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It can be tempting to order takeout every day, stay in your robe, and relax in front of a wall-mounted bio ethanol fireplace you picked up from an online store like EthanolFireplacePros.com, but at some point you are going to have to leave the house. The thought of packing everything you need and loading your baby in and out of the car just to go to the grocery store may make you cringe now, but the more you do it, the easier it will become. Here are a few tips that will come in handy to get you started, but you will find that you will likely develop a system of your own fairly quickly.
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Make a List – When you are out and about it is easy to forget what you even went to the store for. Know where you are going and why you are going there. You should have your route planned, as well. Run errands in high traffic areas mid-morning or mid-afternoon to avoid rush hour traffic jams. You definitely to not want to drive back and forth across town either.
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Make the Most of Naptime – You may be thinking you will wait to go grocery shopping until after your child’s nap. After all, you don’t want to screw up their sleeping schedule. However, if you take the long way to the store just before naptime then you can take him in the store in his infant seat, and get done shopping before he wakes up. The goal is to keep the cart moving, even if it means pushing it back and forth gently while you stand there reading a nutrition label.
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Don’t be Scared of the Mall – You are probably terrified at the thought of dealing with all those people while maneuvering a stroller, but malls are super baby-friendly and your one-stop-shop for nearly everything. Elevators, escalators, and changing tables are in abundance. You can even meet a friend for a coffee. If you have to nurse, head to a dressing room in a department store. They have huge rooms, and there is rarely anyone working in them, hence the pile of clothes you may have to sit on.
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Don’t Leave Home without Essentials – It can be tempting to head out the door without a diaper bag or anything your baby may need, if you are just stopping at the bank or pharmacy. Don’t do it! This will be the day you get a flat tire, your car overheats, or some other time-consuming random event takes place. Always carry everything you may need for a six to eight-hour trip, even if you only plan on being gone 30 seconds.
I never had any trouble getting out of the house with a newborn. One thing I wish that I would have put on my baby registry was a Moby Wrap so that I could baby wear.