Gardening with a baby can feel extremely difficult. On its own, learning to grow a vegetable garden in your backyard has its own learning curve.
When a newborn or infant is added into the mix, growing some of your own food can feel like trying to do the impossible!
Everything is harder.
You have less time, less energy, and often, less mobility while you do it.
And it’s not like you can tell a newborn to wait a minute. When they cry, everything stops and they need your full attention. Now!
If you’re a new mom who really wants to have a garden, but is struggling with how to actually do it, this post is for you.
Note: This post is a part of a Gardening with Little Kids series all about how I learned to garden while pregnant, and also gardening with a toddler. Be sure to check them out too!
A bit of my story
The adjustment to becoming a new mom who was also trying to grow a kitchen garden was, to put it delicately, a bit of a challenge for me.
Okay, honestly, I was a hot mess and spent a lot of time crying in my garden.
(Have you ever violently pulled weeds out like they personally offended you? No, just me? Cool.)
That turned into avoiding my garden completely because I didn’t want to feel more discouraged than I already was.
After all, if I ignore the problem then it basically doesn’t exist, right?
The problem was that I could see it very clearly from my living room windows, so it wasn’t really going away. I was just disappointed and overwhelmed while also keeping myself cooped up in the house.
Hiding. From a garden. Silly, I know.
As a new mom I also wasn’t sleeping. I was in survival mode taking care of my infant (and not really myself).
Something needed to change. Fast.
Maybe you can relate.
Because the truth was, I loved my garden. Really, I just needed it.
Gardening had become a huge part of my self care and mental health in the past handful of years I’d done it.
So through a lot of trial and error (and more tears), I found a few things that worked so that I could have a garden while also caring for my first little one.
Here are my best tips to hopefully save you a lot of the time and frustration it took for me to figure out how to garden with a baby.
Be gentle with yourself
While learning to garden isn’t nearly as difficult (in my opinion) as taking care of a new baby, it still takes a lot of time and commitment.
So if you’re trying to learn to grow a garden while also caring for a baby (or babies), it’s incredibly important to be kind to yourself.
Don’t try to grow the most perfect, most beautiful and most productive garden.
Especially if it’s your first year at it.
Instead, focus on becoming a gardener. If you put your energy into that, how the garden looks will automatically get better too.
Try to see the process of learning to garden as a bunch of little experiments.
You’re trying things to see what happens.
- If you plant this seed, how long will it take to pop out of the ground?
- How tall does this sunflower get?
- How does this cherry tomato taste?
With a baby long for the ride, your fun experiments start to look like:
- What time(s) of day do you both enjoy being in the garden the most?
- How does our garden time stimulate or soothe your baby?
- What do they think of holding a flower for the first time?
There’s so much to learn in gardening- for you and for your little one.
So have patience with yourself and let it be fun!
Garden in the morning
Most people think of gardening as a summertime activity. At least, it’s that way in a lot of the northern hemisphere.
When you’re gardening with a baby, going out in the morning works really well.
It allows you to get things done before the sun is directly overhead and temperatures get too hot.
You can choose a time of morning when there’s still plenty of shade to work in.
Where I live the peak of summer is really hot and it heats up really fast.
Like, 90 degrees by 11am fast!
I quickly learned to start on the side of the garden that the sun touches first, then move as the shade moves.
Not only is this a good way to protect your baby’s sensitive skin, it actually has the added bonus of making gardening more comfortable for you too!
Bonus tip: Make sure you bring lots of water out with you to stay well hydrated.
Use a baby carrier
There are so many different types of baby carriers out there.
Wraps, slings, hybrids, and more structured options. You just have to experiment and find what works best for you and your baby.
As a new mom, I was so excited to try carrying my baby in a wrap.
I had all of these romantic ideas about holding my baby close to me while I flitted around my garden. Like some sort of garden fairy.
I’m not sure why. I’m 100% sure I’ve never flitted anywhere in my life!
And sure enough, the first time I tried a wrap quickly ended in tears. For me and my little guy.
Even though I had obsessively watched videos, I didn’t fully know what I was doing.
I was so scared that I might actually be hurting him while trying to get him in.
It was so traumatic that I gave up and didn’t try again for months.
Instead I waited to use a structured carrier, and made that my go-to. We have an Ergobaby Carrier and I love it!
Eventually, I did give the wrap another try. It took seeing my husband successfully put our son in a wrap carrier that gave me courage.
But by then he was much heavier and so I stuck with the more structured carrier option which was more comfortable for my back.
No matter what type of carrier you use, being able to take your baby out to the garden with you and still have full use of both hands is amazing!
And when they’re old enough to carry on your back- that’s a real game changer!
You don’t have the additional weight shifting your center of gravity in the front.
Getting your baby onto your back takes some getting used to. I had my husband help me the first few times. And I always did itt while sitting on our bed or couch, just to be extra safe.
Overall back carrying gives you so much more mobility in the garden.
It’s like having an adorable, sleepy little backpack buddy.
Give a couple different carriers a try and find what works for you. Every baby is different and might prefer one over another.
At the time of this writing we’re expecting our second baby, and I’ll be trying all of the different carriers again, starting with the wraps. Fingers crossed!
Make a safe play area when gardening with a baby
If you can’t (or don’t want to) use a carrier, having a place where your baby can safely play is another good option while you garden.
You might even want to set this up in addition to having a carrier to give yourself a break.
Getting a Pack and Play is a great place to start.
Even if you have one already, you can often get a second one used for free or cheap.
This makes it so you can have one “inside” Pack and Play for naps, and another one for outside only use.
All you have to do is set it up in the shade, throw some of your baby’s toys in there, and you’re all set!
Admittedly, my little guy didn’t love being in the Pack and Play outside at first.
He had a much better time when he was old enough to turn over on his tummy and see me.
If your little one struggles with being put down too, don’t give up immediately.
It might just take some tweaking, or a little time for them to get used to it.
Pick a spot in your garden right next to where you’ll be working. Being able to see and hear you clearly can help them to know you’re close.
Try setting up your play area where your baby can see leaves swaying in the breeze overhead.
Maybe your baby just hates the mesh siding.
You can always set up a blanket for you and your baby to share. An outdoor picnic blanket is great for this because they tend to be more durable and thick- things won’t stick through and poke your baby.
Or, just rolling your stroller down to the garden gets the job done too!
Later on, an activity center is a great addition to outside play.
The one we have kinda looks like a baby walker, but it’s stationary. These are also a great second hand find.
If your baby starts crying after a couple minutes and wants to be held (like mine did), it’s okay.
Try to take the change in stride so you can both enjoy your time in the garden.
Keep your tools handy
I say this a lot, but keeping your tools within reach makes a huge practical difference for a mom gardening with a baby or any littles.
Having a wagon full of your most used tools saves you (and your back) from making multiple trips across the yard.
One thing I struggled with as a new mom was the dance of carrying everything I needed to set my baby up in the garden while also having the baby.
Having a wagon meant I could pile harvest baskets, toys and a Pack and Play on top (and later it was toddler snacks and water) and still carry my baby down at the same time.
Having everything you need in one trip. It’s a beautiful thing!
Focus on one thing at a time
Thinking of taking care of your entire garden at once can be overwhelming. Especially when you also have a baby in tow.
Instead, break it up into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
Some days this will be an actual area of space that you’re working on. Other days it might be based on the amount of time you (or your baby) decide.
Either way, set up in one little section that’s comfortable for you and baby (again, preferably with some sort of shade cover) and just focus on that spot.
When you’re finished- whatever you finish- count it as a win!
Make space for wonder when gardening with a baby
Take time to enjoy your garden. Without working on it.
When thinking about all of the to-do’s that can come with having a backyard kitchen garden, it’s so easy to forget this one.
Set out a blanket with toys for your baby and just appreciate being outside.
Notice the leaves float in the breeze. Watch bees and butterflies pollinate your beautiful flowers.
Take a minute and just breathe.
As a new mom with a baby, remember that you need some time with fresh air too.
Going outside at least once a day can do wonders for your mental and emotional health.
Be flexible and creative
Gardening with a baby requires a lot of trial and error to figure out what works best for you. If you’re growing your first garden at the same time, this is especially true!
Something that’s an amazing solution for someone else might be a complete dud for you and your baby.
Or sometimes they just aren’t used to it yet, and need more chances to get comfortable.
They’re changing so fast! So some creativity on your part will go a long way.
How are you gardening with a baby?
There are so many things you can do and try to help make gardening with a baby easier. I hope this list gives you a few ideas, as well as the courage to give it a try.
To me, the only thing better than growing to love the garden, is getting to experience that love with my little one.
Will you give any of these tips a try? Or do you have another tip that works well for you?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Leave a Reply