Why Getting Out of the House with a Toddler Matters

This morning, I woke up more exhausted than usual. My poor son, who has been sick (yep, still sick) for weeks now, decided to wake up every 45 minutes during the night. I’d gone to bed early because I wanted to try and catch up on some sleep, then ended up getting less than usual. I was angry at the situation, then I felt guilty. It wasn’t my son’s fault.

I was relieved that we had an early doctor’s appointment to get him checked out and hopefully ease some of my worrying. Once we were up and ready to go, I packed my son, and all the luggage that goes with having a small child, into the car. We got to the doctors’ a few minutes before his appointment and we were lucky enough to be seen straight away.

The doctor gave him a thorough check-up and confirmed that he had inflammation of his throat and ears, no wonder we’d had such a rough night! I felt relieved that we’d found the source of his unsettled behaviour, and although it wasn’t nice, it would heal on its own with rest and time.

My son and I have been sick for weeks, ever since he started going to daycare — or as I call it, the petri dish. Everyone tells us the first six months or so will be tough, and then his immune system will build up and it will get better. One restless night, in a moment of desperation, I Googled this to see if it was true, and yes, it is! Thank God! I love taking him out on little adventures every day, but since we got sick, I’ve had no energy or motivation to go anywhere past our local shopping centre.

I decided, since we were already out, we’d go to my favourite coffee shop for some much-needed caffeine and a walk around the lake.

I’ve been going to Dome Café in Butler since we first moved to the area and I had just found out I was pregnant. Before my boy came along, I had all these great ideas about what I would do when I was on maternity leave. Then I discovered what it’s actually like to have a baby and some of the things I wanted to do, like going to the beach, ended up being way more complicated and less relaxing than I thought.

One activity I thought I would do was visit this café and walk around the lake, and this is something we have made a regular part of our weeks. It’s such a beautiful café situated on a lake. The staff are always friendly and welcoming and they make a mean melting moment.

They have the best high chairs of any other café I’ve been to. They actually have a tray and a good secure harness to strap your precious cargo in. If it’s a nice day, you can get a table outside overlooking the lake. Or, you can sit inside by one of the bay windows and enjoy the view from inside.

There’s a supermarket across the road, so when you’re done, you can buy anything a sleep-deprived mother and sick baby could need to survive the rest of the day.

When we arrived, we were greeted by a boy with his mum as we were waiting to be served. He introduced us to his baby sister, Baby Lucy, and he told us he had the same toy as us at home.

When it was our turn to order, I ordered my go-to drink, an iced latte, large of course. Sometimes when I’m feeling wild, I’ll go all out and have a caramel iced latte. But today was definitely not a wild-caramel-shot kind of day.

The staff member who served us waved and smiled at my son as she took our order, and he waved back with a big smile on his face.

Being a Tuesday morning, we were fortunate enough to get a table outside. It was a beautiful 24°C day, with the sun hiding behind some clouds. It was the perfect temperature outside, not too hot, not too cold, and very little sun in your eyes.

When I first sat down, I heard my keys drop to the ground and I realised how flustered I had been when I got out of the car. I usually put the keys away in a pocket of my bag so I don’t lose them! I packed my keys safely away and then sat down again to enjoy the moment.

We were overlooking the lake, and we could hear the sound of the fountain in the middle cascading. It was all so soothing, I finally felt calm and at ease.

I offered my son a snack while I waited for my coffee, and we chatted about what we would do for the rest of the day.

The waiter came out with my iced latte and it looked beautiful, cold and refreshing with condensation beading down the tall glass. I gave it a stir with the straw and listened to the ice cubes clinking against the sides. I took a long sip of the silky-smooth coffee and was instantly transported to my happy place.

My son seemed busy with his snack, so I was able to savour a rare, quiet moment with my coffee and the peaceful view.

When snack time was over, we had to get moving quickly before I had an impatient toddler on my hands.

As we walked around the park, I took in all the sounds, the wind rustling the leaves, birds chirping (not the annoying squawking kind), the water babbling in the lake…and a garbage truck emptying bins down the street.

Two outta three ain't bad, right?

When we walked past the playground, there weren’t any other children around, so I let my son off the leash for a play. He had a great time running around, but he kept venturing past the fenced area and making a beeline for the lake.

When I got sick of constantly guiding him back to the playground, I picked him up to take him back to the pram. Then all of a sudden — bam! — I was flying through the air. I hadn’t been looking where I was going and I’d smashed my ankle into a metal pole coming out of the play equipment. I managed to stumble, take a flying leap through the air and make a perfect landing with my son still safely in my arms…I ended up with a nasty bruise later!

As we made our way back to the car, I came to a realisation. Despite being sleep-deprived, chasing a rogue toddler, having the sounds of the garbage truck as the background music for my walk, and doing some impromptu long jump practice, I somehow still felt better than if I’d stayed at home.

Even on days when you’re feeling exhausted and rundown, some fresh air and a good iced latte can make everything seem a little better.