Baby On Board

After having a baby, even running the simplest errand is quite a task. It takes close to an hour to get dressed, loaded up, and out of the house. It is amazing how much stuff you have to take with you EVERYWHERE. Packing, leaving the house, and going on what would have been an easy shopping trip pre-baby is madness post-baby. I was reminded of this today when baby, husband & I went shopping for new clothes for my ever growing boy.

Out of bed. I make baby a bottle so daddy can feed him while I get ready. Daddy hands baby off to me while he gets ready. I clean & dress baby. I hand baby off to daddy while I pack the diaper bag. 2 bottles, because I'm not sure how long we will be gone and heaven forbid we run out of food for my milkaholic. Make sure bag is stocked with diapers and wipes because nothing is worse than the wipe caddy being empty when baby decides to poo up his back. Check for extra outfits in case of the previously mentioned blow out-- yep, there are 3 outfits.. you know, just in case 2 isn't enough. Hey, it COULD happen. Bibs/burp cloths for drool: check. Toys/teethers to occupy baby. Pacifiers-A MUST. Blanket, because it's cold. Yep, I think we're good. Oh, let me make sure my wallet, keys, and phone are in there too.. no purse, it's just one more thing to carry! Ok, diaper bag is good. Husband loads the stroller. I put baby in car seat. Baby cries because he hates the car seat unless he is in the car and moving. Take the dog out. Make sure there is nothing left out for the dog to get into while we are gone... check. We are on the road. 2 hours later.

Whew. Tired and the trip has only begun. Baby sleeps during the car ride- yay! He wakes as we get to the restaurant to eat lunch. I hold him during lunch because he won't sit in his car seat & even though he sits rather well, he has yet to sit in a highchair at a restaurant. Baby wants to grab everything. The sweet young servers come to "ooh" and "ahh" and talk to baby who wants no part of their attention. He stares at them like they have 5 heads and refuses to smile. Baby goes back into the car seat. He cries. We leave the restaurant and head to the mall. We load baby into the stroller and stop into the Nike store so mommy can get some new shoes and clothes to work out in (yes, I am forcing myself to go to the gym a couple days a week now). I browse the shoe section. Baby starts fussing. He's hungry. Husband gets him out of stroller and sits on a bench soothing him while I mix a bottle. Husband feeds baby while I try on shoes. People squeeze around us because we are taking up a lot of room. I would apologize but, I'm not really sorry. It's the way that it is. We have a lot of crap. Baby is temporarily happy because his belly is full. We shop for a few more minutes, finding sweats and tshirts for me. Baby gets fussy, he needs a nap. We leave. Baby needs a diaper change. I will change it at carter's, they have a nice changing area. carter's has changed locations... smaller store, no more restroom or changing area. AWESOME. We shop QUICKLY because baby is fussy. We leave carter's. I locate a restroom and change baby. Baby goes back into the car seat. Fusses for a bit then falls asleep. We drive home.

It's 4:00 p.m. and I feel like it's midnight. Having a baby on board means a lot of STUFF and no trip is ever quick or easy. It's just the way that it is. It's our way of life now. I am late 95% of the time and nothing ever goes as planned. So don't plan. Don't plan. That's what I have to remind myself. Roll with it. It's much more enjoyable that way.