Diapers: I was so intimidated by the simple act of changing a diaper when Normy came around. I had never had any experience with kids before so even this most basic of task was daunting to me. I could never get the buggers on tight enough, or on straight, or in place in under fifteen minuets. Each of those first few changes was a real project. Of course, in a month I could change a poopie one single-handed, in complete darkness, and only half awake. This is a skill you get plenty of practice with.
Another hang-up that I eventually got plenty of practice with was the nursing bra. I remember trying them on before Normy was born and thinking I'd never be able to casually unsnap the flaps with one hand. Indeed it was several months before I could undo the thing gracefully with both hands, much less one. Each time I went to undo the shoulder snap I was all arms and flailing elbows. I'm lucky I didn't put out someone's eye...I got better.
Then of course there was bath time. Yikes. I was always so scared I was going to accidentally drowned my baby in the sink; or even just drop him because he was so slippery. He must have sensed my fear because it was many months before either of us started enjoying baths. The first two months or so he just SCREAMED!
OK, who out there wasn't utterly daunted by their car seat the first time they tried to install it, tighten the straps, or even just get their baby strapped in? I was hopeless with ours, and I didn't even have to contend with one of those infant carries that snapped into and out of a base (Thank God!). My solution: make Smoochy load the baby every single time. Ha! yea right! That lasted a week!
Thank heavens Smoochy had plenty of experience with little babies before Normy. He really pulled my weight there the first couple weeks. One of the things I learned from him was the art of swaddling. He has the tightest baby-burrito on the block. I was pretty sure I was never going to get the hang of it. But, like all the other things he's ever taught me, the student has become the master! ;-)
It's kinda' fun to look back on how far Normy and I have come together. I can't believe he was ever so helpless... or me too for that matter!
3 comments:
Wow, Normy is such a big boy now, it's hard to imagine that he was so small such a short time ago. I must admit that I had a hard time w/ all of that, except maybe the diapers (changed lots of those working at daycares in college), and maybe the carseat...the infant carrier snappy thing was very easy..it wasn't until she was out of that carseat that I had trouble.
I never did get the hang of a nursing bra. I abandonded them altogether and started wearing these sports bra type things that I could just lift up and dump my boob out of.
All of that stuff got to be second nature after a while, but now that mine are so much older, I wonder if it would come back to me easily.
Wow, what a great post! It feels good to look back and see how far you've come, hey? While I don't have kids of my own, I feel like that with teaching... it's so terrifiying starting something new, but then by the end of the year, there's a fun sense of "I made it!" and looking at all you've learned.
It sounds like you're a great mom! It's neat that you took the time to celebrate that! :-)
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