Quality time as a couple is rare to find when you have a newborn baby at home. With the arrival of your little one, it’s but normal to want to spend all your energy into making sure they are healthy and happy.
But having a baby should not be a reason why you shouldn’t be going on date nights with your partner. It’s highly essential to keep your marriage alive after having a child because you are entering this new stage together and should be doing this parenting thing as one team.
Even when you’re elbow-deep in baby tasks — feeding the baby and changing countless diapers each day — there are still ways to spend meaningful time with your beloved husband. Here are 8 simple but fun date ideas that you can try!
(Plus, some of these ideas don’t even require you to leave the house if getting a babysitter is impossible.)
1. Eat dinner together.
When you’re feeding a newborn baby round the clock, it can be tough to keep track of the hours, so we can imagine how challenging it can be to actually find the time to sit down and have a proper breakfast and lunch. But in the evening, after going through your nightly bedtime ritual and laying your baby down to fall asleep, try to have a proper dinner with your partner. It doesn’t even have to be candlelit (though you can definitely have that).
2. Schedule movie nights.
To beat the daily stresses of parenting, there’s nothing more enjoyable than a night of movies. If you can get a babysitter to watch over your child, go to the cinema and watch a movie blissfully uninterrupted. If getting a babysitter is not an option, watching a movie at home is as equally entertaining, too. Bonus is you can switch movies if you want to, or you can even watch TV shows that you both love.
3. Run errands together.
Adding sweetness to mundane errands can be done! Together with your partner, make trips to the doctor or grocery shopping a nice and exciting break from the daily routines at home. Go to a restaurant after visiting your doctor, or walk leisurely — and hand in hand — along the aisles of the grocery store. You’re not only romantic but also productive!
4. Play board games.
If you’re feeling competitive, take out your board games from the closet and break out a friendly — or mean — game of Scrabble or chess. If you don’t have board games at home, you can also install 2-player games on your phones and try to emerge as the victor of the night. Games and banters with your husband do make for fun date ideas, don’t they?
5. Be each other’s workout buddy.
It is a must to remain physically active when you have a baby in order to meet the demands of a new parent’s lifestyle. Meet two goals at once by working out together! If you can have someone watch over your baby for a couple of hours, you can head to the gym to work out. Then again, if you can’t get a babysitter, working out at home is just as fun and as effective, too!
6. Go for a drive.
On nights when it’s particularly hard to soothe your baby and get them to sleep, then it’s time to start driving! Place your child safely in their car seat and let the soft motion of the car lull them to sleep. As for you, take advantage of your time together and talk about anything. Get some food from a drive-through and just go for a drive even if you don’t have a no specific route in mind.
7. Walk.
Because your baby will benefit a lot from daily walks, these need to become part of your lifestyle as early as day 1. Again, take advantage of the time you have together — time that’s already there! Walk holding your partner’s hand and simply talk about anything and everything. The fresh air outside is a no-fail mood booster, too!
8. Talk.
Finally, if your day is incredibly hectic and you simply have no time for all the date night ideas listed above, don’t worry. Simply talking while resting in between tasks — and putting your phones away, while you’re at it — already works wonders in strengthening your marriage.