A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be a *good* idea to take Mae into the city by myself! I am discovering every day that things just aren't the same with a baby, and taking the train into New York is no exception. I am used to getting there with minutes to spare, sweating while I wait for my ticket to print, then sprinting through the tunnel under the tracks to get to the other side just before the doors close behind me. Then the iPod or the DS are my sound track until pulling into Penn Station.
Well, I was later than ever to the station because I still haven't totally streamlined our getting ready protocol, and as the main parking lot of the station was full, I had to park in overflow, which was a 10 minute walk to the station! I was going to miss this train for sure, but I could see it just through a relatively small patch of forest...
Cut to me running through a swampy woodland like a frightened refugee with my baby tossed over my shoulder. I leaped over a stream, waded through piles of snow and leaves, and eventually made it to the sidewalk. Running down the stairs to the tunnel, I remarked, "I'm going to miss the train!" to one of the waiting taxi cab drivers, who then decided to run ahead of me to hold it! A surely looking woman conductor glared at me as I jumped breathlessly into the crowded car and held out her hand for my ticket... which I had forgotten to get. Having no cash, she sent me to the front car to plead with the head conductor about my condition. We worked things out and then we were on our way!
Ah New York, enemy of strollers. Fortunately, I'd been smart enough to bring my Bjorn baby carrier, but after 6 hours, it takes its toll on your shoulders. I took the subway with Mae (she's been a perfect angel the whole time, btw) all the way to Astoria to meet my friend Becca for some Mexican food. Maewynn actually LOVED the subway, and its bright lights and loud noises. I wonder how long that will last. Getting to the end of the line, I met Becca for lunch. There was no place to change the babe, but I hoped that she could stick it out.
This was a good plan, in theory, but by the time we got to the Starbucks bathroom she was looking uncomfortable. Which is too bad, since the very nice special needs woman who LOVED my little girl tried to help me open the door, but really succeeded in trapping me in a corner and accidentally locking us out of the bathroom. THEN she pointed out that my baby was leaking. Which she was. Poo was seeping out from every side of her poor little diaper. It was okay though, as we were only 10 blocks from Becca's house, and Mae seemed to have rallied.
As we rounded the corner to her house however, Becca became cognizant of the fact that she had locked her keys in her apartment, and we would have to call the super to let us in. No biggie. Thanks to my portable changer, I just performed a 15-wipe diaper change right there in the stairwell, complete with costume change.
Now you might think that this may have been a stressful time and a wash of a day with so many things having gone wrong, but all in all, to watch her look out the window on the train with a smile, and see and hear so many things for the first time, I'd do it all over again. (but maybe with Adrian)
