Hello, Cruel World

Aside from the hospital, Evelyn had never been outside the comfort of home- the place that holds her precious swing, clean clothes, and patient mommy. But the last couple days called for adventure, and so we left the house equipped with a carefully-prepared diaper bag and a prayer.

Little Evie had her first doctor's appointment at 10 on Saturday morning. We woke up at 8:30, which gave me just enough time to feed her, change her, put her in an outfit, throw myself together and still be 15 minutes late.

Getting a newborn ready to leave the house is like rallying a small army. You have to check, double-check and triple-check the diaper bag to make sure you didn't forget anything. You have to feed the baby right before you leave the house so she doesn't get hungry in the car. Finally, you have to strap the baby in the car seat, a task comparable to buckling a mouse into a bicycle helmet.

We made it to the doctor and back in one piece. She didn't cry in the car one bit, just a few shrieks when the doc pried her little eyelids open to check her peepers. Naturally, I felt like I had climbed the highest mountain when I made it back home with a happy baby all by myself. Next it was time for a couple errands.

Mom needs new furniture, so she, Evelyn and I visited a local furniture store to check out some pieces. The baby didn't even open her eyes the whole time. The only attention we got was from one particularly enthused woman who felt the need to glance beneath the baby in my arms at my shrunken belly and remark on how small it is. Um, thank you?

Next we made a quick stop at Target for some essentials. I can't lie, I was excited for Evelyn to see what I believe is the second happiest place on Earth, right after the buffet at Gattiland. We put her whole car seat in the cart and made our way inside. All seemed well until a rather elderly woman decided to ram our cart while we were standing three feet away. I gasped in shock while Mom darted to the cart. "Was there somebody in there?" the old woman asked in her witchy voice.

"Uh, yeah. An infant," Mom replied. The old lady didn't apologize or express one iota of remorse. Personally, I would have been mortified if I bumped into a cart with a baby in it. Not this woman. Though, I have to speculate that she wasn't all the way there because she proceeded to bang her cart into several other fixtures before she left my field of vision. From there, things got interesting.

By the time we made it to the medicine aisles to find the Vitamin D drops recommended by the doctor, Evie was not a happy camper. The jolt in the cart woke her up, so we made a mad dash for the corner of the store for a personal moment. Mom held up a blanket to cover me while I started nursing the baby. From there, we perused the food aisles with a carefully-shrouded baby attached to me. All in all, it was a productive visit to the store, albeit unpredictable.

Yesterday, Evie and I went to visit my dad's house. I'm thrilled to report that my little girl is an ideal car companion. She doesn't cry or fuss, but she does squeak every now and then to let me know she's alive, which is quite comforting when I can't see her.

I know these are just the first of many out-of-the-house trips to come. I've been itching for some "Smurf" ice cream from the Pie and Ice Cream kitchen up the road, so that may be an upcoming trip. Regardless, I know most of my rides in the car from now on won't be solo, and that's just fine with me.