Friday, May 04, 2007

Ode' To My Diaper Bag

As Blue's Clues would say, "My Handy Dandy Diaper Bag!"
It's not quite as full as it was last night. We have been depleted of some of our stash, however it will be replenished by Sunday.



Okay let's get down and dirty people. I have a hard time wanting to take Mr. Roman to church. He is a good boy, but well....he is a boy! He is a little roadrunner...with even the little miniature "beep beep".

I do think it's a great place to focus on him and train him, but of course it's like being in a fish bowl right now. I am the only female in our church, currently, and the only one with small children. That is about to change, however. I am looking forward to the little family who is about to join us, for they have a few children of their own, that are five and under.


I bring a diaper bag that is packed full of small quiet toys, baggies of dried cereals, sippy, and of course the other essentials like wipes and diapers. We don't have daycares in our church, never have/never will, and meeting lasts a couple of hours, twice a week. I believe its important for our children to learn to sit and to be quiet, but this toddler phase is more about humbling Mama, sometimes.


Now, keep in mind, Roman is a good baby. He is just busy. We keep him corraled in a small space in front of Den and I, and of course keep the corral tight on both sides of us, as well. Abram has become a bigger help now, though. He will sit on the floor and remind him of all the toys that we have brought. This works for awhile. He is learning to share, so as long as Abram is willing to patiently hand cereal back and forth for an hour, this is working too. If I am willing to have him sit in my lap and zip and unzip my sweater for 15 minutes, than we are good to go. It's all about strategy with the wee ones. I purposefully wear my green sweater because of the circular handled zipper, just for church. I am sure our fellow church goers think I may be a little colorblind at this point, but anything to keep roadrunner from racing about the small room, that we are renting.



Nevertheless, we survived it, and I have to admit that it wasn't half bad last night. The dread may have been greater than the actual event, which happens with me alot....lol. I guess with practice makes perfect, and so we will keep at it, and eventually (hopefully soon) we will have this mastered, as I have with my earlier four boys.

16 comments:

Beth said...

Oh my....church has been pretty hard for us lately too. You would think that Luke is old enough now and would get the picture, but ummm no. He know he NEED to be quite, he even talks about it on the way to church, he intention are good, but his attention span is short. He has been better the last couple of meetings, now that we have starting working on things at home before we get to church. It can be pretty stressful sometimes and makes it hard to enjoy meeting. So is it Matt and Tisha that are going to be going there soon?

meNmykids said...

Practise makes perfect with the little ones, but even after 9 times I still feel like a novice every now and then in meeting. Every one has to come up with their own thing to annoy. Soon I will once again be able to enjoy the ministry without pacifying Heidi. I so look forward to it. FILL that bag!

Mrs.Martin said...

Yep, I am doing it all over again. Except my baby is a Joyful screamer. I know the older folks are like, you really don't need to be as quick as you are, with the hand over his mouth. But if I didnt, the nerves of all the older brethren would be shot. So we play a game in meeting, where he makes bubble noises with my hand. And then he does sit ups, with his legs on my legs, then does nose dives for items of floor, while I catch 29 pounds of him every time. And the sweet older brethren smile at me and compliment me, with a successful day. However, I burn alot of calories during meeting to make it happen. Very fun. And what was said during meeting?? Not sure, but baby was quiet...

marykathryn said...

Okay so you know ALL my woes and stresses of trying to keep my firery redhead quiet!! She loves to jabber about Dora and Boots and Jake this and Jarred that..sigh. The constant SHHH and the popping of the mouth only work for well about a nano second it seems..sigh again!! Sometimes my bag gets so full of toys I can't even fit a diaper in there, can't wait for the day when what was talked on during meeting is the topic of mine and Rusty's conversation on the way home instead of how Hailey behaved for the last 2 hrs...sigh, again, again!!

momto3blessings said...

Roman is a busy little bee. It can be hard to coral them but Im sure he will grow out of it soon. But once he outgrows it im sure you will miss it even a little bit. wink.

Anonymous said...

First of all LOVE your diaperbag!
We sit on the front pew at church and Sarah flirts with everybody! She'll smile and blow kisses and wave at everyone sitting behind us. She has even started repeating Amen if she hears someone say it~ oh, it is too cute!
She does have her bad moments though ~ and we have had to start taking her out. We do allow her to go down with Emily and Audrey now and she learns so much just watching those two.
Michelle

Anonymous said...

What exactly do you feel is wrong with a nursery at church? Every church I've been a member of has had a nursery and I can't recall any baby ever being mistreated.

Toddlers make noise and want to roam and not sit still...it's that age. I get that, but I can still get plenty frustrated with parents that bring a baby into a service that cries or makes excessive noise. Sometimes it's a distraction for the whole congregation.

Trina said...

Dear anonymous,
I would be happy to answer your question if you would reveal yourself. Otherwise, as I am sure you can understand, it comes off a little adversarial. You may also email me if you would like to have a private conversation.

Sis. Lori P. said...

I was sure I was running a three ring circus every meeting when mine were all small...now I would LOVE to go back and do it all over again! But now it's my turn to sit and be the Grammy and think they are all so cute and cuddly and don't they just make the cutest noises ever?

Angel said...

Ahhh, babies and church! Ours actually has a nursery and a cry room. The cry room is in the balcony and is a part of the sanctuary, just a room with big windows so you can sit in there and still see, feel a part of, and hear the service. I have used neither. Why? Because Sam, like a clock, takes a nap between 10 and 11 am daily. church starts at 10:30. Any effort to delay it leads to an extremely crabby baby who will not sleep ANYWHERE other than his own crib. He won't even sleep in his carseat, which has made for more than a few miserable drives. *sigh* I finally gave up trying, it just didn't seem fair to him. In a couple of weeks, summer hours start (worship at 9) That will work better for us!

Lori said...

I have questions!! I think I must have missed something somewhere - you are the only woman at church and the only one with kids? Are you starting up a new church? Details...please! LOL! (or is this just for the meetings and not church services?)

Anonymous said...

I am just reading this on Sunday evening. I do remember when my kids were that young. Faith is now 3 and still not that great. I do sympathize. Have you ever noticed if your kids aren't there how you miss them. Mine were sick the other night and Jeff wasn't feeling that well so he stayed home with them. I thought I could concentrate on meeting. It just felt so lonely and strange not to have them climbing all over me.
Sylvia

Cherrie said...

Babies are supposed to keep us on our toes. And Roman is a sweet little guy who has energy to burn. I am so happy to be back a reading and a typing. p.s. call me

Heth said...

Fill that diaper bag with fun stuff and slip some treats for yourself in there too. You deserve it. *grin*

Anonymous said...

We are at that same stage with Ti! Littl boys have so much nergy it's hard to keep them still and quiet for two hours. VERY trying..... Soometimes I think church is just a huge trial that I have to get through. The last two Sundays he's been really good. No outburts - whew... I hope it keeps up! Love your diaper bag, especially that inside fabric. So cute!

Anonymous said...

Hello Everyone :)
Well, i don't have any children (YET) but i thought i would share a little story i recently herd from a brother. He, his wife, and new born baby went to an assembly in Colorado to visit. He was very worried because his son cried a lot in church. This was very bothersome to him. While he was stressing about his baby a brother stood and testified and told the brethren not to get upset when their baby's cried in church. He said it's a comfort to the older brethren because it reminds them that there well be a younger generation in the church to continue in the faith. The brother was comforted and no longer worried about his son making noises in church :D

I thought that was cute! It's also a good reminder to me to think about that when i hear my sweet nieces and nephews crying in church.

-Sis.Tiffany (Harrisburg, Or)