Baby I'm Bored
So you've gone through the wonderful experience of wearing hideous clothes, you set up your nursery full of cute things, and birthed your child. After a number of weeks of serious sleep deprivation and general insanity (piss off, Tom Cruise) you might want to start getting out of the house. But where does one go with a baby? We've come up with a list based on our own experiences.
Feel like you will never see another movie again? Fear no more, for the Sony Metreon offers Reel Moms, a showing especially for moms and their babies. A current release is featured every Tuesday at 11 am. They crank up the sound and don't turn the lights down all the way, so you can see well enough to stick a boob or bottle into your little bundle of joy's screaming maw. It's only offered for the under-one set, so enjoy it while you can. Expect lots of crying and aisle-rocking. The coolest part is that no one cares a bit if your baby screams in protest through the whole showing. Hell, we didn't care for In Her Shoes either.
SFist Amanda, contributing
If you want to get outside, bike paths and a jog stroller are all you need. Blackie's Pasture in Tiburon is a long, level walk, and if you follow it all the way into downtown there's ice cream, french fries, and friendly service at Paradise Hamburgers on Tiburon Blvd. In the East Bay, Ohlone Park meanders through Berkeley, and in the South, try walking parts of the Palo Alto to San Jose path.
Playgrounds are fun once the baby is big enough to be entertained in a baby swing. This site can tell you pretty much every playground in Marin. Berkeley has a similar Web site.
Swimming is also fun with a little one. We took our guy in the water at three months, and he seemed to enjoy it. Swim diapers can be purchased at many of our local baby stores, (most pools require that the special diapers be worn). Check your local YMCA for pool times and cheap entry fees.
Walking around shopping malls gets you out of the house, but can be depressing when nothing fits. Still, it beats sitting at home all day. For more fun try strolling around a small subburb's downtown area - I mean, when else are you going to be able to just meander around on a workday with nothing to do but window shop? Downtown Mill Valley, Walnut Creek, and Burlingame all have great people-watching and good coffee. On a side note: get yourself one of those stroller drink-holder thingies.
We also highly reccomend you join a local mother's group. Almost every neighborhood has one, and even if you don't like the other moms too much, you still get to hang out with a group of women who are in exactly the same situation you are. No one listens with rapt attention to The Story of the Big Poopy Diaper of 2am Tuesday Morning as well as other moms do.
Have fun!