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The little guy is sleeping in the carrier that doubles as the car seat his no-good mother brought him into the station in. Just the thought of her boils my blood. Who abandons their child when they say their son is in danger? Her, apparently.
When Mike said I could leave close to three hours ago, what I didn’t realize was that there are two pieces to a car seat: the carriage and the base. I didn’t have the base to secure the seat in my car.
Stupid, piece-of-crap mother.
So, there was that ordeal.
I was lucky, though.
Todd, an officer working booking tonight, has a son a few months older than Gabriel. At least, I’m assuming it’s a few months since I don’t know Gabriel’s date of birth—yet. Stephanie is friends with Todd’s sister and thought she remembered him having the same model car seat.
It turns out he did. And this wasn’t his weekend with his son, so I was able to borrow it for a couple of days. Todd even installed it in my car for me.
Complication remedied in a matter of half an hour.
Then Gabriel shit himself like babies do, and I realized what was not packed in his diaper bag.
Diapers!
Or wipes or extra clothes. Not even a damn bottle.
What was in the bag, besides what could have been a dirty baby blanket was a fashion magazine, three of them, and a pair of flip-flops. Cute, designer flip-flops, I might add, but still, something I wouldn’t have expected in a baby’s diaper bag.
Awful mother.
So, then there was the emergency trip to the drug store down the street from the station to get diapers, wipes, a bottle, and formula.
That wasn’t fun.
For all I thought I knew about babies from being around my nieces and nephew, my mind blanked out when I walked down the baby aisle.
There are too many options for formula. It blew my mind. How was I to know which one to buy?
I should have called Alana, but it was already late, and she would have had too many questions. Alana is not only my sister-in-law but my best friend too. She would’ve known what to buy for the baby, and I wouldn’t have spent so much time confused.
Finally, I opted for a generic brand that was a little cheaper and got the rest of the essentials to last until Monday morning. At least, I hope I got enough. I’m not exactly sure how many diapers are normal for a baby to go through or how much they eat. Probably should have asked Stephanie before I left the station.
With the door secured behind me, I place Gabriel’s car seat on the floor. Seeing that he is sound asleep, I leave him for a brief moment, taking the drug store bags to the kitchen, and then set them on the granite countertop, where I’ll unload them later.
I want to get him out of the seat he’s been cooped up in first, and then I need to get him into bed. My bed, that is, since it’s the only one in my condo.
I have a two-bedroom condo, but the spare room is used as a second closet than a room one might sleep in. The space is too small to fit a full-sized bed, so I never tried.
Walking back over to the door, I lift the car seat by the handle, and then I tote it to the coffee table in front of the couch, placing it on top. Gabriel starts to squirm then stretches as I unfasten the straps.
The poor baby has been in this damn seat a terribly long time tonight.
“Okay, little man, let’s get you out of there. How does bed sound?”
If his reaction is any indication, he’s notvery receptive to my suggestion as cries erupt upon being lifted. I bring him to my chest to cradle and rock him back and forth.
My actions do nothing to soothe him.
Hmm...
He’s already been changed, but maybe he could’ve peed himself since then. He could be hungry. I have no idea when his mother last fed him.
I decide to start with a bottle of formula. At least then, I’ll know he isn’t hungry if he’s still fussy.
