Making it Work

Despite my propensity for making lists and having pretty planners, I like to think that I am was a spontaneous person. Abbey changed that to some extent. I read a ton about parenting styles and sleep aids (for her, not me!), and felt armed with a pretty impressive arsenal to attack parenthood. However, once a real, live infant entered the scene, things like taking a vacation shower involved a little extra planning. We finally got into quite the groove this summer when I was home on a regular basis. I got rid of the diaper bag, Abbey didn’t yet have opinions about what to listen to on the radio, and we were able to come and go whenever we felt like it.

Adding another person to the mix really complicated things. Suddenly, getting out of the house is a twenty to thirty minute process…and that’s on a good day. I’m back to the diaper bag (and might even need a larger one, gasp!), the infant carrier, and a toddler who sometimes doesn’t want to get in the car since it’s more fun to eat snow. All of a sudden, I am making some parenting decisions based on convenience and not a well-formulated philosophy gleaned from the wisdom of one of those books I read. For example, on Friday I made my first trip to the grocery store while wearing Dylan in a baby carrier on my chest. Aha, attachment parenting! We are using cloth diapers on both kiddos. Aha, eco-friendly parenting! Am I finally embracing some crunchy, inner hippie I didn’t know existed, you ask? No, I am just grabbing a la carte anything that seems like it works for our family in the present moment. Sometimes that’s the best a mom can do.

My independent girl has basically decided to give up napping (not that she was ever really good at it!) This happened the other day while we were reading on the couch.  She simply leaned over and was sleeping within seconds.  I left her there, because I take what I can get right now.  Sleep experts would not approve.

My friend Joann bought Abbey her own little baby sling.  She uses it for a variety of her friends (Elmo is the lucky one in this picture.)  I only use my carrier for Dylan; Cookie Monster will have to wait his turn in Abbey's sling.

Check out the cloth diaper on my ladylike sitter.  She likes the baby gym so much that she was coloring with her arms around one of the arches.  Dylan is a pretty chill baby (when he's not uncomfortable from his reflux issues...but that's another post), and he doesn't mind sharing his toys with his big sister.