that awkward moment...
since bird was a little, wee thing i've taken her to the grocery with me.
she'd be all wrapped up in the mei tai wrap and would sleep next to moma. it was a win win. i would get an errand done and she'd get to nap for the 10th time that day on her moma and folks would give you those "oh, what a joy, sweet baby" new moma looks.
then she grew up a little more and she'd ride in the ergo. another win win. moma still felt productive and could successfully multi task with babe and little bird would enjoy looking at my smiles, nursing if need be (carrier + a scarf = no one would ever know), and starting to have more of an awareness of the people and food items around her.
one day she got bored in the ergo and wanted to move for the hour. fair enough. so i finally tried her in the cart seat. she always seemed so unbalanced, but since the buckles on those things come up to the ribs, she wasn't going anywhere. she was very pleased with her new position at the grocery store. she was slowly climbing the ladder. she'd be happy with something i packed her, a random book or endlessly turning over a box of rice while happily smiling at others.
the excitement is still there when we go to the grocery store. she smiles all giddy on the way in and loves her front seat in the cart! she knows the ropes now and is a seasoned grocery cart attendant.
she smiles at the Starbucks workers and they dote and play right back every week.
she smiles at anyone passing by in the aisle and sometimes we hold up traffic.
she points and repeats "baby" every time we hear or see any child under 5.
it's a pleasantry to have your toddler so happy on an errand and have people dote on her. it surely makes the trip enjoyable.
more recently we've encountered a barrier.
food.
i know, i know, it's the grocery store, what do you expect?
bird has always loved food. real.people.food. from 7 months onward she'd be eating what we've eaten and she's taken such a liking to it that she wants to eat anything in site. you can see how this can be a major distraction at the grocery as it's full purpose is to house food for folks like us to buy.
as the cart gets more and more full, i can't hide items for very long.
she's now contorted herself backwards in the front seat in order to get a better glimpse of that pumpernickel bread i put in there.
the $5.00 book i showed her from the magazine aisle is now deemed boring after one look through. "what do you mean, you don't want to read it again, and again, and again like daddy and i are instructed to read In a People House at home until it's memorized?
"the food you packed isn't that interesting, mom." said her look as she bats the container of puffs away. "that. that. that." she says as she points to the large box of rice.
ok, so give her the food, right?
well i do. i'll give her the rice to turn over and over again, but now the challenge is to monitor it close enough to ensure she doesn't eat too much of the cardboard box. this lasts a whole 20 seconds.
we've now reached the phase of shrieking. this is mainly around the produce.
if bird could talk (in phrases...)
"apples, oranges, and bananas, oh my!
cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes, oh my!
berries, lemons, and greens, oh my!"
the excitement is overwhelming.
however, this impatient shriek- it's a very shrill sound and part of it is exploring her sounds. while bird can understand most things, she cannot communicate them all. when she wants something (oh wait, almost every food item in the cart) and i don't give it to her she shrieks.
then, there's that awkward moment.
that moment when people look at you and your child flabbergasted.
"me? they couldn't be looking at me?"
then we make eye contact. "nope. she really was looking at me and telling her husband/boyfriend with her eyes that they can wait to have kids." then there is the look of "can't you stop her from making that high pitched sound?" again, obviously childless person...
you see, i do my best to keep her happy, safe and entertained, but there are a lot of food options. i can only feed her so many things while we are there. i'm the mom that gets to the register with the banana peel saying "we've eaten this one, can you weigh that one twice please?" or "oh that cereal, don't worry, i opened it. we got started early" as my daughter is munching her way through the bag of parsley.
i talk to bird about talking in our gentle voices (she understands gentle so i tried to integrate that word).
we still get nice, doting looks, but the shrill sounds are surely making them dwindle. sometimes they are happy. sometimes they are frustrated. sometimes they are upset. lately they are all too common.
i'm not into giving her what she wants every time she shrieks in frustration and i'm not about to pull out a pacifier to soothe all the grocery store inhabitants (unless she is legitimately tired and come on, it's the grocery store. if you really have come for the experience, please pull into whole foods or fresh market). so, i let her squeal. it really doesn't last too long and i still, believe it or not, enjoy our trips to the grocery especially since it makes her so happy to look at so many people and so much food!
i'm curious what all those lookers do when their child screams...
i hope i was never that looker, creating that awkward moment.
she'd be all wrapped up in the mei tai wrap and would sleep next to moma. it was a win win. i would get an errand done and she'd get to nap for the 10th time that day on her moma and folks would give you those "oh, what a joy, sweet baby" new moma looks.
then she grew up a little more and she'd ride in the ergo. another win win. moma still felt productive and could successfully multi task with babe and little bird would enjoy looking at my smiles, nursing if need be (carrier + a scarf = no one would ever know), and starting to have more of an awareness of the people and food items around her.
one day she got bored in the ergo and wanted to move for the hour. fair enough. so i finally tried her in the cart seat. she always seemed so unbalanced, but since the buckles on those things come up to the ribs, she wasn't going anywhere. she was very pleased with her new position at the grocery store. she was slowly climbing the ladder. she'd be happy with something i packed her, a random book or endlessly turning over a box of rice while happily smiling at others.
the excitement is still there when we go to the grocery store. she smiles all giddy on the way in and loves her front seat in the cart! she knows the ropes now and is a seasoned grocery cart attendant.
she smiles at the Starbucks workers and they dote and play right back every week.
she smiles at anyone passing by in the aisle and sometimes we hold up traffic.
she points and repeats "baby" every time we hear or see any child under 5.
it's a pleasantry to have your toddler so happy on an errand and have people dote on her. it surely makes the trip enjoyable.
more recently we've encountered a barrier.
food.
i know, i know, it's the grocery store, what do you expect?
bird has always loved food. real.people.food. from 7 months onward she'd be eating what we've eaten and she's taken such a liking to it that she wants to eat anything in site. you can see how this can be a major distraction at the grocery as it's full purpose is to house food for folks like us to buy.
as the cart gets more and more full, i can't hide items for very long.
she's now contorted herself backwards in the front seat in order to get a better glimpse of that pumpernickel bread i put in there.
the $5.00 book i showed her from the magazine aisle is now deemed boring after one look through. "what do you mean, you don't want to read it again, and again, and again like daddy and i are instructed to read In a People House at home until it's memorized?
"the food you packed isn't that interesting, mom." said her look as she bats the container of puffs away. "that. that. that." she says as she points to the large box of rice.
ok, so give her the food, right?
well i do. i'll give her the rice to turn over and over again, but now the challenge is to monitor it close enough to ensure she doesn't eat too much of the cardboard box. this lasts a whole 20 seconds.
we've now reached the phase of shrieking. this is mainly around the produce.
if bird could talk (in phrases...)
"apples, oranges, and bananas, oh my!
cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes, oh my!
berries, lemons, and greens, oh my!"
the excitement is overwhelming.
however, this impatient shriek- it's a very shrill sound and part of it is exploring her sounds. while bird can understand most things, she cannot communicate them all. when she wants something (oh wait, almost every food item in the cart) and i don't give it to her she shrieks.
then, there's that awkward moment.
that moment when people look at you and your child flabbergasted.
"me? they couldn't be looking at me?"
then we make eye contact. "nope. she really was looking at me and telling her husband/boyfriend with her eyes that they can wait to have kids." then there is the look of "can't you stop her from making that high pitched sound?" again, obviously childless person...
you see, i do my best to keep her happy, safe and entertained, but there are a lot of food options. i can only feed her so many things while we are there. i'm the mom that gets to the register with the banana peel saying "we've eaten this one, can you weigh that one twice please?" or "oh that cereal, don't worry, i opened it. we got started early" as my daughter is munching her way through the bag of parsley.
i talk to bird about talking in our gentle voices (she understands gentle so i tried to integrate that word).
we still get nice, doting looks, but the shrill sounds are surely making them dwindle. sometimes they are happy. sometimes they are frustrated. sometimes they are upset. lately they are all too common.
i'm not into giving her what she wants every time she shrieks in frustration and i'm not about to pull out a pacifier to soothe all the grocery store inhabitants (unless she is legitimately tired and come on, it's the grocery store. if you really have come for the experience, please pull into whole foods or fresh market). so, i let her squeal. it really doesn't last too long and i still, believe it or not, enjoy our trips to the grocery especially since it makes her so happy to look at so many people and so much food!
i'm curious what all those lookers do when their child screams...
i hope i was never that looker, creating that awkward moment.
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