Moms' Night Out

                                    

                                          
Three Months Later Later
October 14th; 2024
Taylor Swift's Point of View
Tonight is Travis and I's first night out without Viola. It took me four months to be comfortable with leaving her at home. Don't get me wrong, I've been wanting a night off for weeks but I was too scared to leave without her. I believe it mostly has to do with my postpartum depression. After the postpartum depression came anxiety. The PPD caused some weird form of separation anxiety to where I felt like I couldn't leave her alone for a single second. I didn't trust anyone else around her. I started doing one-on-one therapy when I didn't even want Travis to hold her. I think part of it was also brought on by the stress of the move. I miss being home in Pennsylvania but I know this is for the best. 
The two of us are going to a nice restaurant for a couple of hours then Travis has a surprise for me. My mom is in town for a few days so she'll be watching the baby while Travis and I go out. I'm so excited to get out of the house and not have to worry about changing diapers and getting thrown up on for a few hours. 
"Her bottle is in the fridge, and there's extra supplies in the nursery closet, make sure she's asleep by 7:30, and she will not go to sleep without Pinkie Pie." I bounce Viola in my arms as I explain to my mom her routine making sure to not miss anything.
"Pinkie Pie?" My mom questions.
"Her kitty security blanket. Stay on track, Mom."
"7:30, Pinkie Pie. Got it." 
"But she's too young to sleep with it so make sure once she falls asleep you take it out of the crib." 
"Then why do you have it?"
"It helps her sleep, doesn't it? She's also really started to get into the hair-pulling recently but screams bloody murder when you try and remove her hand, so watch out for that."
"Tay, we're running late," Travis says.
"I'm Taylor Swift the restaurant won't care. If she gets grumpy then try to put her in the bouncer. She really likes that." 
"Taylor, I've raised two babies. I think I can handle watching one for a few hours." I can tell my mom is losing her patience with me.
"Her schedule is on the fridge if you forget anything." I give Viola a small squeeze and a kiss on the forehead before handing her to my mom.
"I know this is your first time away from her. She's going to be fine. I'll call you if I need anything." 
"Please follow the instructions exactly. It's what works and I don't want her to be all messed up." 
"I will. Now go have fun!" My mom insists.
"You're going to spend some time with grandma. I promise I'll be back soon. I love you so much." I kiss Viola on the cheek and I second-guess everything. "Is it too soon to leave her? Maybe we just stay in Travis."
Travis groans and grabs my hand. "Let's go." He starts to pull me outside the house as I look back at Vi.
"Bye, sweetie! Mommy loves you!" I give her an air kiss while my mom takes Viola's hand and waves goodbye. 
"Bye, Mommy!" My mom says in a baby voice to imitate Vi.
"Thank you, Andrea." Travis drags me outside and closes the door. We get into his Rolls Royce and start to drive to the restaurant. My palms sweat and my left leg becomes restless. "Hey, ViVi is going to be fine." He puts his hand on my thigh and it slowly stops shaking.
"That's easy for you to say. You've been at practice and games. You've been spending time away from her. This is truly the first time I've been away from her." I very unintentionally fell into a 1950s housewife position, didn't I?