A Couple of Mom Milestones

I guess the ol' blog keeps getting away from me as for some reason my days fly by. It sounds weird, and some of them seem rather long, but before I know it, I am cooking dinner and Ben is walking through the door. A wise friend said to me the other day: The days are long and the years are short. We haven't made it a year, yet, in this whole parenting saga, but I already know what that means.

Anyway, we had a couple of fun/new things happen in the past month that I wanted to document. I kind of wrote about going out and about with Eleanor back in February and I can assure you, I am definitely better now. I think it all just has to do with gaining confidence, getting used to having to take a million things along with us and everything taking triple the amount of time it used to. That's okay though.

Eleanor and I went out to lunch a couple of times. Once with my mom and once with a friend and her nephew. Both times she sat in her carseat the whole time, looking around, smiling and just being content. It was great. Well, a couple of weekends ago we went to Ben's basketball game which was on a Sunday afternoon and after that our group of friends had decided to go get some drinks and food after the game. We ended up at a pizzeria by the University of Washington which was actually perfect because when we got there, no one was there. At first E was great, looking around, sitting in my lap and playing with some toys. The place began to fill but I felt at ease because at almost every table there were either kids or babies. Very family friendly. As it filled, it got pretty warm as well. We got through our salads and our dinners had just come and E started to melt down. Ben walked outside with her and she immediately calmed down. He came back in, sat for a few minutes and she just wasn't having it. So I took her and Ben finished his dinner. Outside, she was happy as a clam, talking, smiling and resting her head on my shoulder. I think she just got a little overwhelmed.

This was a good outing for us because although it did not go perfectly {which, let's be honest here, what ever will in our lives now that we have a baby in tow?!} it went. I did not feel embarrassed that Eleanor was crying. I didn't feel anxious. I wasn't "angry" that I was "missing out" on dinner or visiting with friends. We just dealt with the situation. It may not be what works next time in the same instance but at that moment, that was what was working so that's what we did. I felt good driving home {even though she cried in the car} and felt just a little more confident about being a mommy.

Last week, for some reason, felt a little bit long by Friday morning. Eleanor and I had been home all week and even with a few visitors were feeling a little cooped up.  I had been looking on Old Navy's website and had seen a few cute baby clothes. So, instead of ordering them online {you know, like a true hermit would do...which I am totally not...}, I decided E and I could make the 20 minute drive to our nearest Old Navy. When I pulled up to the mall, she was still awake so I puller her out of her carseat, slipped her into the Ergo and went on our merry way. We wandered around the store, E was content and I felt good. She was close to falling asleep when we left the store so she fell asleep once we got in the car. My first solo shopping trip with my daughter. I think that's a milestone in any mom's book!

I know, some may look at me and think I am weird. Or a scaredy-cat or whatever other words you can use to describe a first-time mom who is hesitant to do a lot of things but I feel as if I am doing what works for us.  And, although it probably sounds silly to some, every little milestone we hit, makes me feel good. And like a mom.