Spud in Public

In the past few days we've made some tentative attempts to bring Spud out into the world of other humans. Not really to see how he perfoms around strangers or in a strange environment, because I honestly don't think he knows where he is or who is around. Mostly it was to see how WE would perform with the diaper bag and baby wipes and stroller and car seat, and in an attempt to see if some of our pre-natal activities would work post-natally. After his last pediatrician visit on Tuesday (he's 9 lbs 11 oz. and 22.5 inches now), we took him into Starbucks for a while in the carseat. He did fine, and was a big hit with the baristas. On Thursday, we went up to the mall. In the parking lot, we debated the use of the stroller vs. the sling, and ultimately went with the sling. I lugged him around the entire mall for about 2.5 hours and he slept almost the whole time. No worries. We gave him a bottle when he woke up, then slapped in the pacifier after he finished the bottle. He did great! On Saturday we went to dinner with some friends. We sat at an outside table, near the exit in case of a meltdown. Claire and I have for a long time been one of those childless couples that gives nasty looks to parents with screaming children in restaurants, and now the fuzzy booty is on the other foot. So we will try not to destroy the romatic evening of the other diners whenever possible. Again, Spud did just fine, placidly chugging his bottle while we ate dinner.

He still won't sleep in the crib for long. We are using it to hang laundry. Notice that there are not one but TWO mobiles in there (one from Joe and Valerie, and one from Megan and Bryan; thanks!), in a futile attempt to placate him and prevent him from shrieking two seconds after being abandoned in the crib. No dice.



He does like the swing that our friends Richard and Lynn gave us (thanks!), and a bouncy seat that our friend Anne gave us (seen in the previous post).



(In case you were wondering, the other booty was found some 30 feet away in the hall.) So sitting up alone is ok, buy lying down alone, not so much.