Grocery shopping with a baby: an adventure in itself
Full of courage, I park the car in front of the supermarket. My mission? A quick grocery run. My opponent? My six-month-old baby, who has just woken up and clearly doesn’t feel like it. As I lift him out of his car seat, he struggles like a little ninja, but eventually he ends up in the stroller. “We’ll make a fun outing of it,” I tell myself, although I can already feel the first drops of sweat forming.
Inside the store, things start off smoothly. I grab some vegetables and milk, while my baby stares in fascination at the fluorescent lights above us. But then comes the turning point: he has decided he’s had enough. First he starts fidgeting, then the dramatic sighs come, and within seconds he is in full-blown protest. People look up. An older lady smiles understandingly, a younger woman looks slightly panicked as if she fears for her own future.
I try to distract him with my keys, my phone, and eventually a pack of cookies that I hadn’t even wanted to buy. Success! For a while. Just long enough to get half of my groceries. But then I discover my biggest mistake: I forgot the pacifier. Panic. The baby, aware of my weak spot, starts to protest louder and throws the pack of cookies firmly on the floor. I hesitate: do I give up and go home with half a cart of groceries, or do I go all in?
I choose the latter option and rush to the cash register, rocking the baby as if I were at a festival. When I pay, he suddenly smiles broadly at the cashier, as if he has forgotten the whole drama for a moment. “Such a cute baby!” she calls out cheerfully. I nod, silently about the mini-breakdown from five minutes ago. With a half-empty shopping bag, a slightly clammy back and a baby who is now suddenly calm, I walk outside.
As I put him back in his car seat, I sigh deeply and laugh at myself. “Next time I’ll bring a baby carrier AND a pacifier,” I say out loud. But we all know how that goes… next time will be just as much of an adventure.
Luckily, I know better now: being well prepared is half the battle. A pacifier, a handy baby carrier and those indispensable must-haves for on the road? I already score them at BabyEmpire – for the next mission in the supermarket.