When I first had Oscar it didn’t seem like there were many activities for babies under six months – but as I was keen to still get out and about, I managed to find a fair few. These activities are a great opportunity to meet local mums who have babies the same age and hopefully they’ll all grow up as friends! With a newborn I found some activities are more for mum but are baby-friendly whereas some are more orientated around the baby him or herself – we try to do a mixture of both.
1. Monkey Music
Oscar and I go to Monkey Music every week and it’s one of our favourite things to do! Led by a wonderful and enthusiastic teacher, we sing and bounce and enjoy sensory play to catchy music. Monkey Music is a brilliant franchise with classes all over the UK – Oscar and I do the the Rock ‘n’ Roll class for three months plus but there are classes for toddlers and pre-schoolers up to four years old.
This is the face all baby’s pull during Monkey Music! There’s definitely a magical quality to it!
2. Baby and Me Work Out Classes
The perfect solution for a time-poor mum! I loved doing fitness classes where I could bring Oscar along and he could sleep or play while I worked out – some mums even wore their baby in a sling during the work out. Frame has 7 locations in London and run all sorts of classes for different interests and levels of fitness. The ‘Mumhood’ classes offer both pre-natal and post-natal classes in varying fitness levels at a time that suits baby’s schedule. Oscar and I went to the Victoria Frame studio which is close to where we live and I went to Mumhood Postnatal Fitness Phase 2. I expected a very chilled workout and thought I probably wouldn’t break a sweat … but how wrong I was
3. Baby Massage
Baby massage is a great thing to do for your really tiny ones! We did a five week free course starting when Oscar was just six weeks old at our local family community centre. It was a great opportunity for mum and baby bonding and to meet other local mums! We now do a little massage every night before bed.
4. Baby Cinema
I loved going to baby cinema when Oscar was first born – basically the concept is a film showing for mum but with the sound lower (for baby’s ears) and subtitles so that she can enjoy the film even if baby is crying. Oscar would sit on my lap happily feeding or sleeping while I could enjoy a showing of a new release film with my mum friends. Our favourite was ‘Electric Scream’ at the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill (owned by Soho House) which takes place every Monday at 11am. There is also now an weekly Electric Scream session at the White City Electric Cinema and there are other baby cinema screenings at Selfridges, The Barbican and The Everyman Cinemas. 
5. Hartbeeps
Hartbeeps is a gentle class that takes baby on an adventure through music and rhyme. Little ones like Oscar can attend the ‘Baby Bells’ session which includes relaxing music, meditation, yoga and massage for baby. There’s dressing up, puppet characters and sensory activities with different props and fabrics. I had thought it might be too similar to Monkey Music but Hartbeeps is more relaxing and meditative whereas Monkey Music is move lively – Oscar and I love both!
6. Bub Quiz
Kind of like a pub quiz … but this one is at 10.30am with no glass of wine… but there are biscuits, prizes and lots of fun questions… basically it’s a chance for mum to go along meet other mums and test whether baby brain has got the better of her! I’ve been to the Bub Quiz in Pimlico with my local mum friends and we enjoyed it so much we signed up to the next one. There are also Bub Quizes in Covent Garden and Morden.
7. Afternoon Tea
Ok, so Oscar isn’t quite at the cake eating and tea drinking stage of life but I love taking him along to afternoon tea with me and spending time with our friends. There’s lots of great afternoon teas in London with themes for children and we recently enjoyed the Teddy’s Tea Time at the Montcalm Hotel. (PR Invite)
8. Park Life
The benefits of having a summer baby! When Oscar was first born walks in the park were are favourite and now we love meeting up with the local mums and heading to Battersea Park or St James’ for some fresh air and exercise.
9. Aquarium
For Oscar’s six month birthday we took him to the SEA LIFE London Aquarium as a little treat. Seeing the fish, the colours and lights was the perfect sensory experience for a little baby and he looked at everything in awe. The Aquarium is even better than I remembered and there’s a Rainforest adventure, Polar Adventure and Coral Kingdom. 
10. Farm Visits!
It’s not easy for a baby to experience the farm animals when living in Central London but the solution is Vauxhall City Farm! There are horses, pigs, bunnies and sheep and the team can arrange guided visits, work shops and parties. There’s also a cafe to stop for coffee and cake.
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