I Have A Confession

I still have anxiety about taking my son out by myself. I am terrified to take him places that I have to drive for more than 20 minutes to get to. I think about all the things that could possibly go wrong. I also worry that he will be upset or hurt and I won’t be able to comfort him right away (if I’m driving or in traffic). I’m not exactly sure why I have these feelings but I’m working on it.
When he was about two months old I had to take him to get his shots by myself for the first time. I was okay going but on the way back I considered calling an Uber or my husband to come pick us up. He cried so bad within the first 5 minutes of the ride home that I stopped in a parking lot to hold him, nurse, and cry too. At the time we were living in Charlotte and his pediatrician was about 30 minutes away from where we lived. Since then we’ve moved twice and I’ve made sure to find a pediatrician that was less than 10 minutes away (with traffic).

I’m doing better with taking him places but I’m realizing now that I need to do better because he deserves to go out and experience more. He’s older now and I know that I can handle whatever comes my way but it is still nerve-racking when I’m in a new city.

Today I took him to one of his favorite places that’s about 15 minutes away (baby steps). We’ve gone before as a family but I’ve never taken him by myself. He had a blast and he was great for the car ride there and back. He actually fell asleep on the way back and that NEVER happens. Since I was calm and confident and I believe he matched my energy. Ever since we got home he has been super happy and talking non-stop. (I’m assuming about our fun day out).

Seeing how much joy our outing brought him has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone. Next week my goal is to find a place that’s 20 minutes away and go from there. I have to start somewhere, right? Has anyone else had any parenting-related anxiety?