I started getting us ready at about 8am yesterday morning, beginning with Campbell's bath. She is such a good baby. Baths don't phase her a bit...I can even usually get several smiles out of her during them (whether or not they're real smiles I'm not sure, but I love them just the same!). I nursed her after her bath while she was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, then laid her down to nap while I got my shower. I've learned that showers are no longer a leisurely event...I'm usually in a mad rush to get through them, because I'm terrified that she'll either stop breathing or cry while I'm in there. I don't think I've shaved my legs since my Mom went home after our first week, because it just takes too long. Anyway, after I got my shower and got myself ready, I packed up the diaper bag (packing several changes of clothes with me), made sure I had all of my receipts, and nursed Campbell again so she'd be happy and content for the car ride. Usually she'll go 2 or 3 hours between feedings, so we left the house at a little around 11am. We got to Babies R Us around noon, and Miss Campbell had a meltdown in the parking lot. I got her carseat from the car into a shopping cart when I realized that I'd left my return items in the car. I went back to get them and she started squalling! (I'm guessing she gets her lack of patience from me.) A very nice young mother with a little girl (probably about 6 months old) had pulled in right next to us, and she offered to help me get all of my things gathered up...what a help she was! After we got everything together, I couldn't get Campbell to calm down with all of the usual tricks (sucking on my finger, singing the two lullabyes I can remember from my childhood, etc.) so I decided to abandon the mission momentarily to feed her again. So we unloaded everything back into the car, and I climbed into the back seat to nurse her. Luckily I had remembered to throw My Brest Friend into the car with us, so I put on the pillow and the nursing cover and she got some lunch. After her belly was full, we didn't have much trouble in Babies R Us, but we sure didn't waste any time getting our business taken care of there. I returned our little boy outfits and picked up a manual breast pump for nights like last week with Miss Campbell decides to sleep for a 5 hour stretch and can't be woken up. After the meltdown at BRU, and the fact that I was sweating like crazy (I have noticed since having her that I am burning up all.the.time), I decided that we'd nix the trip to Motherhood Maternity (I've gotten by 2 weeks without a nursing bra...surely I can get by for another week or two without them) and go to the Kohl's that's closer to our house.
When we got to Kohl's I drug the stroller out of the trunk and worked for a few minutes to get the thing open. I definitely should have practiced at home before we left! I got her car seat situated in the stroller and on the way into the store Campbell let loose one of her already famous poops. We went straight to the bathroom, where, wouldn't you know it...it was closed for cleaning. She was quickly becoming Miss Cranky Pants (and I can't blame her, with a dirty diaper, a Mom who had no clue what she was doing, and being carted around the country at two weeks old) so I just asked the cleaning guy if I could come in long enough to change her diaper. We got the diaper changed (with a casualty to the adorable gray and pink striped pants, due to a leaky diaper) and headed out to pick up a few things for David's birthday. About 5 steps out into the store, she started to cry again. Usually she doesn't cry for long, so I thought she'd stop in a minute or so...but I was wrong. She's just not a cryer, so since her diaper was clean, I guessed she must be hungry. I'd left the My Brest Friend in the car, but I did have my nursing cover, so I headed back to the restroom, where there was a bench. The bathroom was still closed for cleaning, so I found a chair tucked back into a corner, got out my nursing cover, and got ready to feed the little girl. Just as I was unhooking my nursing tank (well concealed by the cover), a Kohl's employee asked me to move to the restroom. It had finally opened up again, so I obliged...even though I'd already gotten her out of the carseat and gotten myself half-undressed. At least the employee was nice enough to push the stroller into the bathroom for me. Another woman who was headed to the restroom heard the employee ask me to go to the restroom, and that got her all upset. She said, "You're just feeding your baby! It's no different than if you were giving that baby a bottle!" I wanted to say, "Lady, I agree completely, but my nerves are shot and I'll just go in here and sit in the (now clean) bathroom." But I didn't. I just kind of smiled and said, "Oh, it's no big deal." Nursing that wild baby without my nursing pillow (and being covered with the nursing cover) was pretty uncomfortable, but we got the job done! But I'm telling you, I was roasting by the time she was done...I was ready to strip down to my tank top. We didn't spend a whole lot of time browsing for clothes for David...it was more of a quick glance to be sure the size was a Medium, then throw it in the stroller. That's what gift receipts are for, right?! After paying for our purchases, we high-tailed it out of there...and that's when I realized that I didn't have a clue how to fold up the stroller! I fumbled around in the parking lot for about 5 minutes with it and briefly entertained the idea of just leaving it in the parking lot...that's how frazzled I was. I was about 2 seconds away from calling my good friend Leslie to get her to talk me through folding it up when I found the magic button to fold the stroller. As I picked it up to put it in the trunk, the back wheels fell off! I was so frustrated that I just tossed them into the trunk and was thankful that they didn't fall off while I had Campbell in it.
Four hours after we left the house, we were back home safe and sound. I thought to myself about how, a month or so ago, that whole trip would have taken me an hour and a half at the most. Oh, how things have changed! As difficult as the trip was, I'm glad we did it. I was surprised at myself several times over the trip...my patience with Campbell as she cried in the store, my willingness to nurse in public, the fact that I didn't absolutely melt down. It was definitely a learning experience for me, and I figure future trips will go a little more smoothly each time. I'm sure that, before long, I won't think twice about packing her up and taking her somewhere.
Now, just because my baby girl is so darn cute, I'll leave you with a picture. I got this look several times yesterday on our shopping trip...and I can just imagine her saying, "Really, Mom? I've had enough. Let's go back home...this is crazy."
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