Baby Cafe

So Sweden is made up of many municipalities. Each municipality is in charge of providing services. Baby Cafe is an amazing service that Tierp provides to all parents of babies, newborn to 8 months, on Tuesdays from 9:30  to 12:30. They also have newborn to 6 years old play times Monday and Fridays and babies 8 to 18 months on Thursdays. The program is run by a woman named Ewa and she is wonderful. She tries to engage all the babies at get in touch with everyone about how they are enjoying baby cafe.

I have fun going to baby cafe and so does Rosalind. I also feel really guilty going because I cannot speak with all of the moms there. Sometimes we speak in English and other moms cannot understand and it's not fair to them so I don't go as often as I would like. I feel less guilty when Anton goes with me because he can speak to everyone. A lot of the moms there are new moms like me, but a couple I have met have other children. Dads are welcome to come but many don't go, I believe it is because they are all at work. At least I know that is the case with some of them. I have met two other fathers there and one has become a friend to Anton and I.

At baby cafe we sing and dance. The only song I know in English is The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  There is one song I've learned that Anton and I sing at home all the time, it's about rocking and swinging. We sway to the music and rock the babies back and forth. Really I also like the waltz we dance to and the weird baby band song too. I need to learn all of the words to the songs. The baby band is accompanied by these cool maracas that look like eggs or painted wooden cylinders. The more I go to baby cafe, the more I find myself singing and humming the songs at home. Lately we have been going every other week.

At baby cafe you can pay to partake in fika. They request that you pay 10 kr (about $1.50) a family.  Provided is coffee, tea, and juice too. This fika is without sweets though. Instead you can have hard bread, wafers, or bread with liver pate (ewww), cucumber slices, butter, and cheese. This type of fika is very common, but usually there is a sweet counterpart offered.

Fika

Rosalind really enjoys the singing and dancing, but she also likes to play in the large foam circle. I wish we had a smaller version at home. It can fit 8 babies in it laying down, but sometimes a baby might get hit in the face if the circle is full. Rosalind has touched hands (so sweet and cute) and been patted on the head by other babies.

Rosalind playing with a homemade maraca.

No daddy, I don't wanna!

I'm glad to be out of that high chair.

 I took a few photos of Rosalind with Anton at baby cafe today. She was in a high chair for about 30 minutes and then was ready to get out.





















Ewa also puts out crafts every week for the parents to make. One week we made balls for the babies to play with out of balloons, plastic bags, and rice. Rosalind likes them. Today's craft was a winter diorama made in a shoe box. It looked cool and fun to make but I decided I wouldn't know where to put it and it would eventually become junk in our apartment, something I'm trying to have less of. There are also casts of baby hands that you can make. I really wanted to have Anton's do Rosalind's. Maybe I will ask if we can do it next time we go.

My orange & white ball, Anton's teal ball.

Supposedly there is suppose to be a trip to the Tierp hospital pool this Spring. Ewa hasn't gotten in contact with the coordinator yet, but I hope it happens. I like field trips and it would be fun to go swimming in a warmer pool. The childrens pools in Tierp are warm, but the adult pool is not! Also going as a group with our friends would be nice.

So the verdict is that baby cafe is a excellent service and place to meet other parents and babies. We always have a good time. I think every city should offer baby cafe, meaning everywhere. I know my mom went to a children's or twins group when we were young and still knows some of the people she met there. I hope you can find a similar service offered to you and you go. It's definitely worth it.