The napkins are now part of a party themed aisle in the grocery, which is stocked full of junk that children like, at child level.  No, we really don’t need the Little Mermaid paper plates.  So annoying!  Previously, I could just not walk into the party supplies aisle.  (Sure there would still be some junk.) But now, if I want napkins, any type of napkin, I must travel to the very end of the store, to get them.  And the amount of toys and junk food interspersed with actual food and general household items is epic.  This is exceptionally annoying when I shop with my six year old.  But I still hate it when I’m shopping with the baby, who doesn’t beg for syrup, now located next to the bananas, to put on the bananas.  Because this arrangement makes the grocery shopping take twice as long.  She will at some point have a meltdown.  And I may leave the store with only half the items on the list – stuff we actually need.

Subsequently, in addition to diapers, which I began ordering because the chlorine-free are difficult to find, I have now purchased bizarre amounts of toilet paper, paper towels, and even coffee.  I think a case of toilet paper would generally be a purchase made by an office manager, not mom.  But c’est la vie, now I have a whole package in each bathroom and one in the basement on a shelf until it is needed.  Occasionally, this is not cost effective.  But usually it is.

Five Pound Bag of Coffee (camera for scale)

I have most recently been ordering through diapers.com and amazon.com, through their Amazon Mom program, that a friend recommended.  Years ago I used netgrocer.  And my all time favorite was the Webvan delivery service.  I was so sad when they went out of business.  When they folded, I had a bin that I hadn’t yet returned, sitting in my garage.  Now it’s a toy box.

All that said, I shopped with the girls today and their behavior was exemplary.  It was as though the planets had aligned.  I didn’t even bribe DD6 before we left.

Related posts:

• Sensory Overload in the Grocery Store
• Hear No Evil

• I prefer a baby carrier to a stroller.
• My baby sleeps near me.
• I breastfeed.
• And I’m not a fan at all of crying it out.

I say indulge, rather than believe in, because I don’t usually consider these practices chores, but things that allow me to enjoy being with my child.  I’m also practical and think you can go too far.  Carrying poop around, in my opinion is going too far.  But I know people do it.  I don’t.  If we’re going to the park, or otherwise leaving the house, DD-1 wears disposable diapers.

Using cloth diapers doesn’t enter into the definition of attachment parenting.  But it seems that a lot of people who believe in attachment parenting also use cloth diapers.  So I put the practices together in my head.

Carrying your baby when your back aches is also going too far.

I have three different baby carriers, the Baby Bjorn, a Maya Wrap and a pouch sling.  I made the Maya Wrap and pouch slings.  I like each of them for different things.  I find the Baby Bjorn the most secure and best for housework, or anytime I really need both hands to be free.  The Maya Wrap can be adjusted for nursing.  So I usually wear DD-1 in it whenever we’re out in public, in case she is hungry.  And the pouch sling is the quickest, most low maintenance way to just put the baby on and go.  I don’t have to mess around and adjust it every time.

I’m always surprised when people don’t find baby wearing convenient.  Because it is convenient to me.  But I can see the deterrents.  In the Summer it is very hot and sweaty.  It wrinkles up your clothes.  And sometimes you just don’t want your child right in front of you – you can’t reach things.  And when you can reach things your little one can reach them too.  Still, I find it much easier to carry babies around rather than having to pick them up every time they fuss.

And since DD-1 has reflux, she needs to be upright.  And the motion of walking around soothes her.

In our room we have both a bassinet and a nest.  I think it has some other proper name.  But it’s a little frame with a firm mattress that we place on the bed.  It protects DD-1 from pillows and keeps her near us.  The bassinet has been through several family babies.  We had it second, for DD5, passed it along, and now have it back again.  Somewhere along the way the awning got lost.

I had a Snuggle Nest for DD5, and gave it away.  It did not come back.  But MIL got us another one as a gift when we camped out with her during the flood repair.  I feel quite privileged to have them both.  I could definitely live with one or the other.  But we use them both daily.  The unfortunate thing about both of them is that you’re supposed to stop using them as soon as your child can roll over.

Breastfeeding can be very funny, if it must be done in public.  I cover both of us up with the Maya Wrap.  But inevitably some unsuspecting male happens to realize what is going on and looks totally startled.  This has happened to us every time we go to a particular grocery store.  For whatever reason, DD-1 is always hungry in there.  One day two old men rushed up to admire her, then realized she was nursing.  I thought one of them was having a heart-attack, he looked so surprised and clutched his chest.  Last week, a young guy was walking past in the checkout-line and glanced down.  He turned his head away, then ran into the magazine rack.

I would prefer to feed DD-1 at home.  But her hunger is not on a schedule.  I think the location startles people too.  Probably one would think of a mother nursing a baby on a bench somewhere, rather than standing in the frozen foods aisle.

Related posts:

• Ring Sling Nursing

I call it sensory overload. Then when I looked up sensory overload today, the wiki article referred to autism, which I do not have. I admit, I can be antisocial at times. But that is not the same thing.

DH gets very annoyed with me. I often go to the grocery, but come back with exactly what is on the list and nothing more. Or I return with only some of the items on the list because I get part way through the store and feel like I’m suffocating. So I go to the front and check out with whatever is in my buggy at that point.

When I get home with half the groceries; I am just glad to be home and not in the grocery store. DH wants to know, where is the vanilla coke?

Related posts:

• Publix Weekly Ad and No More Brownie Mix
• Learning to Knit