Trained

One of the freedoms I was most reluctant about relinquishing when I got pregnant was my ability to go shopping on a whim and stay for as many uninterrupted hours as I wanted. It had previously been my much needed "me time." I think it's fair to say that I at least tried to fully realize how much that aspect of my life would change. I distinctly remember going shopping for 6 hours straight when I was about 7 months pregnant, just because I could. Also, I went to the mall after almost every OB appointment and would sometimes just sit and watch the other moms pushing their strollers or feeding their kids Chick Fil-A trying to imagine myself with this additional responsibility.

The first few months of Z's life were shaky at best in terms of outings. Also fresh in my memory was a particular outing to Brookwood mall that ended abruptly when Z "expressed" his strong desire to leave. I bailed, before seeing the first pair of shoes.

I couldn't let that stop me forever. So I decide to attack it methodically. I began to slowly reintroduce him to what had previously been my second home. First, I tried wearing him in the sling. I usually had to vigorously walk for a while first to get him to fall asleep, but once asleep, I was free to do as I wished. Of course, this seriously inhibited my ability to try anything on, eat, or really stop walking for more than just a couple of seconds, and I had to be ready at any time to bail if he woke up or got hungry, but I was at the mall, and to me that was enough. Then, he began to warm up to the idea of being in the stroller. With that, we started going for 30 minutes or an hour at a time, and he actually began appreciating all of the sights and sounds. Before long, we were consistently enjoying our shopping time, me browsing, him riding in his stroller. He's never been too fond of the dressing room, so I still wasn't able to try anything on or buy much, but it was beginning to regain the joy that it had previously had for me.

These days, not only do we go, but we try on, and we buy (only occasionally). People even stop us and comment on how good he is. To which, I usually respond, "He's been trained (and believe me, it wasn't easy)."

How far we have come...