“Rosalia, who is three years old, and Eliana, who is two months old, are my two healthy, beautiful kids. Both of my successful pregnancies were challenging (I also, unfortunately, had a loss before having Eliana). With both, I experienced cholestasis, an uncommon, serious liver condition that, if left untreated and the baby delivered too soon, can increase the risk of stillbirth by 15%.
Eliana shocked us by insisting on entering the world on Friday the 13th, at a full moon, at the age of 35 weeks and 5 days, even though she was only supposed to be born at 36 weeks and 3 days. She was healthy, but owing to her young age, she spent the first three days of her life in the NICU. She is my rainbow warrior baby.
“I used to enjoy baby carriers since it allowed me to use the entire cart and kept well-meaning people’s hands off my valuable cargo, while also keeping the baby happy. When I saw the lovely rainbow ring sling from Maya Wraps on sale, I knew I had to have it for my rainbow baby! Because it’s so attractive, simple to use, and even has a pocket, it has now surpassed other carriers as my favorite.”
As any mother can attest, being a mother is not easy! Although my older daughter is intelligent, she also has a lot of energy and needs a lot of care. It can be intimidating to bring a baby into the mix! I have been spending every day at home with kids while I am still on maternity leave from my job as an elementary art teacher.
“Usually, I’m left alone when the girls and I go grocery shopping. My spouse recently started working full-time again; he travels for work and spends weekends making improvements to our house. I was ecstatic when he was permitted to accompany us on a recent shopping trip to our neighborhood Aldi to buy groceries.”
Then, things began to fall apart.
Our shopping trip went along rather smoothly. Rose was accompanying me in the cart, and Ellie was in the ring sling. While my husband was gone for a short while, I was pulling the cart by myself and bouncing Ellie when she started to cry with my other hand on her bottom. ” Wow, I don’t know how you’re handling that,” a woman commented to me as I turned the cart around to head back to the dairy cooler after Rose asked for yogurt. ” That’s mom life for ya,” I laughed it off and continued.
We completed our shopping and then began placing our products on the conveyor belt. The woman who had passed me earlier on the line was in front of us. I didn’t think twice about it. Rose requested that all goods, even those that were fragile, be put on the conveyor as Ellie started to cry.
I was trying to hide the presents from her for Christmas by putting them behind bigger front-of-house items. The woman in front of us finished her transaction and we moved on. The cashier continued to stare as though she were about to speak. She continued, puzzled, “I don’t want to cause any trouble, but the woman in front of you says your baby is fake and you were actually stealing taking yogurts.”
She paused after taking a breath. My husband and I shared a great chuckle with her. I took a side step after bagging our purchases and took a selfie with Ellie in front of an Aldi sign while still laughing.
When we came home, I went to Lacey Township Chatter, a Facebook page for my local community. The following is what I wrote:
I don’t usually write “To the person who…” blogs, but this one made me laugh aloud, so I’m posting it:
To the woman who accused the Aldi cashier of smuggling yogurt out of the store while pretending to be a baby 1) My child is an actual person. 2) Yogurt costs roughly $0.25 at Aldi. 3) Due to a lactose intolerance, I abstain from any dairy products.
“But I appreciate the giggle. Due to the fact that I had spent the entire night caring for my (really genuine) baby, I was in severe need of it.”
Tell people who pass a parent in a store with their hands full to congratulate them on being a good parent and doing a great job. Give them a positive nod or maybe simply a warm smile. If you believe they are truly struggling, you might even offer to help. Observe for a while before making a hasty judgment. Parenting is challenging enough without the extra pressure of other opinions and judgment.
To the parents: Someone will always act ignorantly or with incomplete information. You can feel overwhelmed, sleep deprived, or emotionally worn out. Try to see the good or hilarious side of any situation. I believe in you.