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Community Corner

Urban Parenting: Tackling D.C. Streets With a Babe in Tow

When you have a baby in the city, you learn to appreciate little things, like elevators, crosswalks and accessible everything.

The panic set in about two months before I delivered my daughter. Everything was ready for baby to arrive except for one thing … the stroller.

I wanted to be picky about which baby carriage I chose because I knew I was going to use it a lot. I spent the last four months of my pregnancy on bed rest and after a cold, snowy winter with a spring baby due, I was determined to spend a great deal of time paving the streets of D.C.

Once the baby arrived and I got over my initial fear that she would catch a grave disease every time we set foot outside, I realized my next challenge would be to tackle the streets of Washington with a babe in tow. Suddenly, that seemed way scarier than choosing which buggy to buy!

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How would I navigate the narrow sidewalks and cobblestone streets of Georgetown ? How would my gear and I tread into tiny Trader Joes? Would Dupont Circle's Farmer's Market followers freak if my infant had a colossal meltdown while I was buying organic eggs? AHHH!!

I took a deep breath and made a decision. This beautiful girl was coming into MY world and she was going to love it as much as I do.

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I slowly eased into daily strolls around my neighborhood. At first, I stuck to streets with little traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, and eventually, I found myself on the corner of Wisconsin and Western Avenues. I was bored of looking at houses and flowers. This new mom needed to go shopping!

I quickly learned how to appreciate little things I had never noticed before. Crosswalks and elevators have become my new best friend and wheelchair accessible sidewalks and doors suddenly put a smile on my face. And speaking of putting smiles on faces, it turns out that babies make Metro riding city dwellers grin from ear to ear. Despite recent issues with Metro, their cars have ample space and are extremely child friendly. Got a baby carrier? ... take a bus. Your little one will love to look outside the window and see Adams Morgan gliding by.

Babies are much more resilient than we give them credit for. Mine has already gotten used to the ambulance that passes at 2 a.m. and the presidential motorcade that halts traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue. One day, she'll learn to love the tranquility of old Georgetown as well as the hustle and bustle of M Street on a Friday night. And perhaps in the future, she'll be an entrepreneur with her own stand at the Dupont Farmer's market.

But, for now, she'll sit back and relax in her stroller and just absorb everything that D.C. has to offer.

By the way, I ended up getting the Snap n Go by Baby Trend. Its compact size makes it Farmer's Market/Trader Joe's friendly and the basket makes for a great wine carrier. 

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