by Luchando_x_seguir_en_su_gloria@xanga
OK, so recently I made one of those "oh no" mama errors. I was in a hurry, running late as usual. I had my 5 bags in tow and the little one to boot. The diaper bag, my purse, my book bag, my lunch bag, and a plastic bag for the container that didn't fit with my lunch bag -- those were all on my right side. On the left, my daughter was on my hip with my keys to lock up... and my water bottle... and her paci hanging from my mouth. I looked so cute... I am sure of it. This is my everyday routine.
That morning she woke up earlier than usual. I should have known then that my day was going to go awry. She usually wakes up around 4-5am, I feed her a bottle, and she plays a little bit (sometimes not at all) and knocks out again. I too knock out. My DH wakes up at around 5:30 and starts to slowly get ready for work. He has to leave at 6:30. So missy is up around 6, trying hard not to wake up (because she is just like mommy and likes to stay in bed). Sometimes I look at her and wonder if she is not a smaller version of me. She moans and tosses and turns as if she needs another hour of sleep... I wonder where she gets that from.
With her being up so early, it is harder on me when it is time to wake up. Being only 7 months old, she moves around A LOT and has fallen a couple of times from the bed. That day was no exception, but I will get to that part later. When she wakes up earlier than 7am, which is usually about the time I get out of bed, (probably one of the key factors in my tardiness, yet somehow I make it to work on time... go figure), it makes it harder for me to take my shower without worrying if she will fall off the bed. I am near-sighted and it is hard for me to see what she's doing out of the shower. I can see her movement, but that is all. I usually give her a toy -- her favorite bear my sister gave her -- and she is entertained, and I quickly take my shower. By that time I am able to watch her up close while I get ready for work, but this is still a feat in itself. I have to get ready and make sure she stays in the middle of the bed. Well, as of lately, I haven't had to do much of this since she is still asleep.... miraculously it seems. I have been quietly going to the closet, getting my clothes out, and quietly closing the bathroom door to not wake her with the shower noise. I get out and she is fast asleep! SUCCESS! I finish getting ready, and as I am doing that, I usually get her things together as well.
But that day was different. It was the not so usual, and I groaned as I found her fully awake at 6:25am. Her daddy was still home, about to walk out the door, and I sluggishly got up to lock it behind him and kiss him goodbye. I am usually half-asleep, but this is part of my routine. Normally I go back to sleep for another 20 minutes, sometimes I manage to really doze off and I am in more of a jam. However, this time I did not get my much needed 20 extra minutes of sleep. I was up! So I gave her the teddy, her paci and she was being entertained, for a moment or two at least. While I kept putting her back in the middle of the bed, I managed to get my wardrobe together. This time I put her in her crib with her toys and a bottle. She was content! Then I hopped into the shower and listened in on her through the baby monitor. I got out of the shower, but by then she was crying, and took her out of her crib onto our bed again. I did my usual -- lotioned up, got dressed, put my jewelry on, then I got her ready. Diaper change, wardrobe change, hair done...and look at the time! It's already 7:30! I should be walking out the door. Oh but wait...my lunch! Nothing is ready! I manage to quickly mess with my hair and make it look nice, put my shoes on, go to the kitchen and WHAM... this is where she falls. I had checked on her to make sure she was not at the edge and she wasn't, but this one moves fast! I quickly pick her up... my lunch is made so I pick that up as well as I soothe her. I give her a gerber puff, sweet talk her and kiss her boo boo. She calms down and whimpers. I feel awful of course!
But I still am there calming her down and picking up all my bags and her in tow. By now it is 2 minutes to 7:40. I am really behind now! But my daughter is whimpering. I continue soothing her and by now I have made sure she has her diapers, wipes, and baby food in her bag. Yet I have this sinking feeling I am forgetting something as I am walking out the door. No, I put her baby food in... no, she has everything. I shake it off and continue to soothe her, wondering why I have this feeling I am forgetting something.
Well, I drop her off at the sitter, inform her that she fell so she can watch out for any signs of needing medical attention, but she looks okay and as always greets the sitter with her silly little grin. Seems the pain is gone. So I leave and I am late 5 minutes to work. A few minutes later my cell phone rings. Low and behold, it is my sitter, telling me she doesn't have any formula for my daughter. I forgot to put it in! There isn't even an extra amount in the extra container! The most embarrassing part is telling my supervisor that I have to leave to go take formula to my daughter because I forgot it! So instead of going home and picking up her formula, I head to the store and buy a jumbo can and take it to her sitter, and then make my way back to work... in all of 20 minutes. How I managed to do that, I do not know. But I just felt like the most awful mother in the world... how could I forget to put in her formula!? It's like forgetting to feed your child! How could anyone do that!? ME! I felt awful! This is why I must begin waking up earlier and getting her bag ready at night consistently and not when I am not that tired. Oh well... a lesson is learned. Keep the little one in the crib and get her bag ready EVERY night.
Have you ever forgotten something important for your kids in a rush to leave home? How do you keep it from happening again?
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Comments (16)
There was one time when my son was about 2 1/2 months old when I completely forgot his diaper bag as we were late for family pictures. Bottle, diapers, formula, binkie and all left at my house and I didnt realize it was left until I got to the mall and it wasnt in the car. I felt like such an idiot for forgetting something that important when leaving the house! So I know how you're feeling, even now if we have to go anywhere I pack his bag at night so that extra clothes and sippy now is not forgotten.
I used to keep a little bag of esssentials in the main bag... right down to formula and a bottle of water because there were days... lol.
Sounds liek you need to get everything ready the night before and why not put a pack-n-play up in your room for her to play in while you are in the shower? That way you KNOW exactly where she is. I use powdered formula so I ALWAYS kept a spare diaper bag in the trunk, every so often I would just check it to make sure the clothes still fit and things like that.
Usually we have a stash of extra diapers at church (M is the only baby there), but on this day there was no more. And to top it off, I hadn't put any in the diaper bag because we usually head straight home from church, so there was no need. We scronge around and finally found some big diapers from the 80s I think. They were terrible, but we needed something. I felt so bad on the ride home. It's only 15 minutes, but still.
Look at what I forgot for myself once...
http://weblog.momaroo.com/mamajoyjoy/667200246/mommy-brain.html
Oy diapers or diaper wipes are biggies for me. I ALWAYS forget to check if there are extras in the diaper bag. SO embarrassing!
I know the feeling all too well. I managed to pack more than enough bags of breast milk, but forgot to pack a bottle. Needless to say, she's had an extra bottle over there ever since!
@Gunnermom@xanga - I do the same (spare diaper bag), a lesson learned after a poopy diaper when we swapped the baby when he was heading to work and I was going to parade her around the job. That sure cut her visit short lol.
I have forgotten formula and/or bottles before. As busy as a mother is, I can't think of a single one that has NOT done it!
The worst is forgetting bottles, since that's kinda inconvenient to pick up from the store, since you have to wash them before using them. Sucks if you're on the road. I did that once, and had to go buy some from the store, then just rinse them with water since I was nowhere near a sink with dish soap. Formula, you can just buy from any store. You are not a bad mother for forgetting stuff. With all we have to remember (and do throughout the course of the day), it's a miracle if we remember to brush our teeth.
For my oldest daughter's first prof pix, I brought a diaper and wipes. No change of clothes. Guess what happened? Yep. She had a major diaper blow out. So, many of her pix were just her in a diaper. That was in February--thank God I packed two flannel blankets to keep her warm!
I am always forgetting something (I have 4 kids, enough said) So I have gotten to the point where I leave a small bag of diapers, sm container of formula, change of clothes, extra bottle, and paci in my suburban. It is the only way I can keep up with stuff. I have just given up on the diaper bag, for some reason I can't remember to keep it stocked. Heaven help me if we aren't in our own vehicle.
I always pack things the night before so in the morning when I am rushing around I only have to put the non-essential things in there. I always had extra breastmilk stored at my mom's so I didn't have to worry about if I forgot to pack it. She always had extra clothes, bibs, diapers etc.
I ran out of baby wipes, and took my travel container out so I would remember to refill it, and I left the house without doing so. I ended up stopping at Walgreens to get cheap small pack to last, and reminded myself to fill it when I got home. I forgot the next day when I went to my doctor's appointment. My son decided to poop a nice nasty one in there. Before I headed up to the hospital to see my grandmother post-surgery, I ran home, my little one screaming because he didn't like this poopy diaper on him anymore. Poor little guy.
From now on, I double check the diaper bag before I get him in the carseat and my stuff ready. If I check it after I snap him in, I get in a rush and leave without some necessities.
I guess that's another reason why I'm glad I breastfed my daughter.
@Baby_Storie@xanga - I used to breastfeed as well... but my supply got low and then I could no longer get anything out. I would have preferred breastfeeding a million times over for the whole 12 month span, but it didn't quite work out that way! Such is life! It sure would have saved us a lot of money!
@Erika_Steele@xanga - I am on top of things now... I even have extra stuff in her bag and I make sure to pack her bag the night before. I also upgraded her bag to a bigger one!