7:15 am – Me: Looking at clock, looking at sleeping, peaceful baby, looking at clock, feeling sleepy, no – shake it off, look at clock, look at baby. I get up.

At this point, I had already been up early with Baby Lo, changed her, fed her and rocked her back to sleep. I contemplated, “Do I go to sleep to or take advantage of the time?” Time won over sleep. I took a 15-minute glorious shower, tippy-toed through my bedroom to get dressed (Baby Lo was morning cat-napping on my bed) – I even caught myself sighing at myself for being too loud, something I usually reserve for Nathan. I quickly, and I mean quickly got ready for the day.  In those tense moments I realized something…  this is her world and I am just living in it.

Yep! That is it. Having a baby demoted my status in the chain of command around this here house. Fellow parenting friends, lend me your ear, and just think about it for a moment. But, hurry as you read… you never know when the Boss may need you.

1. Strict Hours – Early starting hours and late evenings. Bedtime… we can’t push it. If we do, we pay for it with a cranky, crying meltdown. The Boss has strict orders. She knows her limits and we have learned from our mistakes.
2. Time is of the Essence – She does not mess around. Time Management is key to our success as a family. I wish there was a camera on Nathan and me as we get ready to go somewhere. She sits in her car seat, eyes moving back and forth watching us as we scramble – “Bottle? Pacifier? Change of clothes? Wipes? Extra blanket?” Once we decided to stop and have a drink by the water cooler (aka – in the kitchen) and when we made eye contact with her… it was the end of that!
3. Expects Us to Read her Mind – Man, I wish I had an HR to report to on this one. She is a lady of very few words. Very few. I stare at her sometimes and think, “What do you want?” Every now and then she smiles, giggles and then just loses it with a scream. I grab a bottle, a pacifier, do a little bounce dance until finally the right solution does the trick.
4. Demanding – She knows what she likes and the way she likes it. Swaddle – Heck no! Oh, you just sat down for dinner – Yeah, I smelled it cooking, I think I want held now. It’s Monday – let’s sleep in! Oh, wait, it is Saturday – yeah I am feeling this 5 am hour thing. We learned it is best for us all to go with the flow.
5. High Standards – Guilt. When I get home late from my day job, I feel guilty. If I need a babysitter for a few hour on the weekend, I feel guilty. If she falls asleep earlier than usually (rough day in the office) and I don’t feel I have spent enough time with her, I feel guilty. When Nathan rocks her to sleep over me, I feel guilty. Her high standards are reflective in the kind of Mom I am. It is a terrible thing. I hear it does get better.

The good totally outweighs any bad, my little Boss displays. She is lax in the dress code department. No such thing as “dress down Friday,” she is cool with whatever I have on and never judges, she shows compassion, she listens, she acknowledges our work with the best smiles and giggles, she generates a real happiness in our workplace, I mean home and she pushes us to be our best. The best we can be is because of that little lady.

Oh, and deadlines… I will take the late shift, Boss. You just rest your little head.

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* I must begin this post with explaining the word “Market.” In my neck of the woods, we refer to a Grocery Store as a Market and we refer to a large grocery purchase as a “Market Order.” I work in the next state over from where I call home and I will never forget the looks on my co-worker’s faces as I casually stated, “Yeah, this weekend I made it to the Market. I had to get a huge Market Order so I am packing a good lunch today, girls.” Everyone stared at me like I was talking in a new language. Later I learned no one had any clue what a “Market” was nor a “Market Order” and had visions of me shopping at a Farmer’s Market style venue where I sent in a pre-order and picked it up. My one co-worker said, “I envisioned you in a farm field with rows upon rows of produce in crates.” Ahhhh, I wish. So, now that I set the vocabulary for my post, let’s dive in.

Yesterday I accomplished a feat.  It was such an accomplishment that my exhausted mind and body are just now sitting down to write this post. What major event do you have to announce, you ask? Well, Baby Lo and I successful went to the Market.

You see up until this point, I have solely relied upon my husband for the market runs. While I was on Maternity Leave he would call before leaving the office and stop to get anything I may need which usually consisted of coffee (I was sleep deprived), water (I was always thirsty) and Oreo’s (my sweet tooth from pregnancy never disappeared).

Twice, just twice can I recollect taking the baby to the market in the last 12 weeks. Both times have been for essentials and no more than the Express Lane limit. In and out was my motto! Once, I attempted to take her for an order. I was getting her out of her car seat to transfer her to the Baby K’Tan and after realizing she had a dirty diaper and changing her on a slant in the backseat of the car, I was so tired and she was so cranky, that I packed her back up in the car seat and came home. We ordered take-out that night.

Let me tell you… I felt like the Little Engine that could. “I think I can, I think I can.” She just successfully downed a bottle, had a nice clean diaper and was in a snugly sleep as we walked into this new found land. By the way these three essentials are key. I had nightmares of having to breastfeed by the Frito Lays, so high fives for a full belly.

I sat baby Lo, who slept peacefully, car seat and all into the back of the buggy (Yep, shopping cart. You are learning quick, young grasshopper) and headed straight for produce. Have you ever grocery shopped with an infant that cannot yet sit upright in the buggy? Ummmm… newsflash, there is LIMITED room in the cart once baby and car seat are set down.  So, to say I had to get crafty and creative with my groceries is an understatement.  I somehow managed to fit all my produce and some additional items in the child seat portion of the buggy. I actually got excited over how I organized and utilized the minimum space I had. I know… I am weird.

Shopping with a baby has its major perks. Fear of a mid-shopping session meltdown and the lack of cart space had me on a mission and seconding the need for every purchase. No, more crazy thoughts like,  “I think I will make homemade granola this week!” Followed by parking my buggy in aisle 5 as I search Pinterest for a recipe.

I did however stop with baby to gawk at our Market’s amazing selection of Izze’s. Thank you for NOW deciding to carry more of a variety. I only lived off these when I was pregnant with Lo. FYI – Pregnant friends, these are amazing! Also, if you find yourself say at the beach pregnant or hanging out with non-pregnant, drinking friends… these are your lifesaver. Promise!

If that is not enough to make you giddy, going to the market with a baby means extra hands and help from the people around you. I would have never described fellow grocery shoppers up until this point as kind and patient. Let’s just say if I was Nora in Christmas with the Kranks, people would have been paying me to take the last of the Honey Ham.

At one point I launched the buggy into the middle of the aisle as I scanned the shelf for canned corn. I know, daring. I actually heard the woman sigh very loudly as if saying to me, “Okay, move! You are blocking the whole aisle.” Once she saw I had a baby in the buggy, she actually apologized and explained how she, “remembered those days.”

Finally as my journey came to an end, reality set in about the same moment I was searching through the diaper bag for my coupons and money.  While the baby fit so well in her car seat surrounded by the many items I was purchasing, how would she and the bulky disposable bags co-exist together in the buggy until I was able to unload. Let me tell you, I broke out into a cold sweat. And, so did other shoppers as people watched me unload the car seat, load the bulky bags that now took up all the buggy space and teeter the car seat on the rim of the buggy. (Don’t freak out! Apparently this is how I should have shopped with the car seat all a long.)

Walking out of the market, I just wanted to get home. Baby Lo was amazing but my constant worrying left me mentally exhausted. The funny thing is after I finally got everything unloaded and put away at home it dawned on me… I picked up nothing for dinner for that evening!! Seriously? How does this happen.

After rocking the baby to sleep, my husband and I kicked our legs up and dived into a hot dog. Guess what? I have always loved hot dogs, so life is good!