Some friends (Keren and Christine) have recently posted about going to church with babies, and how difficult it is. Or can be.
I decided to jump on the bandwagon!
Probably the one and only reason we make it to church week in and week out is because I work at one and it's my job! And there have been just a couple times Ric has stayed home with the baby--but not often because we do want to be the people who raise our children in church. Wish there was a "how-to" manual for this one, we've run into our fair share of snafooos (yes, 3 o's) along the way.
Snafooo #1
We thought about being the kind of parents who keep the kid in church all the time--until she got too loud or antsy, and then take her to the nursery. First try: November. Ricardo took her to the nursery part way through the service, they played, all was well. Until the next day when I get a phone call from another mom who said her son was diagnosed with Swine Flu the night before--8 hours after playing in the church nursery with our baby. Bluh. We stayed swine flu free, fortunately. But we decided no more nursery with a small baby during the winter cold/flu months. Ric just takes her out and plays with her in the cry rooms--which, by the way, have signs that say "For Nursing Mother's Only".
Snafooo #2
Sundays are one of my longest days of the work week. When X was little and not taking a bottle very well, we had to try to top her up before the service (requiring me to leave Sunday school early), and hope she wouldn't get too tired or fussy during the service. She's never been a regular napper, so it doesn't seem to matter what times we're at church. The worst part is the turn-around to other events after the service. It never seems like enough time to change a diaper, much less nurse the baby, put her to sleep if she's tired, make her food if she's going to be awake and eat solids while we eat lunch, etc. and usually one or more of those gets forgotten. After the worship service we have a quick break for lunch and the above-mentioned baby tasks--before youth worship practice, youth basketball league, and a variety of other random meetings, events, or activities that can occur. It was a hard day to get through before having a child, now it's just insane. A good part of my Monday is cleaning and reorganizing the explosion that happens in my office every Sunday.
Snafooo #3
Separate cars. Now that X is old enough to go longer without eating, it makes it easier for me to leave early, Ric and baby come to church, we go to lunch and basketball, and then they go home, and I come home later. However, I have to have everything ready. Diaper bag, church clothes out, food packed, etc. I'm getting better at it, but I have forgotten various things over the weeks. One week I hadn't really packed enough snacks/food for the amount of time she was going to be out. Good thing we ate lunch where I could share some with her, and she's still nursing! Another time I had forgotten the nursing cover. One time I didn't have a complete set of extra clothes (I now have a few articles in a drawer in my office). And now, Ricardo is the one who gets her ready for church. I lay out her clothes, but he gets to dress her. He's been doing a great job, but not without mishap. One week, tights were on the outside of clothing. Last Sunday, shoes were on the wrong feet. He can do hair clips, but not pigtails yet. Baby steps :)
The main problem was that for awhile, we only had one car we could put the car seat in. Then we had two cars we could put the car seat in, but only one base. Then we had two cars we could put the car seat in, and two bases, but only one key to one of the cars. We just had to be really organized--so one person didn't end up with the baby and the car they didn't have the key to, 30 miles away from the person with the key and the car seat. Finally, we have two cars, two bases, two keys...just in time for her to need to graduate to the next level of car seat--back to only one car with the carseat. :)
Like I said--it would be lovely to have a manual. I liked reading friend's stories though, so perhaps they'll enjoy mine, and maybe have some other experiences to share.
We can only keep learning!
