Observation Hours
There was a baby in our nursery this weekend, and a baby in the car seat we now have installed in our car. There was a baby crawling on our floors and taking a bath in our tub. We heard a baby crying during the night, and giggling during the day. Thanks to Michelle and Tessa’s visit, we’ve seen first-hand how our house looks (and sounds) with a baby in it.
We had a lovely visit; we went to the farmer’s market and the pool, and on Saturday we drove to Lake Tahoe, where we met up with Beth, Nate, and their babies—a whole crew of children. We sat on the beach (the lake is back to being unswimmably cold), ate lunch on a blanket on the sand, and swam in the pool at the Hyatt where Beth and Nate were staying. After so many hours of birth- and baby-related classes, this weekend proved to be the “observation” portion of our training for parents-to-be. It’s nice that our observation subjects were so cute, and so fun to be with.
It was pretty cute having Tessa explore the dustiest corners of our living room and kitchen (and there are a lot of dusty corners—babies don’t abide by superficial cleaning efforts) and smile whenever Andrew entered the room. And it was inspiring to see Michelle’s expert traveling setup—a baby, a backpack, a diaper bag. I know it wasn’t easy; but she certainly made it look like it was. It was a good shot of reality to spend these days with the little one—my imagination seems to stop at labor these days, and I’m incapable of envisioning anything that will come after that.
I hope our own child doesn’t turn out to be the wild terror on the proverbial playground, bullying the other kids and exhausting her helpless, clueless parents. I don’t think she will be. She did, however, seem to kick a bit more whenever Tessa cried, as though she was intrigued by the sound and was eager to try it out herself as soon as possible. Soon enough, little one, soon enough.
We had a lovely visit; we went to the farmer’s market and the pool, and on Saturday we drove to Lake Tahoe, where we met up with Beth, Nate, and their babies—a whole crew of children. We sat on the beach (the lake is back to being unswimmably cold), ate lunch on a blanket on the sand, and swam in the pool at the Hyatt where Beth and Nate were staying. After so many hours of birth- and baby-related classes, this weekend proved to be the “observation” portion of our training for parents-to-be. It’s nice that our observation subjects were so cute, and so fun to be with.
It was pretty cute having Tessa explore the dustiest corners of our living room and kitchen (and there are a lot of dusty corners—babies don’t abide by superficial cleaning efforts) and smile whenever Andrew entered the room. And it was inspiring to see Michelle’s expert traveling setup—a baby, a backpack, a diaper bag. I know it wasn’t easy; but she certainly made it look like it was. It was a good shot of reality to spend these days with the little one—my imagination seems to stop at labor these days, and I’m incapable of envisioning anything that will come after that.
I hope our own child doesn’t turn out to be the wild terror on the proverbial playground, bullying the other kids and exhausting her helpless, clueless parents. I don’t think she will be. She did, however, seem to kick a bit more whenever Tessa cried, as though she was intrigued by the sound and was eager to try it out herself as soon as possible. Soon enough, little one, soon enough.
Comments
It WILL be easy. Everyone finds their knack, and pretty soon, you will be the envy of those couples awaiting a baby of their own. Your diaper bag and things you take with you will get smaller and smaller with time, and you will be proud of yourself with each step you make.
And monster children are not born - they are made. Your baby will be nothing short of an angel.