2015: The Year of Babies

The babies are coming! 2015 is the year of the baby and frankly I cannot wait for all of them to just hurry up and get here. I have hope for the future because so many amazing people I know have chosen to create life. It lessens the blow that Kim and Kanye are also gearing up for baby #2. Motherhood is a not-so-secret club that guarantees so many things; the first of which is absolute joy and the rest include moments of panic and pillow screaming. Clearly everyone I know sees the wonder and beauty that is Charlotte and are probably thinking, Wow, that looks awesome! You are right, it totally is. My heart knows Charlotte, but I never could have predicted the incredible little personality that is emerging. Lately she has been making random grunting noises which I am desperately trying to turn into, What does the lion say?

I cannot wait to meet all these babies and watch them grow. I especially look forward to watching so many people I love become parents for the first time. Since becoming a mom, I have yet to watch a birth on TV without weeping like I’m watching A Fault in Our Stars. I will be (and have been) a blubbering mess when it’s actually someone I know. Thankfully, I’ve not been invited into any of the delivery rooms which is semi-confusing, because if having a speedy labor were an Olympic event I’d take the gold for sure. This year Charlotte will meet her cousins, BFFs, playmates and if real life was anything like Dawson’s Creek maybe even her future husband. I wish you all safe and healthy deliveries. May your elective epidurals be as strong as your beautiful babies. 

The Motherly Instinct

I found an idea on Pinterest for an activity table using an old coffee table, so I posted the final product on Facebook. Now to be clear I did not post a picture of Charlotte licking a splintered piece of driftwood that I had just dipped in lead paint and lined with shards of glass, however the reaction was similar. My husband was excited because he had an excuse to buy a router bit to round out the edges for extra safety. I had yet to put on corner guards, give a shout out to my husband, or identify what type of environmentally friendly non-toxic paint I had used and my newsfeed was flooded with concern. I started musing that I have surrounded myself with people who exude the motherly trait. For example, I have never left to drive anywhere without my own mother reminding me to “drive safely”.  I’ve never been a reckless driver nor have I ever gotten a ticket (although I have been pulled over. Ohhhh high school!). Now that I have a daughter of my own, I completely recognize that my mom's desire to always keep me safe will never change, even though her baby has just turned 30. Everyday I have to fight the urge to plaster Charlotte in bubble wrap and buy her a helmet. 

This is how Charlotte feels about her table.

While I was a Special Ed teacher I worked with a group of women whom my co-worker and I fondly referred to as “The Mothers” because they would remind us to eat our vegetables or put on a jacket when we had bike duty. Sometimes we’d have to ask one of the mothers (Mother Mary, actually) to plug her ears if we thought a lunch time conversation topic would be too risky for her pure heart. It is unlikely I will ever fall completely under this category, but I will always do what I think is safest and best for my daughter. I remind my husband to wear his seatbelt and I only feed Charlotte organic baby food. I’d like to believe I have my own blend of maternal snark; I will always put foam corners on tables and then roll my eyes while Charlotte pulls them off and uses them as teethers.

Look, Mom!

Charlotte building while standing!

I might be wrong about this, but I am pretty sure my heart is going to explode with pride. There is something about watching your child begin to learn that makes the teacher in me do mini freeze frame jumps for joy in the air. It happens around 9 months or so, the wheels begin to turn: I tell her to come here and she does, she can even give me a kiss! I ask her if she wants more and she gives me the baby sign for more, which to the untrained eye looks like clapping. That’s a separate request and you have to say, “Yay!” or clap yourself. Is there anything more comical than having a room full of college educated adults clapping for no reason other than to watch a baby put her hands together repeatedly? This is how we will be spending our holidays.

I was never fanatical about Charlotte learning how to crawl. I was excited sure and I lost 5 pounds within the first 10 days, but I knew it meant she’d have virtually unlimited access to all things. Now that we’ve reached the mobility stage and there are no boundaries, I’m eager for her to start walking. Something about her graduating into bipedalism will transform her into an actual little person. As with all things related to parenting there can be no rushing these things. There are no tricks or devices that can speed this process up. It is the first of many times our children get to decide when they are ready and to remind us that, just in case we forgot, we have absolutely no control whatsoever. So while they are learning to talk the talk and walk the walk it is our job to simply put our hands together.