That bitty little white thing used to fit my baby. The red one fits him now.
I kinda wish the big one had hand-hiders, though, because his favorite new game is Grab-Neck.
Archive for the ‘Happiness’ Category
Now & Then
Posted in Growth & Development, Happiness, Photopost on November 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Thankful
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness on November 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Tomorrow I’ll be busy making turkey and stuffing and hanging out with my family, so you’re getting my thankfulness post today. (Though I’m generally pretty thankful.)
Obviously, I’m grateful for a healthy baby and a good man to raise him with. For a roof over our heads and the means for me to stay home with our son. For family and friends. But here are a few other things that come to mind:
– The skill and care of the doctor and nurses who saw me through a dicey delivery.
– The glider in the nursery.
– Formula. Because my baby ended up needing it, I have come around to its various charms.
– Baby Tylenol
– Baby Advil
– Onesies. How did anyone ever get by without them?
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.
A Riddle
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness on November 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »
What do babies keep in their pockets?
I’m semi-serious. Look at these lovely things:
Two nice big buttons, excellent depth to keep those important items safe. And full of nothing but lint. Such a waste!
I may have to start putting things in there just to give them purpose. Cheerios, perhaps.
Moving Day
Posted in Growth & Development, Happiness, Milestones, Ugh on November 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, after weeks of scooching around with one leg in front, rocking on his hands and knees but going back to sitting up, and generally not being all that motivated, the baby started crawling. With a vengeance, if that’s possible.
As with the clapping, he busted out this new skill while I was in the kitchen, paying just enough attention to make sure he wasn’t going to bash his head on the floor. A favored toy had rolled away, and nothing else was within easy reach. He sat there for a moment, looking from toy to toy. He looked at me. I said “Hi,” I think.
Then he took off on all fours, both legs behind him, cruised over to what he wanted, and sat down Iike it was no big deal. I cheered.
Today, of course, he is everywhere, going after everything. The heating vent, the door to the deck, that lovely but very pointy table in the photo above. When he went down for his first nap, I moved things and mopped and began mentally bracing myself for the beginning of a new era in which our primary goal is to keep him safe. While letting him explore. And only using the pack-n-play to contain him when it’s really necessary.
At times like this, when I feel fear and doubt taking over, I like to think of my friends who have triplets. And my cousin who has twins. Surely, if they made it through this, so will we.
Baby’s First Divali
Posted in Cross-Cultural, Happiness on November 13, 2012| 2 Comments »
My husband is from Tamil Nadu and was raised in the Hindu tradition, so we observe a variety of holidays from that faith. This morning we celebrated Divali, a major festival that centers on banishing darkness and vanquishing evil. In India, it’s celebrated by pretty much the entire country, across many faiths, and the markets often get a boost from it. This is an excellent summary.
Our observance is relatively simple: We prepare the altar with offerings of fruit, raisins, almonds, sweetened milk with cardamom in it, new clothes, and images of gods and goddesses. We light an oil lamp (most families light a huge number of clay lamps), pray, and go outside to light sparklers. Then we shower, put on the new clothes, light a tablet of camphor and a stick of incense, pray again, drink the milk and eat the raisins and almonds, and go outside again to light more sparklers. At some point we anoint our heads with oil — I think just before the first round of sparklers — but I can’t recall precisely.
The baby will be nine months old this week, so accomplishing all of this around his morning schedule was tricky, and by the end of it he was overtired. It didn’t help that I didn’t realize the top of his Divali outfit (pictured above; a gift from his Indian grandma) didn’t open until I went to put it on him. A few cries of protest were uttered as I worked it over his head and maneuvered his arms through the holes (the fabric, though gorgeous, has no give to it).
But I’m confident he’ll remember the flames and the sparklers more than the wardrobe wrestling match. He’s always been attentive during rituals, and is of course entranced by fire — add sparks, and you have a very happy baby. I know I’ll always remember the rapt look on his face when I think of this day.
And next year, I’ll check the outfit before the big day arrives.
CLOWN PANTS!
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness, Photopost, Stuff I Like on November 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »
A Little Help
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness on November 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »
This morning around 3:30, I thought I heard a few unhappy sounds from the baby. Not full-on crying, just moaning that was on the verge of becoming something… more.
When I peeked at the video monitor I saw that Ned — dear, dear Ned who is Baboo’s most bosom bedtime buddy bear — was in corner of the crib, as far away as he could possibly be from my slightly agitated baby.
I’ve seen my son reach for Ned, and snuggle him, and halfway bite his nose off in glee, so I’m not exaggerating in the previous paragraph. Ned is the closest thing the baby has to a friend, and he provides comfort all night.
So I crept in, put Ned in my baby’s arms, and went back to bed. Overkill? Perhaps. But babyhood is fleeting, and Baboo settled down for four more hours of happy sleep. And it just wasn’t right, those two being so far apart.
New Arrival
Posted in Happiness on November 7, 2012| 2 Comments »
As I was coming back from lunch yesterday, I spotted a neighbor helping his wife up their front steps. I knew her due date was next week, so I stopped and called out, “Congratulations!” Followed quickly by, “Is everyone okay?” The answer, thankfully, was yes.
I am just itching to see their brand-new baby boy, but I remember very clearly how overwhelming those first few days and weeks were. Starting with the first trip to the pediatrician — the idea of putting that fragile little being in a big carrier and strapping him in like a teensy NASCAR driver and then putting him in the car was just so weird! Like, I’m supposed to let go of him? For longer than five minutes? And put him in that big hard thing and get those straps on him and tighten them? How barbaric!
These days, of course, it’s second nature. Going to the store, going to lunch, going to the doctor, putting him in and taking him out. No big deal, and now it’s hard to remember a time when I wasn’t doing all of that. In fact, it’s a little freaky how quickly having a baby became the new normal, how it suddenly became difficult to recall life before he arrived.
And now a new little family down the street is going through the same wonderfully crazy, bizarre, amazing time. I just hope I don’t cry when I see that itty-bitty and all my memories of my baby’s first days come flooding back.
Fat chance! Already happening!
Classy Glass
Posted in Awesome Design, Happiness, Stuff I Like on November 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »
In keeping with today’s theme of “nothing serious,” I offer you this glass.
For quite some time, this has been my bathroom glass of choice. Not long ago, I broke its mate, and I was very excited when my husband said we had another stashed in the back of a dark, high kitchen cabinet.
I like the sturdiness, the ridge at the top of the facets where my fingers can rest, and the lack of pretension about it. I also like that it reminds me of my late Aunt Antonia, who, if I remember correctly, had an entire set of these, both large and small. She was the arbiter of culinary taste in our family, a gourmet chef and professional caterer to whom great food and quality kitchen items were of paramount importance.
Whenever I visited her, I thought surely these must be the best everyday glasses there are, because they’re in her kitchen.
Good Advice?
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness on November 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
When you have a baby, or are pregnant, or talking about having a baby or trying to get pregnant, people will give you advice. It just happens. Some is awful, and some is awesome, and generally, it’s best to just smile and nod. (If you are about to have a baby or thinking about getting knocked up, I advise that you start practicing the smile-and-nod now.)
Here’s some of the best advice I’ve received so far:
– Trust your instincts.
– Go with the flow.
– Get the bottle warmer.
– If he needs you, you will hear him.
– Don’t read too many books.
– Enjoy.
Here’s what I would tell someone who was about to become a parent (if in fact I told them anything at all — I am The Quiet One):
– Trust your instincts.
– Much of early parenting is trial and error. Don’t get hung up on the errors.
– Seriously? Do not get the wipe warmer.
– Everything is temporary.
– Try to remember that your partner is probably just as freaked out as you are.
– Everything is washable. If it’s not, put it away.
– Turn the monitor volume to the lowest setting at night.
– You might be scared by how much you love your baby. It’s okay. That’s just biology at work.
– Enjoy. And if you can’t, please talk to someone about that.
And hey, if I ever say some of this to you and you give me the old smile-and-nod, I’ll understand.
Mama-Come-Lately 