Family

Day 29 – The Logistics of Baby Transpiration

The Merfett

The mission: You need to run some errands around town. The Bank, Target and the Grocery store. You don’t have anyone to watch the tiny human, so along he comes.

It goes down like this:

Step 1 – Make a game plan. Mentally map out your attack on the town. Working in a circle from the homebase out, just in case there’s a meltdown and you need to cut bait and retreat early.

Step 2 – Prep for the journey. “Tank up” the tiny human. Fresh diaper. Stock the diaper bag with emergency rations. Preferably time journey to fit within the 3 hour EASY schedule.

Step 3 – Lock and Load. Place tiny (heavy) human in carseat. Strap and secure. Grab diaper bag, shopping lists, reusable bags, Ergo carrier, water (Mama is always THIRSTY), wallet, cell phone, keys.

Step 4 – Launch. Get everything and everyone in the car.

Step 5 – Arrive at Destination #1. Baby is awake and alert. Unload stroller, grab Bank items, hook carseat into stroller. Approach bank. Open bank door, enter bank backwards – pulling stroller. Note: pulling stroller > pushing so you avoid the reach, pull and hold door dilemma. Make way to bank line. Rock stroller back and forth, responding to tiny human’s smiles and “goos.” Complete banking, while swapping babytalk with the teller. Exit bank with same pull stroller strategy.

Step 6 – Re-load and re-launch. Repeat beginning of Step 5 in reverse. Carseat into car. Stroller into trunk. Drive.

Step 7 – Arrive at Destination #2. Baby is awake and alert. Secure Ergo carrier. Insert baby. Grab shopping list. Make way to Target and locate a shopping cart. Select the loudest, most clunkly cart of the lot on the first attempt. Don’t recognize this until you’ve reached the point of no return. Attack store with focus and determination. No time for idle browsing and “tagnet” (target-magnet) phenomenon in which previously unneeded items make their way into your cart. Implement rocksway movement to keep baby content when stopping to consider a purchase. Check out. Doing the baby-wearing dip while leaning back so as not to disrupt the sleeping human strapped to your chest as you transfer items from your cart to the belt. Answer babyvitals questions with the checker. Name, Age, Sleeping pattern status.

Step 8 – Reload and relaunch. Transfer purchased goods to car. Return shopping cart. Remove sleeping tiny human from Ergo and reinsert into carseat. Secure. Drive.

Step 9 – Baby disposition pending, arrive at Destination #3. Secure Ergo. Insert sleeping baby. Grab shopping list and reusable bags. Make wiser (and silent) cart selection. Approach store in a methodical manner. Always poised for babymeltdown and subsequent cart abandonment.  Complete shopping. Repeat baby-wearing dip. Repeat babyvitals questions with checker and bagger.

Step 10 – Reload and set course for home. Transfer groceries. Return cart. Secure sleeping tiny human in carseat.

Step 11 – Arrive back at homebase. Remove carseat and groggy baby from vehicle. Set on kitchen counter. Silently pray tiny human can keep his cool just a little longer so you can unload car and get melting ice cream into the freezer. Make as few trips back and forth from car as possible. Load maximum amount of items onto person to lessen repeat trips.

Step 12 – Finish Strong. Unpack purchased goods at rapid pace. Plead with tiny human to hang in there for “just a minuet” while you fling frozen items anywhere they’ll fit.

Step 13 – Decompress. You did it! Another successful adventure out in the world. Feed tiny human and thank him for his patience and good behavior on the journey.

Family

Day 28 – Dear Pregnant Merfett

The Merfett

Dear Pregnant Merfett,

There’s so much you’re thinking about, and wondering. SO much unknown. The Cliff’s Notes is this: It all happens. Yep. No matter what you do it’s gonna happen anyway. All the things.

– In the final weeks of your pregnancy you uglycry in the shower. You’re 40 weeks, and have a 9lb baby. You’re scared and not in control. Imagine, that? You. The Type-A planner, not in control. You pray in the shower that morning. Opening your eyes to the life fact that this tiny human isn’t yours alone. And you’re going to spend many morning showers for the rest of your life praycrying about how to raise him right.

– Labor hurts but it’s not impossible. You know childbirth has to hurt. I mean, Eve ate the apple – so that’s that. But you’re so present and aware of everything going on. You’ll be quiet and calm. You don’t scream or cry or yell at Merfman. It happens. Just like it has to. It’s sort of like this head-movie, that you’ll push the record button on for life. Your response will be – yea, I felt it, but I would do it again the exact same way.

– The nurses aren’t mean. You spend some time praying about the hospital staff in your final pregnant weeks. You know they may laugh at your birth “plan” and they could ignore all your requests. But they don’t. They are nice and patient with you. You won’t remember their names, but they’ll always be faces you associate with that day.

– It hurts to sit. Yea, no one’s going to tell you about the fun parts of recovery. Each day is a little better. You take some Tylenol right after the delivery, but that’s sort of it. You’ll be fine. Tender, but fine. You’ll be happy to get home and sit on your own bed. Memory foam is like God’s gift to a new Mama.

– Breastfeeding isn’t tragic. You prepare for the worst. You know it can be really really hard. You’re determined. Which is good. You’ll need that determination when it hurts. It will hurt. But in a few weeks it will hurt less. Hang in there. And drink lots of water. You thought your were thirty before, just wait.

– You were right to read the books. You’ll still google and read more, but your time reading wasn’t wasted. In your new Mama fog you’ll pull out some ideas that you read somewhere and it’ll be good.

– Leaving Merfbaby for work will break your heart. You thought this one would be no biggie. Nope. Day one and you’re already sick to your stomach thinking about having to leave him behind. You don’t see that one coming. But, you get a really awesome chance to bring him with you. It works and it’s awesome. 

– You hit the Baby Jackpot. You know you could get any sort of baby, and you know whatever “type” you get in the baby lotto will be the right one for The Merf Family. This is SO true. You’ll often tell Merfbaby how thankful you are that he’s the one you got. And it makes so much sense.

So, there it is. Take a deep breath. It all works out, exactly like it should.

Love,

3 Month Mama Merfett