A couple of nights ago, I had a nightmare that I lost Cate in the airport. I’m sure it’s probably just general anxiety about moving that’s manifesting itself in my brain, but it really upset me, and it made me decide to go invest in a toddler harness, so it’s one less thing for me to worry about. (Note to Cat: I remembered that e-baby had the monkey version, and since our girls already have so much other gear in common, I intentionally got the dog so we’ll always know whose is whose.)
We’ve tried out the harness a couple of times for walks around the neighborhood, just to get Cate used to idea of wearing it, so she doesn’t wig out over it in the airport. And she really seems to like it. She likes the doggy a lot, and she plays with him even when she isn’t wearing him. She’s given him a few kisses on the nose, it’s very cute.
The weird thing is that since I bought the harness, it’s like it’s suddenly clicked in her head that she’s supposed to walk next to me instead of just running around wherever. The couple of times that we’ve gone for walks without it, she’s actually held my hand (something she would never do before, I always assumed because it messed with her sense of balance), and she patiently walked beside me for ages. It was kind of awesome. And of course, the irony here is that I’m pretty sure I swore that I’d never own a toddler harness before I had kids, but I totally get it now.
Oh, and today we took Cate to get a for-real haircut. The kids’ salon is still closed for renovations (they were supposed to re-open 2 weeks ago!), so we went to one of those super-cheap, chain barber shops instead.
They just did her bangs because she was squirming and crying the whole time (even though she was in my lap). It pretty much sucked for everyone involved. But I think this is good enough for now. At least I can stop constantly brushing her hair out of her eyes.
That’s really cool that she understood the harness-walking-safely idea so quickly! It does sound like something just clicked. You will be SO GLAD to have it in the airport.
The haircut is way cute.
My boss has the monkey version for her son. She says that she gets two reactions when other parents see it: 1.) “OMG where did you get that? Can I give you $50 for it right now?” or 2.) You are a cruel and unusual person.
I personally think they’re a great idea. The kids get more exercise than they do stuck in the stroller. They have more freedom, but they can’t take off. I’ll be interested to hear if you get any crap. I mean, I hope you don’t. I know you can handle it. 😉
Glad to hear about the harnesses. We will be doing a bit of travel over the winter holidays and Miss C will be 18 months old or so and will need to have something to keep me from losing my mind about her wandering. Is there a specific type/brand you recommend?
No one has ever given me crap about the Monkey, but if they did, they’d get such a lecture about toddlers’ personal safety that they’d have no choice but to make a hasty retreat, tail between their legs, begging my pardon. Which is really the only reasonable way to handle that.
Lizard– Cindy and I have the Eddie Bauer harnesses from Target. They’re about $10. I always tuck the leash into the back pocket of the harness except for when I really need to use it, like while checking in at the airport, when your attention can’t possibly be on the baby and you have to have both hands free. Or walking near traffic. I also get e-baby to hold my hand while we walk (you know, unless I have both arms full, like at the airport), even when she has the harness because, like Cindy said, it reinforces that she should be walking with you, not any which way crazy.
We used the harness at the mall yesterday, and I noticed a few odd looks here and there, but nobody said anything to me. Cate loved it because it meant that she got to move around and not be confined to the stroller, so that was great.
And yeah, if someone had tried to say something, I probably would’ve taken their head off. But I think I give off sort of a “don’t mess with me” vibe most of the time, which is why I almost never have to worry about mommy drive-by’s. It’s a good thing to have. 🙂