Parenting books offer volumes of advice on how to handle a two-year-old’s tantrums in the grocery store. However, most of the grocery-shopping drama that I experienced occurred before my daughter was one year old. Mine were the mistakes of a rookie mom. These are a few of the things that freaked me out when I went shopping with my first little one.
Big Baby Messes – I never ceased to be amazed at how much spit-up she could eject from such a tiny tummy. When she spat up, she would get it all over herself, all over me, and leave a giant puddle on the floor to boot. And, I will never forget the day of her massive diaper blow-out. She was about three months old, and was happily cooing as I held her close to my body in a baby sling. I noticed the tell-tale look of deep concentration sweep over her face and felt her diaper become heavier. I raced toward the restroom, but I was too late. It had oozed down the side of her leg and all over my new white sweater. I was absolutely mortified as I had to continue shopping with a giant poopy stain on my clothes.
Big Mommy Messes – Like every mom, I love my drinks on the go. My morning coffee, my mid-morning smoothie and my afternoon juice are always being drunk in the car and On-The-Go. Well one day while I was in the grocery store, I had my morning smoothie in my left hand, the shopping cart gripped in my right hand, and my baby in the shopping cart seat. As I walked through the grocery store pushing my cart, my little one dropped her binky on the floor and started to make a fuss. I bent over to pick up the pacifier, moving my left hand to the cart while still holding the smoothie, and my right hand picking up the binky. Big Mistake! As soon as I moved my smoothie to the handle of the cart, balancing the cup on the handle while holding the cart, my little one grabbed the top of the cup, and pushed the smoothie out of my hand, off the cart, and onto my head. Leaving me drenched with strawberry banana smoothie. Now, I do not bring my drinks with me unless I am using my Mommy’s Sippy Cup. No spills and BPA-Free!
Loading the Car – After my daughter was born, I soon discovered that loading and unloading groceries into the van was a whole new challenge. At the time, we lived in the middle of the dessert of Arizona. Therefore, the interior of the car routinely became hot enough to roast a turkey. Not wanting to bake my child, I would start the car, turn on the AC, and strap her in her car seat before proceeding to unload my groceries. One day after I strapped her in, I made a terrible mistake – I closed the door. I heard it automatically lock, leaving me on the outside with my child and my keys on the inside. I frantically tried every door – hoping that by some miracle, one of the doors did not lock, but it was no use. I was completely cut off from my baby. Leaving my grocery cart unattended, I dashed back into the store and nearly ran into the store manager, who calmly called the fire department. Five minutes (which seemed like five hours) later, a fireman pulled his car into the space next to mine. He whipped out a few funny-looking tools, and broke into my minivan in a matter of seconds. I was so glad to be reunited with by baby, but I also felt so stupid. Both the store manager and the fireman were incredibly nice, and reassured me that this type of thing happens to a lot of moms.
As a new parent, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect, and I freaked out every time something went wrong. Since then, I’ve learned that every parent makes mistakes.
Author Bio:
Jack Meyers is a regular contributor for Nanny Background Check. As a detective he wants to spread the knowledge of what could happen when people do not fully verify the credentials of a caregiver or any employee. He also writes for various law enforcement blogs and sites.
Image courtesy of Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
