They say it will change your life forever....

but not until this weekend have I really felt that.


Sophie has been a really calm and cooperative baby. Every time we have gone out to eat or shopping, she has pretty much slept the whole time. The stroller or the baby carrier both lull her into a deep and restful sleep, so going out has not been a big deal at all. I have also become pretty comfortable nursing in public with a receiving blanket covering me, so whenever she did arise for a feeding, it was really no big deal.


So when people say that having a child changes everything, I didn't really notice it. For one thing, Jensen and I have always been more inclined towards family friendly activity. Before we had Sophie, we liked going for walks in the park, or grabbing dinner at low-key casual restaurants, which we could still easily do with a baby. We didn't feel like we were giving up a lot because we were never big nightlife/bar scene/movie goers. In addition, neither one of us is particularly time-oriented, so adjusting our schedule to the baby's schedule felt pretty natural.


This weekend, Jensen's brother and sister-in-law were back in town for a conference, so we went to meet them in Dupont Circle. Sophie was awake during the entire metro ride, and when we got to Dupont, she started fussing a little, ready for another feeding. It wasn't very convenient to feed her right then and there, so we kept moving towards the hotel. Her crying began to escalate, and by the time we reached the hotel room, she was in a bit of a frenzy. I think she was hungry, hot, and scared from the unfamliar surroundings, all adding up to one very unhappy baby. At this point, I tried to feed her, but her crying had become so frantic that she wasn't able to suckle, frustrating her all the more. She reached a point where she was hyperventilating and crying a painful cry that I have never heard before. It took us about an hour to calm her down, by turning on the hair dryer, rocking her constantly, and helping her along with the feeding. She reached a point of exhaustion, and then napped for an hour.


After Jensen and I felt a little more relaxed after the episode, we all decided to go for a walk in Georgetown and to grab some dinner. We made it all the way down to the waterfront (about 30 minute walk) before she started to fuss again. This time, we would not make her wait, so we quickly went into the first restaurant we saw. Luckily, they had a table open, and we sat down, and I started to feed her. It was a little uncomfortable because it was a small, intimate restaurant...the kind of place you would go for a date. We were definitely the only one with a kid in the place, and it made us feel really out of place. She then progressed to let out a big bomb of a poop, which leaked out onto her clothes. Fortunately, we came prepared with an extra onesie, but the bathroom didn't have a changing table (I don't think they expect to have many babies in the place). We made do with what we had...I used a console table that they had in the bathroom for decoration to change her. She nursed while I ate, as I have learned to always order things off the menu that can be eaten with only one hand (things like fish which don't require a knife, or penne pasta work well), and so she was calm during dinner. We were going to take a look at the dessert menu when she started to fuss again, and so we told the waiter we needed to go ahead and grab the check.

I think making Leland and Tilina have to adjust their plans to our baby's needs made the way that our lives have changed all the more apparent. They had to wait while I fed her, wait while she napped, and cut their meal short when she started to fuss. And to add to that, we were in a less family-friendly part of town. While we were walking back to the metro station to head home, we walked passed two men, and I overheard one man say to the other, "That guy was carrying a monkey!" to which the other responded, "That was a kid!" That gives you an idea of how rarely you see babies in Dupont Circle!