Just Like Your Mother

I was walking around the house last night after putting the monkey to bed, closing blinds and checking that windows and doors were closed and locked and I had one of those ‘just like mum’ moments.

Too many women dread hearing those words, getting upset or offended by the comparison but I think I could be nothing but proud if someone were to tell me I was just like my mum.

She had no methods to her parenting, she didn’t read how to books, have the internet or attend classes and support groups on how to raise her four children. If we woke in the night crying or upset, she was there to comfort and cuddle us back to sleep, or to take us back to bed with her and dad. She nursed us all as babies, and cooked and prepared fresh, homecooked meals every day, providing us with healthy breakfasts, lunches and snacks. We got more than plenty of fresh air, sunshine and activity. We were socialized and never lacked for peers and playmates. She always read to us, and would sit listening to us read to her. She helped us with homework, read our assignments and the stories we wrote, praised us for every picture and painting we drew, even if it left more paint off the paper than on it.

If it takes being like my mother to raise my son as well, then let it be.

First Holiday

We had our first vacation since well before Ronan was born this week past. We packed everyone (including Bailey) and everything (except the kitchen sink) up and headed to North Conway in NH where we’d rented a house by the lake.

It was a week of firsts for the monkey. He had his first vacation, first time sleeping away from home, first time on a train (the whistle was a bit loud for him, but he otherwise enjoyed himself), first time eating out at a restaurant, first time eating Indian food, first swim in a river…all in all it was a good week and it was nice to get away and to spend some time together as a family.

Sacrifice

My dad was a smoker before my older sister was born. Shortly afterward, he came home one day and said that he was quitting, and went cold turkey right there and then.

He could have made it easier on himself, cutting back, or only smoking outside and away from my sister, and then me and my brother and my little sister over the years, but he chose to stop altogether.

I’m not sure why, and I have never really asked him, but I like to think it was because we meant more to him, and so that he could be there whenever he wanted to be there, or whenever we wanted him to be there without us having to wait until he was finished with ‘just this one smoke,’ and so that he wouldn’t miss the important things, whether great or small, because he had gone outside for a smoke.

Of course, he couldn’t always there because he also made the sacrifice of working long, hard hours for his family, but he was there when it mattered, and the sacrifices he made mattered.

There’s always an easy way to go about things, but then they aren’t sacrifices, are they?

Happy Father’s Day Dad, and thank you for every sacrifice, great and small that you’ve ever made for your family.

Party On

My little monkey went to his first birthday party today for his cousin Katelyn who is exactly 6 months older than he is (doesn’t that spell future trouble? ;) ). He got right into the spirit of things, joining in on conversations and flirting with all the ladies! He’s such a little social butterfly and didn’t even get cranky when we were late getting home for his nap.

He didn’t eat cake, but he did enjoy a little bit of bow tie pasta salad and then drooled into mummy’s water bottle. Yum!

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Happy Who?

I often hear the phrase thrown around ‘Happy Mum = Happy Baby,’ but there are a lot of things that make me happy that either would not necessarily, or definitely would not, make for a happy baby and most certainly wouldn’t be in his best interests.

It’s hard to accept the loss of self sometimes as a mother, and by no means does motherhood require a complete and utter sacrifice of our own individuality, but I don’t think that I should come before baby/child, or we as a family.

In my own little world, it’s ‘Happy Baby = Happy Mum.’ Even when I’m struggling and occasionally miserable because I have set aside my own wants and needs and happiness for my son’s, all it takes is one smile from him, or to have him lay his head on my shoulder and nuzzle into the side of my neck, or to watch him sleeping peacefully, or squealing with joy at the wall, to get over myself and realize how good I have it and how worthwhile it is to put his happiness before my own.

Get Your Crumpet Out Of Your Pocket

There are some things you would never in a million years imagine yourself saying, like, ‘Get your crumpet out of your pocket.’

Of course, I meant the pocket on one of these and I was talking to Ronan, not his daddy!

The monkey's bib.I just want to say how much I actually love these bibs, too.  Bibs are one of those things that you just never really put much thought into when you’re stocking up preemptively until you actually need to use them. Bibs for drooling, bibs for eating…I think there are a lot of bib makers making a lot of money off of oblivious new mothers and thoughtful gift givers because I have a lot of bibs that are useless for containing the dribble and drool of the wee monkey, and wouldn’t stand a chance against the mess he’s capable of making with food in front of him.

While not all purpose, this is now my favorite go to bib for anything involving food. I’m considering investing in another one or two…or more…

So yeah, like I said, “Get your crumpet out of your pocket.”

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Fluffy Bum

We took a trip to the post office this morning to pick up our package of Ronan’s first cloth diapers! They’re hanging outside in the sun now to dry after a pre-wash and starting tomorrow, I will have a fluffy bummed monkey!

I just hope he doesn’t continue his trend of the last few days of pooping 3-4 times a day rather than just in the morning like he normally does. I blame that on the weaning. What a great time to start cloth diapering.

Bitey Ants

Bad mummy that I am, while we were sitting out on the lawn with Bailey this afternoon (or rather yesterday afternoon since it’s past midnight now), I let Ronan down on the grass where he proceeded to roll into a swarm of ants.

After a cool oatmeal bath that he did not enjoy at all, a dose of tylenol and a slathering of benadryl over the many bites on his arms, legs and even the back of his head, he curled up sleeping peacefully and oblivious to how awful I was feeling. He didn’t act bothered by it, but it had to have hurt and been uncomfortable. I know how it feels, especially since the blighters got in a few nips on me, too.

He woke up at a silly early hour before and while I’d usually get him back to sleep, I had to nurse him and give him cuddles until he was ready to fall asleep again because I just didn’t know if he woke because he was hurting or uncomfortable, or if it was just one of those random wakings that babies are wont to do. I checked his arms while he was feeding and couldn’t even see any of the bites, but why risk it?

As much as I don’t want my baby boy to grow up too fast, I can’t wait until he’s able to communicate with me, especially if it’s to let me know when he’s hurting.

Anyway, so here I am wide awake after only a half hour of sleep. Joy.

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6 Months Today

My baby boy was six months today and six months ago I couldn’t even imagine being where we are now or how much he would have grown and changed in such a short time.

Of course, he’s kept me on my toes from day one and just when I think I have him figured out he turns it all upside down on me. Just in case I hadn’t quite got the memo yet, today he’s decided that he was going to go to bed at 3:40pm this afternoon. It’s now 6 hours later and he’s still fast asleep and I’m sitting here wondering when he will wake and if he’s going to want to be up (with me of course) for hours later on tonight.

Dan’s feeling guilty because while he often puts the monkey to bed for the night, he’s usually not around when he goes down for naps but today he put him down for his afternoon nap so now he’s wondering if he confused Ronan into thinking it was bedtime. I’m pretty sure it was just coincidental!

Today was the first day of starting him weaning properly using BLW (baby led weaning) and I had cooked up a big dinner with roast veggies and chicken expecting him to wake up many, many hours ago so we could all sit down together as a family to eat. That obviously didn’t happen, but tomorrow is a new day and as Dan told me, there’s many more days and many more meals to come that we’ll get to sit down and have together as a family.

Life Goals

I just got in from a night out with my friend Kelli to celebrate her finishing up her Masters, with a 3.9 GPA. If you know Kelli at all, she’s going to kick herself for all eternity over that .1, but I’m so very proud of her for what she’s achieved and how far she’s come with everything else going on in her life, and if you know Kelli, you know just how much that is. I don’t think she knows how to sit down and relax!

It’s funny to think how very different our lives are even though we both started off going into university/college to do the same thing. She finished her degree. I deferred mine to travel the world. She just finished her Masters, and I just finished cleaning up the mess my son made after mauling roasted potatoes into mush.

Sometimes I wish that I’d stuck it out long enough to have finished off my degree, but most of the time I wouldn’t change the way my life has gone for anything, and these days I can’t imagine living or even wanting to live a different life to the one I have.

Is it sad to sit there and feel like you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but watching your baby boy gleefully waving around a stick of broccoli while the dog waits expectant and hopeful that he’ll get to eat what’s left over, and your husband is pulling faces and claiming that no child of his would ever love broccoli?

Anyway, congratulations Kelli. I really am proud of you and everything you’ve fought so hard for. Keep on fighting.

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