Baby's Don't Like Cold Water

Yes, when you buy that cute summer pool and those little swimmer diapers... and run in the house and blow up the pool and change the diaper.  WAIT.  Put the pool in the sun after you fill it up, let the water warm up a bit.  Lesson learned.

Making new mom friends is like dating – actually speed dating- all over again.

I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been on a mission to make new mom friends and have been forcing myself to get out of the house and hunt them down. It is really important to have other moms to share this experience with but unfortunately they don't send you home from the hospital with all of the contact information for other new moms in your area. Although it has been slow going, I’ve learned a few things in the past few moths.

1) Pick up lines are a lot easier to come up with when you’re a mom. Who can resist a conversation that begins with “Would you look at that? My child just ____ to your child. You can fill in this blank with limitless options since babies are always doing bizarre things such as: licking each other, pulling off each others shoes, stealing each others bottles and binkies, and sticking their fingers in others orifices. This will also help you weed out the other moms who don’t have a sense of humor about your child, their child, or their child’s orifices.

2) Scheduled play groups, mom’s club outings, support groups, meetup.com, storytimes, and classes are the best way I’ve found to meet other new moms. I have a friend who met her husband in line at a coffee shop. I’m not that quick with any of my relationships. If you are though, you could probably have a lot of luck at your local park or open play area.

3) You do not have hours to talk to other moms. If your lucky you’ve only got a few minutes before you are interrupted by a baby spitting up, pooping, getting hungry or sleepy, or crawling or toddling off so you have to jam pack all your wit and charm and general likableness into just a few sentences. It might be easier if you start when your baby is really young and still sleeps most of the day.

4) Just like the dating books say when talking to a boy, if another mom is reluctant to open up it always helps to compliment them. Tell her something nice about her baby. All babies have something going for them so this should not be hard to do.

5) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Do not seem too desperate or try to push the relationship too fast. I have to admit I’ve made this mistake. Don’t let your new mom friend know that you are penciling her in as your new super best friend on your first play date or push for your husbands to meet so you can start planning your annual double family camping trips. As with dating, if you are prone to fantasies about the future of your relationship, it’s best to keep those fantasies to yourself for now. You can laugh about them later.

6) Lastly: If you are invited somewhere by other moms go! It's the only way you will build the friendship.

Good luck moms and happy friend hunting.

Solids in and solids out

As a new parent you get all excited when you can final feed some solids. It is very cute to see that messy face. I have to say I wasn't ready for the change in poop. My son probably eats about 6 oz of jar food a day and his poop looks like smashed brownies! Where was the warning on this one moms. I have started giving him a little bit of water everyday just so that I can eat beloved brownies again in my life time.

Dressing Routine

Mornings are very routine now. Dad takes a shower, mom feeds boy, dad dresses boy, mom gets bottles ready..... Routines aren't fun and when dad is running late I have to dress our son. Earlier this week I put his romper on backwards (he actually left the house this way!) I can't say I enjoy dressing in general, as my son flails when I put his shirt on. I think he thinks I am trying to smother him. BUT my favorite part, that stops me in my tracks to smile on the most routine of days, is when I stand him up and pull up his little pants over the diapered baby butt. So precious!

Joining the poop club

Have you ever noticed how much parents talk about their kids' poop? When I was pregnant, all the parents I knew seemed to delight in telling me stories about the massive blowouts they had to deal with when their kids were babies. It seemed a little odd to me at the time, but now I sort-of get it. They're just happy to have another member of the club. I mean, you bring your baby home from the hospital and all he does is eat, sleep and poop - you naturally start to obsess over those things. My husband and I give each other regular updates about our son's poop habits. If you listened to us you'd think we were crazy.

The latest in our house is that my son has stopped pooping when he's with my husband - I don't think Eric has changed a poopy diaper in 2 weeks! Eric jokes that they have an arrangement, and what's my comeback supposed to be? Poop equals love? Not exactly a winning argument! I've started singing "Saving all my poop for you" to the tune of "saving all my love for you." It's the best I can come up with.

... how much I would enjoy our first bath

We have been bathing our son in the shower. Now that he can sit I took my first bath with him yesterday. It was pure delight to watch him splash and reach for his duck. We were probably in for 10 minutes and I only had to correct his wobble twice. It is so fun to see his mind absorb new things - it really is like a sponge. He is also so huggable now. AHHH.

Babies - They will find it and they will eat it.

Babies can find anything. They play sweet, innocent, and clueless but in reality their fuzzy little hairs must act as homing beacons for everything you don't want them to find. You can clean your floor 3 times a day but that only makes it easier for your baby to zero in on the one burr or wood chip your dog has dragged in on her fur. If the U.S. really wanted to find Osama Bin Laden they should have sent a bunch of babies into Afghanistan. One of them would eventually have tried to put Bin Laden's toe in their mouth.

Which brings me to my next point. Once they find it they will either try to stick their finger in it or (even more likely) try to put it in their mouth. My daughter and I were at a playground the other day and without warning she stuck her face in the ground and purposely took a huge bite of sand. At first I thought that'll teach her but then I realized she's probably thinking -OK I can check sand off my list now what else can I stick in my mouth. Oh well Que Sera Sera.