Friday, August 15, 2008
Parenthood
It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes the smallest tasks are so much more challenging with a child. I thought going into this whole parenting thing that the biggest challenges I would face would be the ones you see on TV - a baby that won't stop crying, explosive poopies, and never getting enough sleep. And, yes, it's true, I feel like I just can't catch up on sleep, Alex has basically proven me wrong. If he cries, all we have to do is pat his behind, pick him up or give him a pacifier. And while he has had his share of nasty number twos, none has been horrifying or unmanageable. The challenges we've encountered have been more dealing with run-of-the-mill chores. Yesterday, for example, I realized we desperately needed to order new checks. Alex had just woken up from a short nap, so he wanted some attention. I held him while I logged on the computer to order the checks. I managed to keep him from banging on the keyboard, but only because he thought the inner flesh of my arm would be a good place to chomp down with those six teeth. Ouch! I still have a bruise. Then the stupid website would not accept my routing and account numbers as valid. So I called. I got an automated voice message system. Now, is there anything more annoying than that? Anyway, I was in the process of ordering checks and the robotic voice was informing me of the option to purchase a variety of designs. Alex started to babble and the voice stops short and says, "Do you wish to end this call?" No! So I completed the rest of the call by craning my neck and turning my head as far away from Alex as possible so the voice wouldn't mistake Alex's babble for my request. I don't want to end up with 20 boxes of kitten checks for Andy and Janice BLA MOB BA Dyer. Whew, I finally finished the call, checks ordered. I looked down and at some point, Alex had thrown up (not spit up; this was remnants from his lunch of carrots) all over my shirt and rubbed the top of his head in it. Ahh, the sweet (sour) smell of parenthood.
Monday, August 11, 2008
An Addendum ...
... to my last post: I'm sure some paparazzo are very caring, loving people. Who knows, maybe they even volunteer at their local homeless shelter. I just used that as an example. I know that a person's career isn't his or her only contribution to society. Ok, so no throwing virtual eggs at me if I've offended you and your camera-wielding ways.
No Pictures ... But a List!
Ok, so I've been terrible lately about updating this blog. My dear friend, who has a 7-week-old, has been doing waaay better than me about her blog. What does that say about me? Sigh. Oh, well, I have a good reason. Sort of. When Andy got his job, we celebrated by dropping a week's paycheck on a new camera. We love the Canon Rebel, but the bad part is the memory card holds too many pictures. We've taken more than 300 since we got the camera and haven't uploaded a single one. Yesterday I tried to upload some pictures, but couldn't find the USB cord. We'll get there eventually. In the meantime, here's another one of my lists to keep you entertained ...
Things That Surprise Me, Even After 8 Months of Motherhood
1. High Cost of Food. I know that the price of groceries has gone up; blame it on biofuels, China and India, soaring oil prices, or whatever. But I never knew feeding a baby would get expensive. Alex gets four bottles of formula a day (my frozen breastmilk ran out about a week after I stopped pumping), baby food twice a day, and a bottle of juice once a day. The formula runs about $25 per week (and we go with the less expensive powder, not prepared stuff). The baby food about $15 per week. When I was in college, I could feed myself for $35 a week (it was a stretch, but I could do it). Nobody told me feeding a baby could cost almost as much as feeding an 18-year-old girl!
2. Pride. I knew I would feel pride at some point, I just had no idea that I would experience such strong pride at this early stage. It didn't matter that no one else was around to witness it, but when my baby army-crawled, slept through the night unswaddled, and drank all 5 ounces of juice for the first time (all in the last week), I couldn't have been more pleased.
3. Happiness/Sadness. It's funny how some parenthood moments truly are bitter sweet. Today Alex moved up to a new room at daycare. I was happy - he's getting older, he's becoming more developmentally independent, he's going to learn new skills from being around babies that are further along. But I was sad - he had a fantastic teacher in his first classroom, he's going to probably get less one-on-one attention, and he's going to be in a room with some babies who can walk (yikes!).
4. His Own Good. I'm surprised how easy it is to do things for Alex that I know are for his own good. I don't like to see my baby cry, but I will stick an aspirator up his nose twenty times in a row if that's what it takes to get all that mucus out and let him breath a little easier. He hates it and he hates me for doing it (not really), but I know it's best for him and that's what is most important.
5. Speaking of Snot. I never imagined how much it would suck to have a sick baby. I don't mean a seriously ill baby (I cannot begin to imagine the sorrow and anxiety that might cause), but a baby with a cold that just won't go away. I feel so bad for the little guy when I hear him cough or hear his wheezy breathing over the monitor. We do everything we can (saline drops, baby Vicks, two humidifiers, vapor outlet plugs, baby Tylenol/Motrin, warm baths, aspirator, etc., etc.), but you can't do much besides try to make him as comfortable as possible. But that's still not enough! Come, already, somebody invent a cure for the (all-too-common) cold!
6. Ralphie's Mom. Many moons ago I wrote in this blog that I wanted to be like Ralphie's mom from "A Christmas Story." I thought she was the image of a perfect parent - firm, but loving. Little did I know that I would be a lot like Ralphie's mom, just not quite in the way I pictured. Ralphie's mom had not had a hot meal in something like 10 years. We'll I'm working on it. The kid just knows when Mommy and Daddy are about to eat and he loves to get fussy just in time to spoil it. We're not sure if it is the sound of plates clanking or the smell of the food, but he has got it figured out somehow.
7. Magical Moment. I thought that by now the novelty of being excited to pick Alex up at the end of the day would have worn off. Boy, was I wrong. The best part of every day is the drive to the daycare, walking down the hall, and seeing my sweet baby boy playing in his classroom. I get all giddy and excited like it's the first day of school and I'm wearing the coolest outfit around. Ok, so maybe a different kind of excitement, but it really is fantastic. I know I probably walk in there with the goofiest grin on my face, but the staff all seem to understand. After all, who wouldn't be excited to see that cute chubby-cheeked face after a long day of work?
8. I Want to Make the World a Better Place. This doesn't require much explanation. I feel now that I have a child, my life has more value and I have more responsibility to build a more just world for my son and for all children. I know, sounds cheesy and a bit lofty, but I do. I just wonder how parents who have truly pointless jobs (like paparazzo who follow Paris Hilton around) justify their work. I know, I'm being judgmental, but seriously, does having pictures of some celebrity's cellulite do anything to create a better world for kids?
Things That Surprise Me, Even After 8 Months of Motherhood
1. High Cost of Food. I know that the price of groceries has gone up; blame it on biofuels, China and India, soaring oil prices, or whatever. But I never knew feeding a baby would get expensive. Alex gets four bottles of formula a day (my frozen breastmilk ran out about a week after I stopped pumping), baby food twice a day, and a bottle of juice once a day. The formula runs about $25 per week (and we go with the less expensive powder, not prepared stuff). The baby food about $15 per week. When I was in college, I could feed myself for $35 a week (it was a stretch, but I could do it). Nobody told me feeding a baby could cost almost as much as feeding an 18-year-old girl!
2. Pride. I knew I would feel pride at some point, I just had no idea that I would experience such strong pride at this early stage. It didn't matter that no one else was around to witness it, but when my baby army-crawled, slept through the night unswaddled, and drank all 5 ounces of juice for the first time (all in the last week), I couldn't have been more pleased.
3. Happiness/Sadness. It's funny how some parenthood moments truly are bitter sweet. Today Alex moved up to a new room at daycare. I was happy - he's getting older, he's becoming more developmentally independent, he's going to learn new skills from being around babies that are further along. But I was sad - he had a fantastic teacher in his first classroom, he's going to probably get less one-on-one attention, and he's going to be in a room with some babies who can walk (yikes!).
4. His Own Good. I'm surprised how easy it is to do things for Alex that I know are for his own good. I don't like to see my baby cry, but I will stick an aspirator up his nose twenty times in a row if that's what it takes to get all that mucus out and let him breath a little easier. He hates it and he hates me for doing it (not really), but I know it's best for him and that's what is most important.
5. Speaking of Snot. I never imagined how much it would suck to have a sick baby. I don't mean a seriously ill baby (I cannot begin to imagine the sorrow and anxiety that might cause), but a baby with a cold that just won't go away. I feel so bad for the little guy when I hear him cough or hear his wheezy breathing over the monitor. We do everything we can (saline drops, baby Vicks, two humidifiers, vapor outlet plugs, baby Tylenol/Motrin, warm baths, aspirator, etc., etc.), but you can't do much besides try to make him as comfortable as possible. But that's still not enough! Come, already, somebody invent a cure for the (all-too-common) cold!
6. Ralphie's Mom. Many moons ago I wrote in this blog that I wanted to be like Ralphie's mom from "A Christmas Story." I thought she was the image of a perfect parent - firm, but loving. Little did I know that I would be a lot like Ralphie's mom, just not quite in the way I pictured. Ralphie's mom had not had a hot meal in something like 10 years. We'll I'm working on it. The kid just knows when Mommy and Daddy are about to eat and he loves to get fussy just in time to spoil it. We're not sure if it is the sound of plates clanking or the smell of the food, but he has got it figured out somehow.
7. Magical Moment. I thought that by now the novelty of being excited to pick Alex up at the end of the day would have worn off. Boy, was I wrong. The best part of every day is the drive to the daycare, walking down the hall, and seeing my sweet baby boy playing in his classroom. I get all giddy and excited like it's the first day of school and I'm wearing the coolest outfit around. Ok, so maybe a different kind of excitement, but it really is fantastic. I know I probably walk in there with the goofiest grin on my face, but the staff all seem to understand. After all, who wouldn't be excited to see that cute chubby-cheeked face after a long day of work?
8. I Want to Make the World a Better Place. This doesn't require much explanation. I feel now that I have a child, my life has more value and I have more responsibility to build a more just world for my son and for all children. I know, sounds cheesy and a bit lofty, but I do. I just wonder how parents who have truly pointless jobs (like paparazzo who follow Paris Hilton around) justify their work. I know, I'm being judgmental, but seriously, does having pictures of some celebrity's cellulite do anything to create a better world for kids?
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