son, patience is a virtue

It's a given that adults deal with situations that frustrate. It's natural to be feel impatient, especially when you are surrounded by fast food, fast internet, instant messaging. But babies don't have to deal witih that, right? Their world is as wide as their arms can reach and whatever mommy and daddy can provide is good enough, right?

Wrong.

At 6 plus months, Aidan is frustrated. At around four months, he hated being on his belly. Not even 10 seconds would pass and he would be screaming and then crying until you picked him up. But, tummy time is important so we kept encouraging him and after a long while, he finally took to it. Fast forward to now-- Aidan is trying to crawl. He finally gets the idea that you have to be on your knees, but he's developed this habit of crossing legs at the ankles (when he reclines, sits, you name it) and he doesn't realize that just won't do if you want to crawl.

He keeps trying. He'll be sitting or on his back when all of a sudden, he's on his belly and gets into position. He gets on his knees and pushes up-- but he doesn't yet get that you have to push up on your hands and straighten your arms. He keeps his head on the ground and grunts. Then screams. Then cries in frustration. All we can do is cheer him on and them watch him fall to his side so he can do his signature rollover.

Out loud, I encourage him to keep trying--- "you don't have to do it all today, Aidan!" But in my head, especially after he's nursed and I'm holding his sleeping form in my arms, I think ,"Slow down... don't be in such a hurry to grow up!"

When Mommies Attack

When I started this blog many months ago, it was a result of going to a seminar and building one for work. I thought it would be a fun way to keep friends and family updated on my pregnancy and some of the trials and tribulations experienced as a first-time mom. In the back of my brain, I knew that having a blog meant everyone with access to the world wide web would see these pictures and ramblings, but that didn’t bother me at the time. There are millions of blogs out there about parents and their babies—why would anyone not known to or related to me even bother?

So, imagine my surprise when I received a flaming email from Ricki (who I don’t know) early this morning.

“i was into your blog until you started getting all my kid is better than yours.”


What the hell? If you know me (which Ricki obviously doesn’t) I’m not that kind of person and I have never written anything that says that. I can see now where she might have picked up this tone—my post about Aidan’s high fivin’ was meant to be tongue in cheek, but I guess that didn’t come through. (I mean really, high fivin’ is hardly a skill and he hasn’t done it since!)

In any case, Ricki continued her virtual tirade insulting me, my child, my husband and working mothers. She continued to say that her being a stay-at-home mom to three boys made her a “real” mom and then she cast a “pox” on me and my family.

Oh, she also called me a cow and attacked my ethnicity. Nice.

There were more insults and unsolicited, fragments of so-called mothering advice, but really, it was just mean.

I naively thought motherhood was this universal club where other moms shared knowing looks and supported each other, whether you chose to stay home or not. I’m lucky to be surrounded by friends that are moms (stay at home and working) that share advice and do not judge because our parenting styles and decisions are different. I’m sure in a perfect world, all moms would love to stay home with their babies, but a lot of them can’t. I’m one of them. I think when it comes down to it, parents want happy, healthy kids and they will do whatever it takes to attain that in order to raise them into kind, happy, productive adults. As long as that is the goal, does the “means” matter, as long as no one is getting hurt, taken advantage of, etc.?

I don’t think I’m different from any other mother that revels in the little, ordinary milestones that babies do—probably not a lot blog about it. I could blog about sleepless nights, worrying about whether he’s nursing enough, how tired I am at the end of the day—but why waste time complaining when I can talk about the small “unordinary,” fun things that my kid is doing?

Since I can blog, I do because I want to share this news with those who care. If you don’t care, don’t read my blog.

Ricki, you are very lucky to be able to stay home with your boys and they are lucky to have you. I truly hope you and yours never experience the feelings of intolerance, judgment, and downright meanness your email inflicted on me.

rice is nice!

Aidan had his first taste of "solid" food on Saturday. We obviously don't have to worry about this kid's appetite-- this is Aidan's "I want more" face. You'll get this face when he is "presented the boob" or food (his or yours) is anywhere within arms reach. Sometimes he makes this face when he wants to be picked up by me or Paul. It's hilarious.

The signs that your baby are ready for solid foods include sitting up on his own (check), interest in what you're eating (double check) and not being totally satisfied after nursing (um, kinda.) Aidan was ready three weeks ago according to what you read, but we opted to wait after his six month appointment with baby doc to get some tips on how to introduce solids.

Or, maybe he was just reveling in the fact that he now uses a high chair positioned at the head of table?

So, rice cereal has been a success. Next installment-- applesauce. Yum!

has it really been six months?

where did the time go? aidan is now six months old!

when i was pregnant, every parent i talked to would say, "enjoy it-- time flies.. have your camera ready because he's going to change a lot..." they weren't kidding.

here is a little pictorial showing a little of the month-to-month change stuff we were warned about (thanx to Nynz for pointing me towards slide.com):

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow