The Mom I Want To Be

Daddy playing "baby guitar." I still remember back when we were swaddling Baby. He had just passed two months old, and our typical routine of getting him to sleep involved playing an eight-hour long video of the “shushing” sound because Dr. Harvey Karp (of Snoo fame) recommended “shushing” as one of his five “s” tips for calming a crying baby. It appeared to work, or at least help a little. But as Baby grew older, he seemed to be outgrowing the sound. I was thinking about this as I spoke with a coworker at Starbucks that day. It was a rare outing with Baby during  maternity leave, and he managed to fall asleep under my nursing cape despite the loud and busy noise of the coffee shop around us. My coworker, who had two sons himself, asked how life was going, and toward the end of our conversation casually mentioned that it might help to play music for our baby at night. He played Joni Mitchell and other “easy listening” artists, recommending that we pick music that we, as...

Thank you for making this easier. Of course I'm always grateful for the way you raised me--being there for me, supporting me, making me feel loved. Giving me adventurous family vacations. Making Christmas magical. Instilling in me a love of books and libraries. Sharing your hobbies, interests, and fandoms with me. Helping me always feel special. Safe. And so much more, because my childhood was awesome and you are awesome parents. But this post isn't about that. Thank you for making NOW easier. And I don't just mean babysitting my son so that I can go to work. As amazing and wonderful as it is to have people in our lives who want to watch Baby, who want to give him one-on-one attention, who love spending time with him, who love him, and don't expect anything in return, it's even more amazing to have people in our lives who want to help us too. Because babies are great. Fun. Adorable. Fresh and new. Babies get all the attention, as they should. They are so ...

Best photo of the day, because he loves being an airplane. But nothing else could make him smile that hour in a strange, new, hot, and odd-smelling place when all he wanted was a snack and a nap. My baby is a beautiful, smiling, perfect angel from the moment he falls asleep until about 20 minutes after he wakes up. That's usually when the "fussies" begin. Now I can usually prevent a full-on, subatomic meltdown by feeding him, burping him, playing some music, walking around with him, or changing his diaper. And then the fussies are over. But when those techniques don't work (usually because he's tired and doesn't know how to get himself to sleep), I think all parents probably share the same fear. What do we do when what works doesn't work? Is he going to be grumpy/crying/screaming forever?? And the thing about babies is...I think they can smell our fear. They certainly pick up on our emotions. Like when we're nervous or frustrated. Ever see a ...