Babies are traveling in style
Plenty of amenities all part of child’s ‘travel system.’
In July I will become a grandmother for the first time. In another life, I was a young mother with little babies on my hip and toddlers tethered to my hand. Those were hectic days, some of which I don’t even remember. I do recall when I was pregnant with my first child, we really didn’t need much. Our “nursery” was the dinette area in our one-bedroom apartment marked as the “baby room” by a makeshift curtain we closed at nighttime. In that space we had a crib, a dresser and some pacifiers. We kept an umbrella stroller close by for trips to the zoo, and other than stacks of books, there wasn’t much else we needed.
Thirty years later there are superstores dedicated to babies. I recently went to one of these baby centers looking for a shower gift for my daughter. I found myself in the center aisle, tongue lagging and almost comatose as I tried to navigate my way in the warehouse filled with aisles of paraphernalia dedicated to the needs of an 8-pound baby. As much as I hated to admit, I was in a foreign land.
“Where are the strollers?” I asked a young man with the blue polo shirt embossed with the store emblem.
“What type of stroller?” he asked with a warm smile.
“Just a regular stroller,” I said, feeling a defensive indignation rise like a balloon in my chest.
The store employee looked at me with a condescending smile making me feel like I’d just showed up to a pool party in a three-piece suit.
“You probably want a travel system,” he said pointing towards the opposite side of the store. Not wishing to look any more disoriented, I smiled at him and willed confidence in my gait.
I was grateful for my sensible shoes as I navigated my way across the store to the stroller section. There were no umbrella strollers. Instead I felt like I was looking at the latest lunar rovers. Swallowing my pride, I asked the obviously pregnant woman beside me how these strollers work. I was given a tutorial. Strollers now come with adaptations. Initially, an infant car seat snaps right into a frame, and as the baby grows out of the infant car seat, there is the ability to sit or recline in various degrees. The handle accommodates a strap for a tote bag. There’s a place for a beverage and smartphone holder as well as a hook for a dog leash so you don’t have to multitask with your hands. Truly, you could pack for a weekend getaway with this travel system and be fully equipped. Just don’t forget the baby.
With my confusion and sensory overload in check, I left the store with receipt for a travel system in hand. I smiled thinking about my new little grandchild snuggled in for shopping trips with her mom and accompanying her dad as he engages on a five-mile run, dog in tow. For this little one, the world awaits. I’m not worried about keeping up with the new world of baby things. I have my open arms waiting. I think that’s all this little one and I will need.