Mommy Fail #2

In the category of how to figure out how to do previously ordinary things with a baby in tow is figuring out how to go shopping. Stores with carts are helpful because I can just bring Alaina into the store in just her car seat instead of bringing her in the stroller. However, carts aren't necessarily built to hold car seats very well...nor should they be. The first time Philip and I took Alaina to the grocery store, my sister Sarah was with us. We stood by the carts for the longest time trying to figure out the right way to position the car seat in the little front part where bigger kids usually sit, but we weren't satisfied with the results, so we eventually put Alaina's seat in the basket of one big cart, and Philip pushed a smaller one alongside us. He insisted that we put all of the groceries in his cart--probably so we wouldn't forget to pay for any of them. Since that trip, I've figured out the magical balancing act that allows me to put the car seat in the front of the cart, but we still sometimes put it in the basket if we're just picking up a few things.

Which brings me to my mommy fail. Last week, my mom was in town visiting. I needed to pick up a few things, and she wanted to go to Meijer because she'd recently gotten her dog, Lucy, some canned food there that she couldn't find in Cleveland. My brother Christopher was with us, and he followed us around the store, pushing the cart as we filled the area around the car seat with our odds and ends. We decided to use the self checkouts, and we stopped to sort through which things in the cart were mine and which were my mom's. My mom had picked up some donut holes in a plastic box from the bakery, and as I was sorting through the cart, I put them on top of the car seat, right above Alaina's head. It seemed like an ok thing to do at the time, but the next time I looked, the donuts had slid down and ended up sitting on top of Alaina's face. Again, she didn't really freak out about my fail--hopefully because the donuts weren't there long enough for her to even realize what was going on. Needless to say, I won't be doing that again!

Mommy Fail #1

Honestly, I'm sure this is not the first thing I've done wrong since Alaina was born, but it's the first one I thought to record. If she's lucky, it will be the last one too. But odds for that aren't great. So here it goes...

I took Alaina out with me today when I met a friend for lunch. After lunch, I decided to go to Babies R Us because it was right down the street. Since Alaina is still new, she travels everywhere in her car seat. This is good for her because she can sit comfortably (I hope) as we go from place to place, and if she falls asleep we don't have to wake her. Plus, since it's winter, she can stay snug and warm under the fleecy car seat cover. The downside of this setup is that the seat is awkward and heavy for me to carry. Worse yet is trying to get it into the middle of the back seat of the car. Which is where today's mommy fail comes in. I have two options when putting the car seat in the car--put the car seat part of the way into the car and then climb in after it so i can get it positioned correctly, or close my eyes and push it in as far as I can and hope that it lands in the base. Today i chose obtion B. And i missed. Instead of landing squarely in the base, Alaina's seat went a bit too far and ended up toppling over toward the opposite door. Of course i totally panicked and got it back upright as soon as possible only to see Alaina smiling a huge, wide-eyed smile in her seat. She wasn't fazed a bit by the trip. In fact, I think she enjoyed it. Do I have a future daredevil on my hands?

This is Alaina in her seat on the day we brought her home from the hospital. Those harnesses really do the job!

My Favorite Things

Last week I posted a list of my favorite things about Alaina's first month. I made a new page on our blog where I can collect these sorts of things, and I guess when I do that blogger doesn't send out an email to people following the blog to let them know. So here's a link to the new page...hopefully it will work:

The Memory Place Page