Where ya been? Where have I been? I’ve been bouncing on my own two feet. No, really. For the past three months I have been bouncing a newborn to sleep, and when he’s not sleeping, I’ve been bouncing him to make him happy.
I have thighs of thunder. I have gams of glam. I have legs that don’t quit and I’m recovering from those 60 lbs. of pregnancy very well, thank you very much. I’m in my old jeans and can stick those 10.0 pommel horse landings.
No, we didn’t get one of those “easy babies.”
We got a tiny tyrant! A malevolent despot! An ungracious guvernator!
And we’re so much in lurrrrvvvveee.
So really, is it any surprise that this blog has been somewhat dormant in the interim? I went back to work at about 8 weeks, but when you’re a bloggin’ for free, it tends to go by the wayside when other things take over.
Well, my dreamy despot is finally in a position to be taken out in public. I would have done it earlier if it hadn’t been for the mean stares of strangers. Most people can’t deal with cranky babies screaming at them while they are shopping and I can’t deal with all that judgment. Emily: Bad Mother!
Some news: Have you seen that Salem Monthly went weekly? Well, bi-weekly. No more stale stories, hopefully. That’s a lot of biking around town for the publisher, so keep picking up those copies.
My column this month is about letting your world get too small when you have a family. Next challenge: Take my own advice.
Ah yes – how your words bring back the memories! I too gave birth to a baby who cried a lot, slept only a little, and stole my heart (as well as a great deal of my sanity). I’d tell you I don’t know how we ever survived, but that’d be lying. Delusional from lack of sleep, (I won’t even tell you when he started to sleep through the night, but let’s just say.. it was only two days shy of forever!) and a little desperate to reclaim my active life, I quickly came to realize that the best way to be a stay-at-home Mom, was to not stay at home too much. Seven years later (and now Mom to two growing boys) I still chase my son around town. He likes sushi, appreciates art, recognizes Salem’s Mayor and several City Councilors by sight, and can tell you the story behind each mural in the State Capitol. This getting-out-into-the-world-from-the-very-start is good for the mommies and for the kiddos. With little ones in the house, it’s a major accomplishment just to shower in the morning, but don’t let lack of sleep, a crying kid, or (in my case) the inability to match your socks for months after becoming a parent, cramp you’re style. It gets easier with every adventure….
Thanks, Angela, you’re the inspiration! We did just that — went to Venti’s with baby for dinner last night. All that noise put him to sleep like nothing else…
So happy to see you are doing okay, and getting out. I miss seeing you- and cannot wait to see the little tyrant again. Hope you and Adam are having a nice Easter with the little one…<3
Becky we came in last week on Tuesday! You weren’t around, sadly. We were there for about an hour while mom kept the Goob. Hopefully we can make it in again soon…
arrrghhh… so sorry I missed you.. I will be dropping by veggie burgers tomorrow, by the way. Email me if you aren’t around or don’t want..=) I’ll see what other goodies I can find for you too.
Your bouncing reminds me of how I sent my hubby to the store to get diapers the first week of my daughter’s birth. I stayed at home watching our tiny babe. He reported back that he found himself holding the diapers and patted and bounced them, in his exhausted state, while he was in the check out line at the grocery store. How those tiny little souls change our lives!
I don’t think we will ever be the same people we were sans children. Our lives are much too rich now. And eventually, you will get sleep. Hang in there!