Item Number for Pride

Last week, Mops and Pops generously offered to pick up the Bigs and bring them to Grandparent Camp for a few days. It took us approximately three seconds to agree, and we were all looking forward to the fun the week would hold. Phoebe and Nora had an absolute blast staying up late, eating ice cream, and in general ruling the roost for four days.

For me, it was such a treat to be able to spend some time with just Ruthie. And to go from three to one felt like such a breeze! I was feeling like supermom, honestly, with my one baby. We played, crossed things off the to-do list, went for walks, and... we braved Costco at 5:00.

Costco at 5:00 is something I’d pretty much never do solo unless it was an absolute emergency. (For the record, we’ve done it plenty of times with Michael on board and a trip to the food court on the agenda.) But seriously, it’s not for the faint of heart. But one baby was just feeling so easy, that I felt like it would be no big deal. Oh pride, how it cometh...

We pulled into the parking lot, I strapped on my carrier, and I began to lift Roo out of her seat. And then the smell hit me. While I’d grabbed the diaper bag before leaving, I didn’t check it. So after a quick peak in the diaper confirmed that a change would be absolutely necessary, I opened the bag to discover that I had on hand exactly one newborn diaper and one size four. I’ve since figured out a better solution to this problem, but I MacGyvered that size four so that it would hopefully work long enough to get me through the store. I prayed that no urine would leak, since I was planning to wear her through the store.

So off we went, and I silently patted myself on the back for my abillity to stay cool under duress with a baby on board. But before I had loaded one item into my cart, I looked down to see that Roo’s feet were turning blue. Not good. I pull the cart over by the mattresses in the back, lay Roo on the carrier inside the cart, and decide that maybe the diaper was a little bit too tight around her tummy. I make adjustments, snap her back up, and get back to work. While going through this process, a sweet mama of four sends an encouraging smile as if to say, “You’ll get the hang of this parenting thing eventually, sister!”

Three more times we have to adjust for circulation issues. And three more times, this mama passes me while I’m mid-diaper-adjustment. Ultimately, I blamed the blue feet on the bjorn and strapped her into the cart, praying she would stay upright long enough to load up with chicken, milk and diapers. (She did.) But seriously, I felt like such a first-timer on this Costco run! And I decided that no matter what, it’s a challenge to bring your kiddos to Costco!