February 12, a Tuesday afternoon, came quickly and in a cloud of anxiety. Anxiety because I was solo parenting a dual pediatrician visit. The appointments put me on edge because Quinten likes to eat every two hours during the day. I was semi-nervous about nursing in public when I wouldn’t know our exact schedule or be 100% accessible to Maximus should he decide to wander, or whine.
I mentally prepared and went back-and-forth trying to decide if I wanted a stroller for Maximus. Reminding myself to put my wallet in my purse so I could only take the diaper bag. Planning the snacks and activities to entertain him.
What I didn’t think about was juggling TWO BABIES in the small exam room. I wore Quinten and he slept until I took him out to undress him. I also didn’t think about Maximus wanting to bail. They were running late so we played in the waiting room for forty minutes. As soon as they called his name, he was ready to leave. He asked to go bye-bye. I awkwardly picked him up and carried him and the diaper bag. {Why is it that when someone is leading you things are very awkward?}
I coaxed Maximus onto the scale while he was shooting daggers at the nurse. Our appointments were forty minutes apart but I think they called someone else back before us so we could do both at the same time. Maybe? I didn’t ask!
When the nurse left me alone with two naked babies on my lap, I had a little bit of panic. HOW WAS I GOING TO HANDLE MAXIMUS?! In my head I was wearing Quinten during Maximus’ appointment. Not juggling two babies at once! Thankfully this wasn’t the first dual appointment for them. The nurse came back in to hold Quinten while I tried to keep Maximus calm. Whew! That was a huge stress reliever!
It was a nerve-wracking day, but we survived and it gave me the confidence to do a couple solo grocery store runs and other activities.
What things do you do to make it a successful outing with babies and toddlers?
