This morning Ben and I did something together we have NEVER done before. I drove him to the grocery store and did a little shopping ALL BY MYSELF.
Because of Ben's trach and his frequent suctioning, whenever we go anywhere in the car, we need someone to sit in the back with Ben and suction him. I've always been a little envious of those moms able to take their child out alone.
Today Ben's secretions have been pretty good (only needing suctioned every 5-10 minutes) so I decided to pack Ben up and go to the grocery store about 5 minutes away. I figured if I went early, it wouldn't be too busy and it wasn't too hot outside yet either. I took Ben's artificial nose off his trach so if he coughed hard enough, hopefully he could cough them out. I also knew of a few places on the way that I could easily pull into if I needed to get out and jump in the back to suction him - but I ended up not needing to suction Ben until I was in the parking lot of the grocery store. It took much longer to get Ben, his cart cover and equipment in the cart by myself, but boy was it worth it! I got chocked up a few times in the store just because I was so excited for our independence and also because I've waited over two years for a moment like this. I felt like such a mom... it was wonderful!!! I was so caught up in the moment though, I forgot to get two things on my list (milk and sour cream) and my list only contained about 10 items. I only wish I had a camera or something so I could have documented this moment (and make a nice scrapbook page out of it).
So now in the future, I feel comfortable taking Ben out on my own - given it is only within a three mile radius... anything involving the highway is too dangerous because it isn't safe to pull over on that consistently and it takes too long to get off an exit if Ben needs suctioned. But at least I have the grocery store, Hallmark, and a half-priced book store!
7 comments:
So happy that the two of you can now pack up and take off by yourself. Wish I could have seen the two of you in the store. Just to see Ben's face with all that is going on around him had to be something. You'll have to take a camera next time & have a cashier take your picture.
Hugs & Kisses,
Gramma Mo
That's great, Amy. I'm so glad you got to experience that with Ben. Was he trying to pull things off the shelves like he does in the cabinets at home? Wouldn't that be something! You don't want to get banned from the grocery store your first time out with Ben!
Take care, give the big guy a kiss for me.
Theresa
HUGE! HUGE! HUGE! I am beaming with pride right now for the BOTH of you! I clearly remember my first time with Maxwell and I was absolutely thrilled...and you are right, it is such a feeling of "yep, I am a MOMMY!" :)
Amy, I am soooooooooooooo happy for you...and I loved hearing your excitement as I read your post!
Enjoy! :) (P.S. I am proud of you for taking the risk...I know it must have been daunting the first time with the equipment and all!) You are wonderful and doing such a fabulous job!
Love, Amy and Max
Yeah Amy & Ben!
That's great news that the two of you got to go on a short trip all on your own! I remember the first time I took Evan out by myself (it was to a therapy appointment for me, go figure)--it was a huge ordeal (no trach, but this was back when Evan needed suctioning constantly, was on a nasal cannula for O2, and continuous feeds...). I'm proud of you both too!
Hugs,
Sarah, Jeremy, and Evan
This is so great, Amy!! I can picture you and Ben now, heading up and down the aisles! Way to go!! :-)
Maybe we'll run into you guys one day!
Hugs,
Leslie & Katie
That is so wonderful!!! I am so happy for you. I know how hard it is to take our little ones out when you have to take so much more then the average mom has to take with her and you can't forget one things or your day is over. I remember taking Eva out once and I forgot the tube for her g-tube feeding I was so mad and we had to leave early.
Glad you did so well and I am glad Ben did well also.
Hugs,
Crystal and Eva
That is awesome. I remember the 1st time I took Cedie to the store- Target. I couldn't stop watching her long enough to really shop either. I don't think I came home with what I needed either. But its a treasured memory.
I am so glad you and Ben were able to have that time together. He is getting so big and I'm so proud of his progress.
(sorry I haven't posted in a while- been super busy. I was finally able to update our blog this week and catch up with all my amazing CHARGErs!)
Love Jenn
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