When Biet was just a week old, I wrapped her up and, against my midwife's orders, ventured out of the house and over to Whole Foods to do a little shopping. I was supposed to be in bed, but I was feeling great and was developing a veritable case of cabin fever. Upon arriving to the market, I went to grab a cart and realized "Whoa, I have a tiny 7 lb baby in my arms! How am I supposed to push a cart while at the same time holding her?!" It was a new Mother dilemma. I tried one-hand pushing, ran into a few unsuspecting shoppers, and called that quits. Then a light bulb went off. I took out Biet's blanket, laid it over the top child-seat part of the shopping cart, and placed my little swaddled baby, laying down, in her new cushioned bed. She fit with room to spare. I can't believe she was once so small! That's when I met Douglas.
Douglas is the security man at the Whole Foods on the Bowery, and he is the nicest security man in the world. He chuckled and walked over to me, congratulated me on my problem-solving skills, and began to tell me about his childhood. He was born and raised in NYC, to a strong Mother and with a brood of brothers and sisters. He told me the story of how, when he was a baby, his Mother, not having a crib for him, emptied out her wooden dresser, took out a drawer, and fashioned it with cushioning and blankets as a bassinet. He slept in that drawer until he was big enough to move to a shared bed with his brother. It worked so well that his Mother did the same thing with all of his younger siblings in the coming years. She never ended up having a crib because the babies all slept so well in the drawers! Seeing Biet sleeping in the top of the shopping cart reminded him of that.
Every time we go shopping at Whole Foods, I search for Douglas. We say our hello's and how-are-you's and I show him how big Biet is growing. If you're ever in the neighborhood, go and say hi! He is such a nice fellow. One day soon Biet will be able to say hello, and I know it will make his day.
