This post is a little bit ridiculous as Nora is almost 6 months old but I am going to admit that I've never really run Saturday errands with her. Joel or I have been on leave at all times so that person would usually go shopping when the other person got home to give them a break. Now we're both exhausted, full-time working parents.I woke up yesterday with a huge list of errands that needed to be run. I also knew that Joel had wanted to spend the day homebrewing so I was exclusively caring for Nora. I honestly felt daunted about the number of errands and taking her along. I'm such a baby! I just hate to shop and try to be as stealth as possible and there's nothing stealth about lugging around a 6 month old in a car seat. I created a plan and hit the road with Nora in tow.
I was able to get my seed starter pots at the garden store, pick up infant sunscreen at the health food store, get my dry cleaning (at which point I realized I might as well be buying new sweaters every week), run to the pet food store and then hit the grocery store. Nora was awesome. It was so fun to take her out and explain to her what we were doing.
The hardest part is that I live in an urban area and so all of the places I shop are tiny with tiny aisles. The maneuvering was a bit of a nightmare. I think I need to use our sling or the Ergo next time we go. It seemed like a hassle to take her in and out of her car seat but when she was in the cart I constantly felt like she was going to somehow tip over or some crazy person (my grocery store is FILLED with crazy people) was going to do something to her. I also was totally paranoid when the checker started taking the groceries out of my cart and then Nora ended up on the side with the checker. I just have a weird fear that someone is going to steal her. (If you shopped at my grocery store- you would too).
When I got home Joel informed me that he never goes to that grocery store with her and drives out to a more suburban store with bigger aisles and less crazy people. So, Joel is not hardier than me just smarter. Had I thought of the lovely suburban store with the big aisles and other people with children the trip might not have seemed so overwhelming. Such a smart husband!
All in all it was a great outing. Nora got to take a couple of naps and I got to hear how cute she is from total strangers. It also, strangely, reinforced that I am finally a mom running errands on a Saturday with my daughter.
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Good job! Way to make it through! She looks adorable in that pink hat. :)
ReplyDeleteSuburbia does have its perks! And she is sooo cute, of course strangers would say so!
ReplyDeleteIt IS a big job running errands with a little one! We went to church and then Target and both were pretty difficult! (Zoe has found her LOUD voice...) Very cute pic and I love her name :)
ReplyDeleteOh, fun grocery store near you! Now, nice of Joel to tell you before hand about the nice wide-aisled store. At least you know now! So, are you cooking grains or using extracts for homebrewing? We're onto batch #3. This one will be mine and I want to make a Hefeweizen for summer. Yummy!
ReplyDeleteYou are so good about commenting on my blog, thank you :)
ReplyDeleteRe: errands? The sling will be your best friend. What kind do you have? I had a hotsling that saved.my.life. When Jeb was Nora's age, he loved the facing-forward-front-carry. It's the only way I got any grocery shopping done because he NEVER tolerated being in the infant carseat while in a store. I can't remember when he graduated to "hip carry" (maybe 7 months? 8?), but that was a godsend, too. I tried it out at home a couple times before I knew his back and neck were strong enough for it, and then that was the only way we errand-ed for MONTHS. He was >1 year old before we stopped doing hip carry in the sling for errands. It might seem like a pain to get her out of her carseat, but really? that thing is more of a pain to carry around. Also, I liked that I could walk away from the cart without worrying, since he was on me. You said you like to "stealth shop", you could sling Nora, and carry one of the baskets! I found my sling to be one of the most useful "baby items", can you tell ;)
Oh get out there some more girl! I was schlepping a newborn and a toddler around almost daily. Not easy. Not always fun. But so is the life of a stay at home mom. Staying at home can get mighty stifling sometimes!
ReplyDeleteNext stop...a mall playground!! If you have any within driving distance.