When I was about six months pregnant, a coworker of mine told me a story about visiting her sister and newborn niece. In this story, it took five hours to leave the house for a grocery run. "Five hours?" I recall saying, incredulous. "Yup- I couldn't believe it, but it was that hard to just leave the house. She kept needing to do everything over and over again, and we just never could leave."

I decided right then that I would not be like that. I would not be a person that took a long time to leave the house with a baby. And so after my son was born I put a lot of thought into how to leave the house- the amount of time it takes, the supplies that are really required, and how to somehow make it easier.

Lately a very good friend who's baby is due next week has been asking for my efficiently-leaving-the-house technique. So here it is: Plan, pack, feed, diaper, and go!

Stop and think about what you need to bring. If it is a bunch of stuff, make a checklist and use it to stay focused. If nothing else: Diaper bag, snacks, phone, keys and wallet.

Pack the car/stroller/bike trailer with everything you need, except for the baby. This is made far easier if baby is in a sling, wrap, or soft carrier!

Feed the baby, or at least offer food. If the baby refuses, take baby for a walk around your living room and then try again. If the baby refuses to eat again, baby is probably not hungry, so go to the next step.

Change the baby's diaper (and clothing, if baby spat up). You know the drill.

Leave! Now! Decisively! If the baby screams, check the obvious (neck skin pinched by car seat straps?) and quickly fix, as needed. Do not let a fussy baby stop you. If there is no immediately fixable cause to screaming, just take some deep breaths and leave with fussy baby in tow.

The reason that you can just leave is that you know your beloved child is actually fine. You know the child is fine because you've just, right then, taken care of all its most important needs. The screaming is simply due to some disruption or stress from the act of leaving, and thus, trying to calm the baby will only result in another screaming bout when you try to leave a second time. By just doing it - leaving! - the baby learns that the hubbub and frustration goes away quickly, that the parent is remaining calm, and that screaming doesn't actually help. With practice, the screaming and fussing during leaving time will subside, and pretty soon you'll have a much, much easier time leaving the house.

I can't say that this will work for every parent and child out there, but it works really well for our household. I can proudly say that it has never taken me more than 45 minutes to leave the house (and about 35 minutes of that time is usually spent breastfeeding) and I almost always make it on time to lunch dates, appointments, and other time commitments. So remember: Plan, pack, feed, diaper, and then go! - Leigh G.