Caution: I Move Fast

Well, thats what Tinysaur would tell me if she could. Since her first attempt at rolling, Tinysaur has gradually started perfecting the art.

Her first roll was from her back to her front, usually aided with a kick off her A-frame Sesame Street toy gym. Next, she graduated (after many days spent by me rolling her back onto her back when she decided she'd had enough of slobbering on the carpet) to rolling from her front to her back. For a while, she was quite happy just rolling and practicing.

Then yesterday, she suddenly figured out the BEST thing ever: she could roll ALL the way across the loungeroom and back again.

So that's how we all spent our time together yesterday afternoon, Daddysaur and I watching as she rolled her way over to her toybox, tipping out the contents, then back over to her mat where she then chewed on her soft books, then rolling back towards us on the lounge....

My job this week? Babyproofing the house! Time to get down on my hands and knees and crawl, crawl, crawl!!

A Very Busy Day

So, today I decided to go downtown, do some clothes shopping, shop for Tinysaur, and also do the grocery shopping. Uhuh. Apparently I thought I could do all that while sleet fell down and I froze my butt off.

First stop was the doctors. While I sat there and got my depo, and a whooping cough/tetanus shot, Tinysaur gurgled and murmured happily in her pram. We then weighed her (8.7kgs/19 pounds), measured her length (67cm) and her head circumference (52cm). (Daddysaur later informed me that her head circumference hadn't changed since birth... I had to remind him that she was 52cm LONG at birth, while her head circumference was only 36cm.... Men...)

Then it was her turn. After spitting up half the medicine on the nurse, we then progressed to her Infanrex shots and another one (I can't remember the name). She cried for a bit, but then focused on her bottle shortly after. So, finished at the doctors, we then moved past all the swine flu patients in the waiting room and headed off shopping...

And what a day we had! I got lots of new clothes for me (I recently culled all my clothes so that I didn't get depressed trying to squeeze into Australian Size 12 jeans), plus got some cute new clothes for Tinysaur and an ADORABLE ear-covering sparkly blue and white beanie for her, as well as shopped for a lovely shiny set of saucepans (which I christened tonight), and a lovely set of sharp knives (which I also christened on our steak and potatoes).

Now, Tinysaur is zonked out on the lounge with Daddysaur.. We had such a big day! Maybe tomorrow we'll just relax at home...

Eating and Pooping

We had a little issue yesterday that I thought I should share so maybe someone can learn from my mistake.

It was time for the Little Man’s bath, but I decided he should have his dinner first. As he was finishing up his chicken and brown rice, he started making telltale grunting noises and turning red in the face. Now, I don’t generally poop and eat at the same time, but the Little Man doesn’t seem to have an issue with it, so I went ahead and gave him what was left in the jar before we moved on to bathing.

I took him in his room, removed his clothes and dirty diaper, let him play naked on the floor while I ran the bath and then went back in to get him. I picked his little, naked self up and headed to the tub. Just as I was about to set him down in the water, I realized we didn’t have a towel. Since I knew that Daddy was absorbed in the NBA playoff game, I figured I better grab it myself.

When we returned to the bathroom, I carefully placed the Little Man down in his rubber ducky tub. As I did that, I looked down and there it was. Between the edge of the real tub and the outside of the inflatable tub was baby poop, except at first glance, I thought it was from the cat. Why I thought she would have crapped in the tub, I do not know.

Anyway, I yelled for Daddy to come and help me clean up the mess. There actually wasn’t much of a mess to clean up, but screaming for my husband just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. As he came rushing down the hall to assist, he stepped in yet another pile of baby poop. I’m really sorry that happened to him, but also very glad it wasn’t me.

So I guess the moral of that story is, wait a little longer after simultaneous eating and pooping to run around the house with a naked babe. Or something like that.

That Mom

I always said I would not be “that mom” that contains her child in a bubble. As it turns out, that is one of the many things about parenting that is much easier said than done. As the Little Man becomes more mobile, it becomes harder and harder not to intervene every time I spot a potential danger.

I mean, honestly, one of these days he will have to learn that not all surfaces are as cushy to fall on as the carpet in our living room. He will discover that not everything is safe to chomp on. And he will need to figure out that it hurts when you take a dive off the side of the bed.

It’s hard, though. I want so badly to protect him from the bad stuff. I would do just about anything to avoid having to listen to him cry. But then, at the same time, I would hate to stifle his curiosity. He’s just so interested in the world right now. There must be some middle ground here; I just haven’t found it yet.

So for now, I will continue to let him do his thing and watch from a distance. I’ll try not to let him hear me gasp every time he pulls himself up on something that isn’t the least bit stable. I will pick him up turn him around when he’s headed toward every single electrical cord he spots. I guess that’s just what moms have to do, right?

Guilty Mother Syndrome

Every working mother will, at one stage, feel 'that' pang of guilt. Guilt that you're not there to see your child's first steps, guilt that you wake them up from a deep sleep so you can work, and guilt that by the time you get home they are asleep in their carseat.

Sometimes, I feel so exhausted that I don't interact with Tinysaur as much as I think I should. Then I feel guilty when I am at home and she is asleep because at last I can rest. It's sad, and it breaks my heart when I scoop Tinysaur up off her playmat, take her out into the cold frosty morning and drive her to the babysitters. Sometimes all I want to do is snuggle up to her and cuddle all day in bed, reading books, playing peekaboo, and making her laugh. And who could resist this....

But through all of this, I remind myself that I am working so I can give her the lifestyle she deserves. And she will ALWAYS know that I love her and would do anything to make her happy.