Baby Necessities and Rebukes!

While we love buying things for babies, if we are really honest with ourselves, they actually need very little until they get older. For instance, Karis has a lot of toys (granted most of them are hand-me-downs), but she is the most happy with some sort of straight, stick like object in her hand as she crawls around. She'll take Caleb's drumstick, Caleb's block (the long skinny kind), Caleb's wooden hammer, or any such thing and crawl with it, sit up and wave it around, put it in her mouth, talk to it, and then start it all over again. Babies are just not high maintenance when it comes to "stuff." However, there are certain things that are necessities, that have to be bought, and that aren't very cheap. There were three of these items that we needed, so I went to Target after work to pick them up (that's the thing about these "baby necessities." When you need them, YOU NEED THEM! There is no waiting until tomorrow). As I was saying, I had three things on my list.

1. New pacis - where do they go???? I put several in her crib each night so that when she loses one, she's bound to find another one without my help. In the morning, they are gone. Not all of them, but usually at least one is missing. They are not under the crib, not wedged between the bumper and the mattress, not in the slats of the crib, and I'm fairly certain that she hasn't eaten them. Where do they go??? Occasionally, I have SEARCHED in and around the crib, resigned myself to the fact that another one has gone missing, and put her to sleep anyway. When I check the next morning, I'll find one that's been missing for days but not the one that is the most recently missed. Ahhh, it's a mystery and if I'm not careful this is going to turn into a post of its own!

2. Bottle nipples - she has decided out of the blue that she really doesn't like to take bottles anymore. That's lovely Karis, thank you! I've known for a while that she needed to move up a level in nipples so that she had a faster flow, but I've been putting it off. After two days of not taking a bottle for the babysitter, I decided it was time for a new nipple. As a side note, it worked.

3. Breast milk storage bags - there is no explanation...when you're out, you're out. Gotta get more!

So, there I was a Target and the prices were ridiculously high. I mean $5.99 for TWO pacis...they're just going to get lost! I picked up my three things that aren't even fun to buy. I mean, no one can wear them, listen to them, read them, or use them for decorations. What fun are pacis, bottle nipples, and milk bags? No fun at all. I took my items to the register and the total came to $25. Ahhh, in our budget crunch world...that's a significant amount (for something not fun). I kind of sighed and looked at the cashier and said something to the effect of, "It really stinks to HAVE to buy these things and spend this much money on them." (This is where it gets good...don't you just love it when we get knocked off our high horse or our pitty party comes to a dramatic end). The cashier said, "I know. You know I don't know how people who are homeless or don't have any money take care of the things that we have to buy. Think about pads or tampons. Those are expensive and we have to buy them. How are they able to pay for them?" Whoa, I was totally taken off guard, but I responded appropriately and thought about it for a minute. Then she continued, "You know, we (she used the word we, but I think she meant you) should just be thankful that we have babies that we have to buy these things for. I know some women who can't have babies who would be thrilled to buy things like pacis and nipples. We are just so blessed." I was still in the "nodding and agreeing" mode, so I responded with something that was an acceptable response and told her to have a good day.

You may think that she was rude or over stepping her bounds, but as I walked out of the store, it sunk in...God just used the cashier at Target to fix my attitude. I was grumbling and complaining instead of being thankful for what I have. I was seeing the negative instead of the positive. I also learned something from her. Many times I just agree with what people are saying to me, even though I don't agree at all. I think I do it to avoid confrontation or keep from making someone feel uncomfortable. This lady didn't do that at all. She was nice, smiled the whole time, and didn't make it seem like a rebuke, but that's definitely what she was doing and I definitely needed it. So here are my thoughts for the day -

1. I'm fixing my attitude and looking for the blessings in everything. It's not cliche, it's good for us. I'm going to stop complaining...period.

2. I'm going to stop agreeing when I don't really agree...tactfully. Hopefully I can learn from the cashier and do it with love. You never know, it might change someone's attitude:)