Challenge # 18: Check out the Library is one of 52 challenges for new moms on this site.

Easy peasy. After our previous Cruise Director meltdown, I felt sure that checking out the library would prove to be a walk in the park, literally.

I am really lucky to live in a town with an AWESOME library. A couple of years ago they tore down an old dingy thing with a sign out front reading “Public Library” (much like the library I would frequent as a kid, smells and all) and replaced it with the type of building I have regularly argued devours small town character and turns America into one big strip mall. But in this case, they did it right. All that glass and chrome results in a library that glimmers like a shrine. The city built it and the people have come! This library is hoppin’. It’s got the triple f’s covered; fancy, free, and fun.

The Gear

Riley and I pulled it together and headed out the door in record time. After having my face re-arranged during the last challenge, I decided not to over think this one.

The library is just a 15-minute walk from my house. It is also located right on our civic park. I’m not really ready to take this babe to play at the park, but I am guessing he’ll want to go at some point. For now, he can’t sit up and I don’t really feel like listening to other kids scream and run amok. Plus there is the germ factor.

I am a serious germaphobe, a quality much challenged in my years spent traveling abroad on a budget. Exposure and necessity will cure you of a great many things, but hand sanitizer is still my friend. My best friend, actually.

Riley and I trolled the perimeter of the playground at the far end of the park where, to my surprise, there was a whole ring of mothers, on their own, away from the screams, shaking tiny bottles of hand-sani and wiping down everything in sight. My people. We hang out on the fringes. Now I know where to come to hit on a (germ-free) new mama!

But I digress. On to the library. Piece of cake. Strolled right in, and even checked out a little light reading. Things were going so well I decided we’d take the grand tour and check out all the facilities. Changing stations in the clean bathrooms – check. Private conference/study rooms – sweet. Café, yes, CAFÉ – ooh la la.  This is my kind of place.

I should mention: Riley is such a quiet baby, sometimes I forget he can wail with the best of them. I guess he thought the far corner of our tour would be a good time to remind me. So we strolled in and we screamed out.  I guess a little noise was all he needed, that and a high-five.

Editor’s Note: We recommend the library as an outing for new moms because the children’s sections feature places to read and snuggle with baby; schedules for baby circle times are posted; and there may be other free resources to discover. Make sure to put a library visit on your maternity leave bucket list. Find more baby activities in the 52 weekly rookie mom challenges.

If you’re already participating, use hashtag #rookiemoms on instagram or twitter so we can cheer each other on.

The honeymoon is over: my wild little man, born in October 2013, is ready to hit the road! Today the Bay Area, tomorrow, the world! I’m a traveler, an artist, and an entrepreneur. I give the best massage you’ve ever had, and can speak four languages (fluently, after a double martini).