It has occurred to me that if we were to add two to our dependents (most likely the furry, four-legged sort at this point), and if we were to give them names that started with O and I, respectively, we could have our own E I E I O. This will be a considerable point on the side in favor of getting pets--but I'll still do only one kind of poop at a time, so it will have to wait.
Yesterday was a better day than the one before. We managed a successful grocery shopping trip with no major incidents--personal or mechanical. My mom got me an ergo baby carrier when e was born. I love it. I can put e in it and keep him comfortable and happy for an entire trip through the grocery store. Meanwhile, I am pretty comfortable and happy myself--a big change from all the other baby carriers I've tried. Anyway, with e in there, E in the cart and I walking alongside me (yes, I do see the grammatical issues arising with this configuration of code names), we made it through with E having only one tantrum, I not having any, and e only a little sour every now and then. It's funny, e looks like a delightfully happy, healthy newborn. I find people here are a little more overtly friendly to and interested in children at grocery stores than I am accustomed to (another benefit of the ergo--it keeps baby e safely sequestered). So, when these overtly friendly and curious people confront me with questions and comments about my baby "He's so cute! How old is he?" and I answer "5 months" they look very puzzled and usually say something about how small he is. This doesn't really bother me. He IS small. But I'm never sure what to say. I sometimes just say "Yes, he is" and move on. Other times I try to explain "He spent most of those 5 months in the hospital" but then I find people usually feel bad and awkward about having said something about his size and sometimes I end up getting stuck in a longer conversation (Time is precious when shopping with children. One must move along.) I will keep experimenting. Any suggestions?
E has been having a little well-deserved trouble adjusting to big-brotherdom. Yesterday he hit e in the face with his bag of pretzels. I took him aside and told him that I knew he was a good and kind person and it made me sad when he did unkind things. He smiled, hugged me, and went to apologize to baby e. I will try to remember that one when many future other ones don't end so well!
A friend has taken I and E to her house to play today (thank you!!) It has been so helpful. I have gotten a few things done, and had some very enjoyable quiet moments with e. (though I suppose most of his moments are quiet ones...). He seemed to have slightly more success with his tummy time today. Instead of just rubbing his face on the blanket, he was actually able to bob it up a little every now and then. He has also been chewing on his fingers a little more.
My goal for this afternoon: Attack teetering tower of messiness on my desk. Find property tax bill. Maybe even get it paid.
My suggestion for the "How old is he?" - fib. The difference between a lie and a fib being that a fib has no bad consequences. Tell them he's 3 months old, or that he was premature. Odds are that you'll never see these grocery store folks ever again anyway. When I was pregnant, I got H-U-G-E each time and got tired of the shocked faces when I told people I was five months and I looked eight. So I started either telling people that I was eight months or that I was having twins. No harm, no foul and I didn't leave the encounter feeling like a freak show. Of course, you have to be careful that "I" doesn't overhear you; she would surely rat you out!
ReplyDeleteJust say, "Yes some babies just come in smaller packages" and walk away. It really isn't their business, but that way you aren't really being rude either.
ReplyDeleteMaybe when people say he's small, you can say, "Yes, but he's growing!"
ReplyDeleteOnce my 8 month old got mistaken for a 2 month old. Not because he was small but because the person just didn't know anything about babies. We have to assume that a lot of the people you meet only think they know what they are talking about when it comes to baby size, anyway.
My two cents. Maybe not worth that!