It's crazy how paranoid parenthood makes you. Up until about a year ago, I didn't even LIKE babies. I had no interest in children, except for that time I saw some parents at a gas station make their nine-year-old get out of the van in sub-zero temperatures and chip the ice off of the windshield ("THAT'S what kids are for!"). But now I'm obsessed with babies. Or at least my baby. Yeah, sure, it's touching and all, but it also fosters an unhealthy anxiety over just about everything. I hyperventilate when Gloria gets a new pimple - what if it's the rare but deadly South American Trypanosomiasi Disease?! Nevermind that she hasn't left the country.
This also affects all parenting plans that Mike and I made while I was pregnant. We originally found that we were mostly on the same page when it came to education, sleeping arrangements, punishment, etc. But now that she's actually here all of my former theories have gone out the window. This leads to more than a little ... discussion ... between Mike and I on certain topics.
For example, the original plan was for her to sleep in a bassinet in our room until she's six months old, after which we will transition her to her crib in her own room. Now the plan is, if Mike wants Gloria to sleep in a different room before the age of one, he's going to have to tear her out of my dead hands. This is because some genius friend sent me a SIDS statistic which shows that sleeping in the same room as your baby significantly decreases the risk of SIDS. The SIDS risk drops to zero at age one, so that will be the age that Mike is allowed to move her to her nursery. In fact, I'm seriously considering going out and buying a sidecar crib for her this weekend. A sidecar crib is a three-sided crib that attaches to your bed, for safe co-sleeping. (Love you, Michael! If you're reading this after work tonight, we'll talk about this in the morning!)
I never claimed it was a healthy thought process.
She is now measuring 23.5". She has grown out of all NB and most 0-3 clothing, but only in length. She's wearing 3M. It's huge on her, but she's too tall for anything smaller.
Mike and I were talking about Gloria growing up and her social status once she hits high school. In both of our experiences, it seems as if all of the popular kids grow up to be alcoholics and losers. In order to avoid this, we're going to get started early in making her as unpopular as possible right off the bat. I'm thinking high-water pants, fostering an early interest in Dungeons and Dragons, and mother-daughter matching prom dresses.
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| She's really bad at "tummy time." She mostly likes to face-plant, or lick the floor. |
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| Mike thinks it's funny to use his hands as a solid surface for her to kick off from. This results in her propelling herself forward like an inchworm. He'd do this until she slithered across the entire room if I didn't stop it. |
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| That giant head is for her giant brain. Genius baby! |
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| "I'm only 2.5 months old, and my parents already embarrass me." |
That last photo is to die for gorgeous :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the idea of a sidecar crib. I will be doing that for at least the first six months when I finally get around to having kids. But probably the first year. :)