So yesterday we embarked on our first pumpkin picking adventure that involved a hay ride, petting zoo and various activities before the event with the crown jewel of the day “picking your own pumpkin” from the actual patch, that is where they grow. Well, I must say, that planning the event for little ones should be first and foremost on your mind, notwithstanding the fact of the child age. (By the way my little munchkin is only eight; eight months that is, so yeah I think we jumped the gun on this one.)
So here is the mommy advice. Please don’t plan on going to the farm during the regular nap times of your little ones as you are sure to have a breakdown or a meltdown in the middle of the petting zoo, the hay ride or the actual pumpkin patch. Nobody will have fun, neither you, nor the little one. Another no-no is dressing your tiny into all the best Halloween costumes (our outing was intended to be a Halloween party for the daycare), if you don’t want the costume to be ruined (as we witnessed many falls on the patch, or stepping into the puddles in those oh wonderful outfits). The best thing to do is to bundle up, yes, that goes for the mommy too, as even in the sunniest warm day you can actually, ahem… freeze something as well. The age issue, well, there is no issue really, nobody will stop you from getting on the tractor with your tiny baby, it’s just the baby might not be so interested in the surroundings and just want to walk on the hay stacks everyone sitting on, or desperately try to get out of your firm hold. So just use your best judgment here. Petting zoos for the little pumpkin pickers were also not actually petting appropriate yet, however, I must admit that here if your baby is awake and alert they will have a good time looking at all the animals and inspecting everything, every little detail around. Some might even want to join the herd, but that is where you come in, lol, with your firm hold, literally. For a bit older babies petting zoos was a blast, they were petting the animals away, so please note to self to bring a hand sanitizer to use afterwards. On another note, if your kids are a bit older and inspect everything with scrutiny please be ready for various questions like “Mommy what are the piggys doing?”… You get my point. Ok so you got through the hay ride, the petting zoo, now off to the pumpkin patch, please watch your little ones closely as the pumpkins have long stems that are all curled up on the ground and this can cause lots of little falls and bruises, not mentioning if you are with an infant in your hands you should watch out for these too.
Well I am happy to say that we got through our first pumpkin acquaintance. Although my boy did want to eat the tiny pumpkin he picked out, now I am thinking that he picked it out specifically with that end in mind and that is why we had a melt down on the hay ride back to the farm. Overall the experience of the day was definitely a good one.
