramps, often stairs, and lots of cobblestones to bump over.
- Level 3: No stroller
- Then things got harder when the boy decided he wouldn't sit in the stroller anymore - he wanted to walk. Inevitably, he would get tired out quickly, or the sidewalk would get too crowded, and he would need to be picked up. If there are two adults, then we can take turns carrying him and carrying the bag, but when I'm on my own I have to carry everything - which is super exhausting. When he does walk, it's a relief to not be carrying him, but even more stressful because he's not great at listening and will suddenly decide to run or skip near busy streets, or veer off randomly in crowded areas, or walk straight into other people. Everyday when we go to the grocery store is a desperate effort to make him stand still and wait for the checkout.
- Level 4: No Diapers
- Then we started potty training, which I thought would make things easier. I failed to appreciate how easy things were with the diapers - now we have to keep constant track of how long it's been since he went last and where the nearest restrooms are. Instead of carrying the changing pad, I now carry an entire change of clothes for him - giving me constantly more stuff to carry.
- Level 5: Take the bus or train
- All of this was working pretty well for short trips and errands, but then that started getting boring too. So to get further away from the house, it was time to embrace some mass transit. We started with the Tube, which feels easier to me but is much more limited and involves a 15 minute walk to get to the station, which is super crowded all day long. Then we switched to buses, which are much easier once you get the app that tells you which line you need and when it's coming.
So- now I'm feeling fairly comfortable getting him out of the house by myself and across town - it's probably time for things to get more difficult again. I'm hoping that we can start to get out of town and try some short day trips or weekend trips - which will no doubt involve me carrying more stuff. I'm also hoping that he starts daycare soon, which would allow me to skip the stress on weekdays and maybe just do some easy sight seeing by myself. Having only breezed through each of the museums in 30-45 minutes - I'm sure I could go back and spend some real time in them, maybe even reading the placards. That would be nice.
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