Okay, so after having a c-section, which is apparently the same for any major surgery, I was not allowed to drive for 2 to 3 weeks. I am also not to lift anything heavier than my child and refrain from too much strenuous activity for about 6 weeks or until the doctor gives me the okay. This makes outings alone very tricky, Lily in a car seat carrier weighs more than Lily, the stroller in the trunk of my car weighs more than Lily, this makes any outings with Lily near impossible on my own.
Yesterday, Lily had her first trip to the mall. I drove, for the first time in over a month, which is scary enough on its own, and then you add having a new baby in the backseat. Luckily, she slept for the drive to the mall. I was able to go on this outing without Scott because I was meeting my mother and sister at the mall who offered to help get Lily out of the car and into the stroller, all I had to do was call when I arrived. Unfortunately, I realized on my way to the mall that my phone had no battery power, the rest of the drive to the mall I spent trying to figure out how I would find them when I got there. I decided I would try to park near their cars and hope that someone passing by would allow me to use their phone. I was pleasantly surprised to find them waiting in the parking lot for me, no need to panic after all.
We didn’t do much shopping, but it was very nice to be out of the house. Lily got to meet two of her cousins for the first time ever. Her 2 1/2 year old cousin, Jack, was quite taken by her. He would run back and forth between my stroller and my sister’s stroller, just to take a look at her. Lily has an elephant clip for her soother that is attached to her car seat carrier; Jack noticed the elephant and explained to me that Lily is happy because she has an elephant. When we were eating lunch, Jack helped feed Lily her bottle between playing with his rice and asking to try everyone’s lunch – with great manners, of course.
After the mall, we went to Costco to meet my other sister and her 4 children. Lily met all these cousins when we were at the hospital, but they are all still pretty taken with her. Her oldest cousin, Xavier, walked with me the whole time. He told me that Lily was very cute, and kept holding her hand in awe at how small her fingers are. Her daughter, Kiara, kept running between me and my sister. She would peak at Lily, hoping every time that she would be awake, she asked me why Lily never wakes up. She tried to play with Lily with the elephant clip, and later, when we went back to the mall, she tried to play with Lily with the small fry build-a-bears that Mom had bought for them.
It was very nice being able to go out with Lily on my own, it gave me a sense of independence that I haven’t really had since before she was born. Even though I needed help to get her in and out of the car, I was still out on my own, relying slightly less on other people to help me get around. And, I know that I will continue to be more independent over the next couple of weeks until I am fully independent again – and I can’t wait!
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