Getting Out of the House

No, this post is not about cabin fever. It's not about having the courage to face the world with a newborn or with a sleep-deprived appearance. It's merely about the difficulty of just trying to leave the house when you have a baby. Anyone agree? I mean, if I'm going to go somewhere at all, it better be for a darn good reason just because it takes so much time and planning to even get out the door. Here's why:

-Packing a diaper bag takes a lot of thought. Here's my typical thought-process when trying to leave the house: I have to know exactly how long I'll be gone so that I know how many diapers to bring and how much formula to bring (and the special formula that Banner is on right now is currently only sold in the ready-made version, so it has to stay cold once in the bottle). How will I keep that formula cold, especially if I'll be gone for more than one feeding? Will we be back in time for Banner to take his reflux medicine, or should I take it with us? Do I have a blanket? Enough burp rags for my reflux-y baby? Do I have a change (or two) of clothes for him when he spits up or poops all over? Do I have a change of clothes for when he pukes on me? Do I have enough wipes, and are they wet enough still - or did they dry up in my travel case? Do I have at least one toy that I can use to entertain him? Where's his pacifier? What else am I forgetting? Now, where's the infant seat? Okay, ready to go! Oh, wait, I forgot a bib (or two!). Oh, and the camera, because I don't want to miss any great memories. Oh, and my purse (or wallet and phone if I can make do with just those two things on me)! Wait, did Sam put the stroller back in the car after our walk last night?

-Trying to get myself ready also requires a lot of planning. If I can manage to jump in the shower for a quick cleansing, I need to do that when Baby's content, well-fed, or sleeping. When that might actually happen while he's this young and without a predictable schedule - who knows? Suppose I get the pleasure of rinsing my body, the next step is to get dressed quickly. Trying to figure out what actually fits my postpartum body in a somewhat comfortable way is tricky. I better have made that decision the night before, or I'll never get dressed before he wakes up/cries/needs a diaper change/etc. Next, apply make-up. Almost every time I've tried to wear make-up before leaving the house, Banner has disturbed the process. And, you should know, I don't wear a lot of make-up - it's a fairly quick process compared to most people. I don't do the eye shadow or the lipstick. I skip the blush most of the time, so all we're talking about is some base, a little powder, eyeliner, and mascara. I typically get one eye mascara-ed and then have to go tend to Banner. I'm sure I'll leave the house one day without remembering to finish the other eye. Finally, I gotta do something with this hair of mine. I know I could wear it curly, and that would be much easier - but I like it straight - so I have to re-straighten it before I leave the house or it's all over the place trying to undo the straightness and go curly on me. (Oh, and that reminds me - I better make sure to take a hair clip so when I feed Banner and he spits up on me, it won't be in my hair!) Finding the brief opportunities to get all of these things done can make me crazy! I'll run to my bathroom to do one part of this process and then have to run to put the paci back in his mouth, go feed him, calm him down, entertain him, clean up his spit-up, change his diaper, or any other child-care task you can think of! I'm SO worried about going to back to work - I will be a complete mess!

-Getting the baby ready to leave the house also requires thought and planning. Let's just assume that he's not sleeping when we need to leave (which begs the obvious question - is the outing we're going on worth me having to wake him?). What should he wear? Does that still fit him? Is he done pooping yet, or should I wait another minute? Will he be too hot in this? Well, crap, nevermind, he just spit up on this outfit, so I gotta pick another outfit anyway!

-And, most minor at this point, are the thoughts of maintaining my home while gone. Did I set the alarm? Are the lights turned off? Did I put the garage door down? Is the TV off? Did I lock the front door?

So many things to think about just to get in the car and go somewhere! I'm hoping it will get easier as Banner gets on a more somewhat-predictable schedule, as I learn to do things much more quickly than I'm accustomed to (or at least start getting used to the idea of looking more and more like crap when I am in public), and as his reflux gets slightly better (so I don't have to pack special formula or pack a gazillion burp rags, bibs, and extra clothes). I'm proud of myself for getting out of the house as much as I did in the early days and as much as I still try to do. Whether it's been for a doctor's appointment, a play date with another new baby/mom, to run some quick errands, or to visit friends and family, we've been busy out of the house! As much effort as it takes to leave the house, it's important (in my opinion) to maintain a life outside of my home and to try to look like I belong to the human race. Every evening I try to "reset" and get prepared for the following outing, but inevitably, I still have to go through this thought-process on a daily basis. I tell you what. . . it may be more tiring than the midnight feedings!