I think I worked myself into a tizzy about our upcoming flight and trip to Chicago as it is already a pain in the ass to fly, but now we were adding a midget to the mix. The issue doesn't necessarily lie in the little one themselves, but the entourage of items that you need to cart in order to ensure their comfort in strange places. On top of it all I tend to be a bit of an overpacker so now I personally have a large suitcase and one for my son that is overflowing with stuff. Bathing suit for Chicago in March? Why not? 12 different outfits? Sure, we will be there for 6 days and he is bound to puke or shit on one of them. Thinking of the outfits in hindsight, my super coordinated son would be all cute to meet his Chicago family, then end up in a onesie and diaper for photos. Such is the way.
But I digress. We were taking a flight out of a city about an hour and a half away from us for the frugality's sake and everyone kept telling me what was key with flying with a baby was to give yourself plenty of time at the airport. Not this family. My poor law-abiding husband was pushing the limits of speed as we realized that our flight was 30 minutes sooner than we had thought. Did we look at the ticket the morning of to be sure? No way, looking at the ticket en route to the airport to determine the time is never a good plan, but it was the first time I had sat down in about 3 days of disorganized packing. (ie the over analysing overpacker!) We zoom into the airport counting on the fact of curbside check in to make life easier....not at this airport. Now we have 3 suitcases, stroller, car seat, carry ons, diaper bag, and of course the little one to tote into the airport. Okay Noah, you just hang and watch the car while mommy and daddy check in. Once again my husband turned into a pack mule while the child and I take the car to a very remote lot for parking once again for frugalities' sake. As I am offloading into a waiting terminal for a bus to take me, the baby, the car seat and carry ons back to the airport, I receive a frantic call from my beloved telling me that the plane will be boarding in less than 10 minutes and could I hurry on over. I can see the airport in the distance, its not far, say less than a half mile, but looking at my load I am not as worthy of pack mule status as he is. Thankfully the shuttle comes into view and I practically dive on board and beg the guy to bypass the other stops as our flight is leaving in 20 mins. Fortunately (maybe) the baby begins to fuss at this time which sealed the deal and off we were. Getting to the airport as my husband is just finishing checking in, you can totally tell that we are the newbie parents in this situation. I have a crying baby with dirty pants on my hip, half open diaper bag on my shoulder, heavy winter coats stuffed in a car seat, and an unopened stroller that we are dragging uselessly as we look for a changing room. On a side note, family restrooms are AWESOME!
We get the diaper situation resolved in record time and on to security with our circus act. This is where I had conjured up so many nightmares in the previous week's dreams, plus I didn't know if they had to strip search the baby. I had visions of diapers coming off and unfortunate spraying of airport police that leads us to a windowless room and a woman named Verla with rubber gloves. Thankfully they were helpful with all the gear and we once again broke time records getting boots and belts back on. And no they had no interest in baby or what was under his clothes! We luckily are getting on a plane that is right by security and we breathlessly get scanned in and board the plane.
Being late has its disadvantages as we had to take the last two seats in the very back of the plane by the engine and the pleasantly scented bathroom. On top of that, we had to walk past all the other passengers with a baby in our arms. We might as well been carrying a pair of vuvuzelas and harmonicas for the stares we got. You know you have done it. I am guilty of seeing the family with the kid and thinking 'Oh shit please don't be sitting by me!', knowing that my seat will be kicked over and over and a piercing screams will fill the plane for the duration of the flight. It is not fun being that couple with the baby as this was part 2 of my nightmare that he would break the eardrums of all the kind people on the plane. I had read that sucking a pacifier or bottle will ease the pressure in a baby's ears as they don't know how to pop them as we ascend and descend. Thank goodness my child loves to eat! He made nary a peep the entire trip and we were congratulated by at least 3 other previously worried passengers on how good he was. Major points for successfully navigating air travel with a baby!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Mom Hair
I had also heard that moms tend to put their looks on the back burner as they become so devoted to caring for everyone else. SO TRUE. I feel like I have sat here and bitched about my hair for the last few weeks, which I thought to be the cause of me feeling like a frumpy dumpy ever since my baby came screaming into this world. The hair is an underlying issue that comes to a head when we go on to think that I really don't have any need to get dressed in the morning. Well, at least out of my jammies. Noah doesn't care what I am wearing, my poor husband has probably given up on me, and I feel that the general public tends to roll out of the house to Kroger in sweatpants too, so why shant I? When you are not putting yourself on stage for the public to see, there is little need to pull out extravagant routines into looking good.
But the hair was a major stalemate. I think my hair was back 6 out of 7 days last week, as it was about 10 inches too long and a great pull toy for my little one's new found coordination. So I did it. I drug myself to my hairstylist and nervously let her cut 7 inches off. Thank god she is a sweetheart and did it in 3 inch increments so I could test out the waters. I am now one that can be lumped in with other moms as "I knew she would cut her hair when the baby came" type of gal. I had crazy visions that a haircut would be one that would look styled fresh off the pillow and that would propel me into looking like the cute hip moms you see in Baby Gap. Not so much. Now I have my hair back with bangs still sticking out in ridiculous angles but the ponytail is much shorter now. I am still frequenting my workout clothes as daily attire and am lucky if I have time to thoroughly wash my face everyday. I think I have been watching too much What Not to Wear in hopes that style ideas will attach to me, or in hopes that secret footage is just around the corner.
But the hair was a major stalemate. I think my hair was back 6 out of 7 days last week, as it was about 10 inches too long and a great pull toy for my little one's new found coordination. So I did it. I drug myself to my hairstylist and nervously let her cut 7 inches off. Thank god she is a sweetheart and did it in 3 inch increments so I could test out the waters. I am now one that can be lumped in with other moms as "I knew she would cut her hair when the baby came" type of gal. I had crazy visions that a haircut would be one that would look styled fresh off the pillow and that would propel me into looking like the cute hip moms you see in Baby Gap. Not so much. Now I have my hair back with bangs still sticking out in ridiculous angles but the ponytail is much shorter now. I am still frequenting my workout clothes as daily attire and am lucky if I have time to thoroughly wash my face everyday. I think I have been watching too much What Not to Wear in hopes that style ideas will attach to me, or in hopes that secret footage is just around the corner.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
No-nap Sevilla
I am going to preface this blog with the tiny fact that my son sleeps through the night. I mean some 10-11 hours at a time. That off my chest, many of you will say I am selfish for the fact that I also want him to take a nap during the day. Yeah, yeah beggars cannot be choosers, but momma needs a bit of time to herself during the day. Is it so much to ask for the time to take a decent shower, eat lunch, or complete the simple mundane task of dusting? It took me 3 and a half hours (off and on) to dust my living room, and lord knows that I do NOT live in a 3000 sq foot house! I also know that I have signed up for a job that is 27/7, there are no 'off' days or even times when you are a parent, but naps are a mom's little gift of tranquility and sanity each day.
Not in this house.....My son decided back when he was going to sleep through the night that he was only going nap in increments of 30 minutes. He'll go down like a dream, drift off and as soon as the 30 minute mark hits, he goes from zero to scream! At that point you have to either catch him before he wakes (yes, 3 days of watching him nap and waiting to pounce and shush him back to sleep) or give up the ghost and have a crazy child by 6pm. The 'experts' say create a routine that signals sleep and you should have no problem. Have I mentioned that my son is not out of any textbook?! Anyway, I have now created this elaborate get-him-to sleep routine that is starting to take as long as the 30 minute nap itself. First I have to wrap him in his burrito wrap super tight, hoist him on to my shoulder, and alternate an awkward bounce from leg to leg till he stops fussing and eventually passes out. You can always tell its nap time around here by the huge wet drool spot on your shoulder.
I got to thinking that why am I exerting all of this energy for a mere catnap? Then I realized I had entered the zone that I wanted to avoid. I was so crazy adamant that I did NOT want to create bad sleeping habits for my son, that I actually ended up creating one. Now, we have come a loooong way from the days of the bathroom fan and I suppose when I thought about this nap time ritual that it didn't seem that ornate due to the methods of the past. But when I have to do a goofy hop step for ten minutes for my 4 month old to fall asleep I have become one of those women. Now I have read online about mommas who have their children nap in a swing or seat, rock them or wear them, or even drive around for 3 hours (really?).
I realized that it was all because of the fear of the cry.
Let's see the book titles: No Cry Nap Solution, Baby Whisperer, Happiest Baby on the Block all denote serene calm solutions where what they suggest will allow you to place your calm, happy baby in their bed awake and they will just drift off to sleep I have to raise the bullshit flag on this one. Each and every book and most of the crap you read on the Internet forbid you to let your child cry it out to sleep. Now I remember in my days of babysitting that many parents included this cry it out portion in their notes of the babies nighttime routine. I even pulled out the ol' Dr. Spock book (circa 1971 by the way, that also promotes giving a child an empty cigarette box to entertain themselves with..) which he said that we have thus spoiled the child rotten by doing all this silly methods to put the baby in their bed while they are asleep. He said that you do some bedtime cuddling, reading, or singing to calm the scene down, then put them in bed, give them a kiss and roll out. Did he mention that you may want earplugs and a bottle of wine? Now I have also read the flip side to the cry it out outlining the evils of it, saying that the child will lose trust in their caregivers, loss of appetite and weight, and a general sullen nature will overtake them. Choices choices. No wonder you may see the same mom's car drive past your house 18 times in 2 hours as she now believes that she will ruin her child from letting them cry.
I admit, I am working on the crying method. I don't love it. It absolutely breaks my heart to hear him cry, but I know that he is clean, fed, safe, loved, and above all tired. He is crying because I am not putting him to sleep the usual way and it is hard for him to grasp. We will see how long this will last as the crying experts say that they will cry less and less each time. I do have to say that with the new method in place he is starting to nap longer... Coincidence??
Not in this house.....My son decided back when he was going to sleep through the night that he was only going nap in increments of 30 minutes. He'll go down like a dream, drift off and as soon as the 30 minute mark hits, he goes from zero to scream! At that point you have to either catch him before he wakes (yes, 3 days of watching him nap and waiting to pounce and shush him back to sleep) or give up the ghost and have a crazy child by 6pm. The 'experts' say create a routine that signals sleep and you should have no problem. Have I mentioned that my son is not out of any textbook?! Anyway, I have now created this elaborate get-him-to sleep routine that is starting to take as long as the 30 minute nap itself. First I have to wrap him in his burrito wrap super tight, hoist him on to my shoulder, and alternate an awkward bounce from leg to leg till he stops fussing and eventually passes out. You can always tell its nap time around here by the huge wet drool spot on your shoulder.
I got to thinking that why am I exerting all of this energy for a mere catnap? Then I realized I had entered the zone that I wanted to avoid. I was so crazy adamant that I did NOT want to create bad sleeping habits for my son, that I actually ended up creating one. Now, we have come a loooong way from the days of the bathroom fan and I suppose when I thought about this nap time ritual that it didn't seem that ornate due to the methods of the past. But when I have to do a goofy hop step for ten minutes for my 4 month old to fall asleep I have become one of those women. Now I have read online about mommas who have their children nap in a swing or seat, rock them or wear them, or even drive around for 3 hours (really?).
I realized that it was all because of the fear of the cry.
Let's see the book titles: No Cry Nap Solution, Baby Whisperer, Happiest Baby on the Block all denote serene calm solutions where what they suggest will allow you to place your calm, happy baby in their bed awake and they will just drift off to sleep I have to raise the bullshit flag on this one. Each and every book and most of the crap you read on the Internet forbid you to let your child cry it out to sleep. Now I remember in my days of babysitting that many parents included this cry it out portion in their notes of the babies nighttime routine. I even pulled out the ol' Dr. Spock book (circa 1971 by the way, that also promotes giving a child an empty cigarette box to entertain themselves with..) which he said that we have thus spoiled the child rotten by doing all this silly methods to put the baby in their bed while they are asleep. He said that you do some bedtime cuddling, reading, or singing to calm the scene down, then put them in bed, give them a kiss and roll out. Did he mention that you may want earplugs and a bottle of wine? Now I have also read the flip side to the cry it out outlining the evils of it, saying that the child will lose trust in their caregivers, loss of appetite and weight, and a general sullen nature will overtake them. Choices choices. No wonder you may see the same mom's car drive past your house 18 times in 2 hours as she now believes that she will ruin her child from letting them cry.
I admit, I am working on the crying method. I don't love it. It absolutely breaks my heart to hear him cry, but I know that he is clean, fed, safe, loved, and above all tired. He is crying because I am not putting him to sleep the usual way and it is hard for him to grasp. We will see how long this will last as the crying experts say that they will cry less and less each time. I do have to say that with the new method in place he is starting to nap longer... Coincidence??
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Vow of silence?
My poor child has faced a battle with cradle cap since he was 4 weeks old. Cradle cap is a type of skin dermatitis that is like dandruff that is caused by all the hormones from pregnancy. The scalp becomes this plate of hard crusty yellow scales that are super tempting to pick. This particular dermatitis can also effect other parts of the body, giving my son fishy scales behind and in his ears and between his eyebrows. We can just say that I have not enjoyed this part of his growing up thus far. The poor thing has spent 3/4 of his life looking and smelling like an old Italian man from all the olive oil I put on his head in hopes of breaking up the scales and taking them off. To no avail.
My son was also born with a wonderful head of hair that has earned him many the complement and smile. Not anymore. I suppose in order for the damn scales to come off, as did his hair. Can't win it all I guess. But now he looks like a monk about to head into the monastery. Or maybe its a glimpse into his future as both his grandfathers are a little light on the top too.
The weather may be warming up but this kid will continue to wear hats.
My son was also born with a wonderful head of hair that has earned him many the complement and smile. Not anymore. I suppose in order for the damn scales to come off, as did his hair. Can't win it all I guess. But now he looks like a monk about to head into the monastery. Or maybe its a glimpse into his future as both his grandfathers are a little light on the top too.
The weather may be warming up but this kid will continue to wear hats.