Capitol Hill has a great new place for kids - The Family Room, at 411 8th Street SE. For either a membership or a drop-by price, its a safe, happy indoor place where little kids can play and parents can hang out. They have play equipment, a ton of toys and also do classes and activities. Good fun anytime but especially when its too hot or too cold or too rainy to be outside!
Susan K. of Severna Park, MD writes:
I have a number of young friends that are having their first (and second or third!) babies. While I’m a grandmother, I well remember how tired and overwhelmed I felt when my children were babies.
Picking out a present to send to the new baby is easy and fun. I’d also like to send something for the new mom and dad. And for new parents that are nearby, what are ideas of things I can offer to do to help?
In the past I’ve sent a nursing nightgown, robe, slippers, or a book to the new mom. That seems pretty mundane. I’m also chagrined to realize I’ve never sent something just for the new dad 
Any ideas from new parents of what they’d really like and what would be the most help? Send us an email to advice@butterpies.com or fill out the form below!
Answers so far:
Sarah R. writes: Not for the parents but really cute if you need a baby gift Me And YuYu Too! We got a really cute bib and burp cloth from them for my son. (Editor’s Note: And you get to support a Mom business, always good!)
Stefanie D. writes: A home cooked meal! My husband and I just had a baby December 2nd and by far my favorite gift from people has been food! It’s so nice to have a home cooked meal that all you really have to do is heat it up. I think anyone coming to visit the new baby should bring a meal with them!
When Zoe was born, we figured our best chance at actually doing cloth diapers was to use a service. We figured that the lower the bar for entry, the better chance we’d stick with it. In Washington, DC there is exactly one diaper service - Modern Diaper Service. They’re great, very friendly and nice. Website is not much, just give them a call and they’ll explain the deal.
They delivered once a week and we just left the dirties on the porch. I always kind of hoped that someone would try to steal the bag of dirties off of our porch. Hah!
We decided to just wash our own because it worked better for us but I know several people who used them all the way through potty training quite happily.
David B. of Washington DC adds:
We used Modern Diaper Service, who was fine, but now we use David’s Independent And Professional Elimination Reduction (D.I.A.P.E.R.). E.g. I take them down in the basement and wash them. 