Out And About

This morning, I was determined to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and take the baby to a Playtime & Story Time session for toddlers at the Brooklyn Public Library. I found this event on the Park Slope Parents website recommended by my dear friend KO. Technically, I'm not a Park Slope parent, but I know enough Park Slope parents that I feel like I should be one by association. Anyway, we were late arriving to the library, seeing as neither my son nor I are early morning people. We managed to participate in the last 20 minutes, catching the last two stories. There were about seven kids and three adults, including the storyteller. The baby and I got a lukewarm reception from the storyteller when I interrupted her to ask if we could join the group - I believe she was pregnant, perhaps it was hormonal. Undeterred, I strolled the baby right on in and one of the adults made room for me and the baby to sit. I was especially curious to see how the baby would interact in a group of his peers, since he doesn't get much opportunity to socialize with other children. I took him out of his stroller and put him on my lap so he could get a better view of the book, and he listened for a few minutes. But soon enough, he wanted to get down on his feet, because my baby is all about motion and exploration. I put him down and he walked a little distance from me and the stroller, then turned around and smiled at me and bounced up and down, as if marveling at his independence, and then he came back to me, grabbed some Cheerios from his stroller, looked at the book again and then did the whole sequence all over again. He became really interested in the kids, standing by the storyteller and scanning all the faces, pulling focus from the story. I could see that some of the kids were staring back at him too. He smiled at some of them, and then he started talking to them while the story was going on, as if he were telling his own story. I had a sudden flash into the future, my son as either the Class Clown or the Class President! I was glad that he seemed very comfortable in this new social setting. He's definitely growing up.

Leaving the library

After the library, the baby and I did a quick bank run (I always seem to be running to the bank), where he played peekaboo with a totally game 5 year-old boy, it was very cute. Then we hopped back on the subway and paid my Grandma and Aunt a visit. We met them outside, under the trees on a park bench. The baby was ready for some lunch and a nap by now and was a little teary-eyed and long-faced. My Aunt strolled my Grandma in her wheelchair (because it was a bit of trek back to her house) and I strolled the baby right next to her in his stroller, and I wondered if he thought my Grandma was a kid like him in her own stroller. Once we got to my Grandma's house, the baby realized he had been there before, and he relaxed, was all smiles and ready to explore. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time left - in a matter of 30 minutes I managed to let him walk around, feed him, change him and say our goodbyes, and we were off to my physical therapy appointment.

On the subway to Grandma's house we go

Strolling with Great-Grandma

I've never taken the baby with me to physical therapy, although I have seen at least one woman bring her baby with her to her sessions. I figured I could manage a session with the baby at my side. And for the most part, I was right. The physical therapists "oohed" and "ahhed" appropriately. My PT gave the baby a ball, and he was very friendly, even hanging out and smiling with her while I got changed. He watched as my PT massaged my ever-tight leg muscles, and kept throwing the ball on the floor, and laughing, which all the therapists and I got a huge kick out of (even if I had to keep retrieving the ball by hanging over the massage table to grab it). But alas, he'd had his full, he really hung in there, no nap, 3 subway rides, and he just wanted to be held, so he began to whimper and reach for me with the saddest face ever. I picked him up, laid him down next to me and nursed him on the table as my PT continued to work on me. Within 3 minutes, he was snoring peacefully on the table, the sight of which melted all the therapists' hearts. I finished my session without incident, gingerly put my sleeping baby back in his stroller, and we were on our way, into the elevator and down to the street where K was waiting for us with the car. And that was my wonderful day in the sunny city, just me and my son taking the town by storm!

Conked out after PT