Bringing Your Baby to Sporting Events

Danielle and I were approached by Fanatics, an online retailer where you can get everything and anything sports related - from MLB hats and jerseys to NFL gear, to participate in a series called, "Family Fanatics." I have actually ordered NY Giants and Mets stuff from them many times and was thrilled to be asked. I had planned on writing a blog post about how we take Makenna to sporting events with us, so this was right up my alley. 

The "Family Fanatics" series is about an instance where sports have brought your family together. There are too many instances to count where sports have brought my family together. We are an avid sports loving family. My husband played, and up until recently, coached baseball. We are also season ticket holders for the NY Giants and attend as many Mets games as we can. If we aren't at the games, they are on TV. It's just not limited to those two sports though, my husband will watch any type of sporting event and any team if his aren't playing. 

When I became pregnant with Makenna, I remember my husband making a comment on how we weren't going to be able to go to a lot of games anymore. I said, "Why not? We will just bring her with us!" That is exactly what we have done from the very start. Makenna was exactly a month old when she attended her first Giants game. It was a gorgeous October day! We tailgated and everything. People were amazed she was there with us. The Giants lost the game and Makenna lost all her hair, but we had a blast!

First Giants Game 1 month old 

As Makenna got older we continued to bring her to games with us. We always tailgate, so it can be a LONG day. She is pretty much a pro at attending football games at this point. Now that she is almost 3 and super active, I am a little nervous about bringing her to Giants games. Not because she can't handle going, but because our seats are waaaaay up top and her being up that high freaks me out. She likes to walk around by the seats and talk to everyone. We might have to wait a few years before she can start going with her Daddy again.

One of my favorite pictures of us! 

My husband has passed his love of baseball to Makenna. She asks all the time if we can go watch a baseball game or go see Mr. Met. She doesn't care if it is high school, college or professional baseball. She just loves to go to games. A few months ago we went to watch a county championship HS baseball game. We severely underestimated the amount of people attending and the amount of parking spaces. After driving around and not seeing any spaces we decided to leave. Well, Makenna was NOT having it. She threw such a fit that we actually turned around to go back. Luckily we found a parking spot this time.

Makenna's middle name is Shea, so she was pretty much born a Mets fan. Citi Field, where the Mets play, is like her second home. We also took her to a Yankee playoff game, just because my husband found a good last minute deal on tickets. For someone who is not even 3 years old yet, she has attended more games than most.

Her first Mets game and meeting Mr. Met. They have a love hate relationship :) 

 Lucky kid even got to attend a Mets spring training game in Florida.

I am so glad that we decided from the start to include Makenna in our love of sports. I couldn't imagine leaving her behind every time we wanted to attend a game or deciding to just not go at all. This is something we love to do as a family and it has given me the opportunity of making some of my favorite memories. I can't even imagine all the quality and bonding time we would have missed out on.  

Here are some tips for people wanting to take their small children to sporting events:

1. Pack LOTS of snacks and drinks.
2. A little notepad and crayons helps them stay in their seat when they are getting restless or any little dollar store toy. Even your phone games.
3. If they are getting antsy, take a walk! There are so many kid friendly areas in most sporting venues. 
4. Play I Spy with them. It will help them stay still in their seats for a little bit and they can learn about the stuff around them.   
5. Start young! The younger you take them, the easier it will be. Its like second nature to Makenna.
6. Try to get seats on the end of an aisle. It will be easier than having to ask 20 people to stand and move every time you want to get out. 

I hope this helps anyone who is on the edge about going to a sporting event as a family. When baby #2 comes this september, you can bet she will be right there with us. Makenna has no problem sleeping anytime she needs to, even with 40,000+  fans screaming around her. I swear I think this is why she will sleep through just about anything! If not for any other reason, this is why we need to get baby #2 to a game asap! :)

What are some times sports brought your family closer together? Feel free to share below and make sure you check out Fanatics for all your sporting apparel needs. They have the cutest kid stuff, which is always hard to find! p.s. I am NOT being paid to say that! 

Have a great week!

-K