Random Mom Thoughts

I was recently asked to write down all the things I learn while going through this Mom process. I know I’ll forget everything if I don’t write it somewhere, so I figured here is the safest place. I am sure that other people will have had different experiences than mine, but I thought I’d keep track of some of the things I’ve figured out about this Mom business.

The main impetus for me beginning this post was an experience I just had at the house. All my life I have wondered why my Mom would think of a chore she’d need to do and go off to do that chore and then immediately find herself sidetracked doing another chore and then get sidetracked again until she had totally lost track of the chore she had originally set out to complete.  In the meantime, she would lose all track of time and often not actually finish any of the chores. Today, I grimly realized, that I was doing the same thing. Jhonen had miraculously gone down for a nap that seemed like it might actually last a while (you can sort of sense sometimes how deep a sleep he’s experiencing so you can gage your current activity abilities). I saw him settle into sleep and, wham, I was off and running. I ran down to the garage to refill his diaper supply. On the way to the garage, though, I remembered that I needed paper towels upstairs. On the way to the paper towels, I found my phone which I had misplaced several hours earlier. Finding my phone, I figured I’d check my email on it while I had the chance. Then I looked up and found that the laundry needed to be changed over. Then I couldn’t remember why I’d come downstairs so I grabbed the paper towels and went back upstairs. The minute I got upstairs I realized I had never gotten the diapers from the garage!

As a Mom, there are so many things I could do with any given two-free-handed moment, either for Jhonen of for me or for the house or for work, that it’s hard to figure out where to start or how to prioritize. Hence, the scatterbrained free-for-all chore rampage through the house that, inevitably, leaves me completely exhausted only to hear him starting to cry in his bed. I should have been napping.

I don’t know if there is much of a lesson in this story. Just maybe I realization that I should be easier on my Mom and easier on myself. I obviously can’t fix the economic crisis and get all the laundry done in one nap session, so just pick a few things to do and don’t get mad at myself if I can’t finish them….or if I occasionally rampage around the house like a crazy person. It happens.

Next….socks that are thick and slick, the ones that look like they’ll stay on little squirmy feet, don’t actually stay. It seems that the socks with any acrylic in them don’t stay on and the ones that are made of thin cotton, the ones that you’d think would come off, actually stay on. Socks that look like dress socks stay on the best.I also love the socks that look like they are shoes. Jhonen has two pairs and they are my favorites and they stay on really well, too. He has really big feet, though. Maybe it’s not as big of an issue for other babies?

There are a lot of decision to make as a Mom. And they are important ones that affect another human being’s health and all-around wellness. It’s stressful. My latest round of decisions relate to immunizations. I wish I could offer wisdom about this. All I can say is, research as much as you can and do what seems best for your family. Then hope for the best. I have trust issues when it comes to medicine and science. That doesn’t help my already poor decision making abilities.

Don’t pick out clothing for your baby based on months. Look more closely at the tags and pick out pieces based on the weight range. Jhonen is a big boy and is already wearing size 3-6 months and he’s not even two months old yet. The 3-6 month weight range, though, matches Jhonen’s weight perfectly with some room to grow.

Footy pajamas are the best. So are white Birdseye diaper cloths. Boppy pillows should be given out for free with every baby. Try out as many baby carrying devices as possible. There are so many options with Baby Bjorn-like carriers, wraps, slings, backpacks. It seems like there is a time and a place for each type.

Making multiple  short  trips seems harder than making one trip even if that one trip lasts all day. It seems I run into more trouble in the constant in-the-car, out-of-the-car transfers than in going to one place and hanging out there for a while. He has recently traveled with me to EPCOT and to Sea World and did a surprisingly great job. They were all day trips and he slept through most of them. I tried to go run short errands to the pharmacy, the grocery store, Target with a drive-through Starbucks on the way home and all hell broke loose.

I’m never lonely. The other day I took Jhonen to the grocery store for the first time by myself. I was nervous about what I would do if he got really upset or if he needed to eat while we were there with a full cart of frozen goods. I was pleasantly surprised when I put him in his wrap and he just looked out, peacefully, at the passing hot dogs, cereal boxes, and wine bottles. I found myself asking him all sorts of questions while we walked the aisles. Should I get Italian vinaigrette or honey mustard? Fat free or regular cream cheese? Would your Dad prefer kielbasa or smoked sausage? He was my little buddy! It may have been trickier (and heavier) shopping with a two month old, but it was more fun. It was an adventure.