So, is it just me, or is it terrifying to take a newborn out in public for the first time?? Tim and I have gone out to eat a couple of times with the Tadpole since his arrival, mainly because we've needed some couple time, but also because he sleeps so nicely through the whole experience (thus making for a very pleasant couple time to boot).However, I've never gone out ALONE with Weston, just me and him, by car. (We've gone on walks, but we've always been in close proximity to home.) Until today!! Tadpole and I drove to the mall, in part so that I could use a remaining baby shower gift card to Gymboree, but mainly so that I could practice being out with the baby on my own, and hopefully gain confidence doing so. (This was a much-needed trial for me, given my choice of the word "terrifying," shown above, to describe taking a newborn out for a little trip. Heh heh.) For some reason, I'm still totally worried that he's going to scream and cry (and I'll be unable to soothe him), or that his diaper will explode, or whatever. So, I was nervous about going out with him, but I took a deep breath and went for it.
It actually went okay! Car rides always put him to sleep, so even though he was screaming as Tim and I got him in the car and then as Tim installed the little bear mirror in the backseat, he calmed down quickly enough once we departed. At the mall, he was fine in the stroller as long as I was pushing him around, but any time I stopped to look at something in a store, he would start wiggling and grunting (which, of course, freaked me out, and motivated me to get going again quickly - and yes, he does in fact have me wrapped around his little finger). When I was at Gymboree looking for $25 worth of cutie patootie clothes, my worst fear occurred and he started his scream-crying. (I don't know why that's my worst fear, but it is. I'm so paranoid!!) However, a few minutes of shushing and jiggling the stroller and holding the binky in his mouth seemed to do the trick, and he forgot that he was sad and drifted back to sleep. (Although I still hurried and picked out clothes as fast as I could, lest he actually wake up.)
So, overall, it was a fairly positive experience, and I'm glad that it's not really as terrifying as I thought it would be, taking a baby out of the house and into the world. YAY!! No one complained when he cried in the store (even though I freaked out), and really, it happens, and it's not a big deal. Worse comes to worst, and you just leave the store and go back another time. (Note to self!) So, it was okay. However, I still haven't had to feed him outside the house - that'll be "a whole nother" thing... :-P
Anyway, now I just need to take him out more often (mostly for my own sanity, haha), and in order to do that, I need to start thinking of other fun places to go for short baby-trips. Any suggestions??
11 comments:
It's time to let go of the mental perception that CRYING BABY = BAD MOM. You are braver than I was to take Weston shopping at 3 weeks old. It is okay to "abort the mission" if his mood changes, but you did the right thing simply to attend to him for a while. (By the way, how did T-L morph into Weston then regress to Tadpole again?)
Your post reminds me of the first time I ventured out with Michael alone. I believe he was also about 3 weeks and I was so anxious with him sitting in the back by himself, expecially since we didn't have a mirror yet. Our trip was very short, and he didn't mind the car ride or the car seat. Nevertheless, terrified is the perfect word.
We seemed to do most of our outings on foot, so I am trying to think of where you could go.
He is almost old enough to go visiting friends. Those will be the best outings of all. Otherwise, take advantage of how portable he is and see some things that you want to see.
I think terrifying was the perfect word choice. It truly is!! I've learned that it's all about timing, as I'm sure you know. The first 3 months they're just little newborns still adjusting, after that it becomes so much easier! imo
Short walks to the park. Or to some Cafe Rio style eating establishment (pick up your food and eat in). Or to the grocery store. Or Target. Or Disneyland.
That last one might be a bit aggressive.
I'm so proud of you, Jean!! You did great :) And yeah, if he cries, it does not mean "Bad Mom," and it's not the end of the world (of course this is spoken by someone with no experience, but at least it's spoken by someone similar to the people you'll see at the mall). You rock :)
Way to go! As for future outings, I like the loudish places Liz suggested: you don't have to worry about fussy noises as much there. I also liked the idea of visiting friends -- they can probably provide anything you need, including a private place to feed Weston if necessary. I also liked inventing important errands, like going to get myself a scoop of ice cream. Or going to buy lip gloss. Or browsing at the dollar store.
Our first outing was Scott's master's thesis defense. I would put that in Liz's Disneyland category... crazy.
congrats on the first big outing! Owen is the same way, screaming and crying as I try to get us all out of the house, but once the car starts moving, he calms down (usually). And yea, I feel like my shopping is done in a hurry so I can get in what I need to while everyone is still happy. What I often do is take him in the stroller, but I always have the baby bjorn with me in case he wakes up or is cranky. When I put him in that thing, he's pretty happy. And then I have a whole stroller to carry all my stuff!
Soooooo... I hope you're not paranoid about the crying because you once knew these people who had a baby who pretty much always screamed and nearly ruined her mother's life for 6 straight months....
Don't know who that could've been... I'm just sayin'.
Heh.
Oh, and Disneyland, per Liz's suggestion, isn't a bad idea. It's warm enough in CA, and since he's so little still he's wicked portable. At about 6 months, you'll lose that freedom... I'm just sayin.'
Plus, I know someone who lives kind of close to D-land who would love to hang out.
:)
well... that was a pretty successful trip if you ask me! good job! he's so cute!
Yay for conquering that first outing! That is always SOOO scary. One suggestion I would make (thanks to Kristen Ellsworth's idea!) was feed Weston at the Nordstrom bathroom at the mall (if your mall has one). The one in Provo had a huge mother's lounge with couches and everything that was totally separate from the bathroom. It made nursing in public much less scary!
You could always try nursing in a dressing room, too! :)
As for places to go...try the library! Now that you are a mommy you will get hooked on it! (unless you already are). They always have baby story times, and it's usually noisy in the kid's section so crying babies isn't a huge deal.
What a great post. I think all new moms can relate to what you just wrote, even if they can't quite express it as well as you just did. And terrifying is a good word choice. Don't worry, it gets easier as they get older. Or at least the concerns change to worrying about what your child will do on purpose like run away from you as fast as he can in a busy parking lot. Not that my Jackson would do anything like that.....
Keep up the outings to fun places!
Post a Comment