Our baby

What started as a normal Monday grocery shopping pit stop, ended with one of my most desperate mom moments in a couple of months. But thankfully, it was a moment that I was able to laugh at as soon as I left the grocery store. Kylie and Kasey both had the day off as it was Martin Luther King day. That meant that all three girls joined me for shopping.

Everything started very normal...a stop at the bakery for free kids cookies, Kylie and Kasey trailing happily behind me and Kelly beeping the horn in the front car attachment of the cart. I was doing my shopping in relative peace and quiet. Halfway through the store, Kelly lost it...big time. She started having a complete fit. Screaming, kicking, bucking, screaming, kicking and bucking some more. She was starting to draw many, many stares from fellow shoppers and was showing no signs of stopping no matter what I was saying or doing. By this time I had her strapped in the top seat of the cart that faces me and she was going absolutely crazy. Now, keep in mind, she wasn't tired...she had just woken up from a nap. She was just spazzing out for no apparent reason. I was feeling the "mother that has too many kids to handle" judgement from all around me.

I was not leaving the store until I finished my shopping. I had made it this far and I was not going to leave as I needed these items for dinner that night. So, what did I think of to make her calm down? I turned around, found the baby care aisle and made my way to find what I was looking for. Bingo...I found them. I grabbed a package of pacifiers, ripped them open and handed her one. Instant quiet. Instant calm. It was like I had a whole new kid in my cart.

Now, Kelly has never, ever used a pacifier. We had tried giving them to her when she was a newborn and she never seemed to like them. Why then, did I think to grab a package of them for my 17 month old? Because, many times when we pick her up from the church nursery, the volunteers inform me that she is very interested in other children's pacifiers and takes them away from kids. She isn't interested in sucking them like most kids...she just wants to play with them and bite on the hard part, not the nipple part. Well, the pacifier worked and I was able to finish the rest of my shopping in complete peace. It was a well spent $2.99 and I even got blue ones so that when baby is born, if he likes pacifiers, they can be his.

Also, a couple of days ago, Jonathan put together our baby swing so it is all ready by the time that he is born. Guess who loves to sit in it and swing? That's right...Miss Kelly, our 17 month old. As independent and grown up as it seems that she is getting, there is no doubt that she is still our little baby...at least for now.