Out of nowhere I thought I heard a soft "mama!" So I jumped out of bed and peeked in, just in time to see Eli pass out asleep on the carpet two feet from his bed. I guess he had decided to get up and come visit but exhaustion overcame him, so he called for rescue. Awwwwww! I put him back but I'll be surprised if I don't have a visitor before morning!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Thursday, April 17, 2014
I can hardly describe how much I loathe the “world’s toughest job” video. Forgetting the fact that they claim to have advertised it as a real job and conducted those interviews so are wasting the time of genuine job seekers – rude and thoughtless. But being a mother isn’t a “job”. Just because it’s time consuming and takes energy and commitment doesn’t make it a job. We don’t have to assign commercial value to everything in life to give it meaning – things can be meaningful without being part of the commercial world! (Don’t get me started on that whole assign a salary to a mother who does 100 jobs meme… unless you can go out and get a job as a Doctor, Chauffeur or Psychiatrist you are NONE of those things).
And if it were a job, I dispute whether it’s the toughest – I personally would find it much harder to be an astronaut, brain surgeon, or pretty much anything that features on that Dirty Jobs tv show. Do we really undervalue being a mother so much that we have to pull this kind of comparative bullshit to make people appreciate it? Because that’s sad. Being a mother is a really, really great thing, let’s not cheapen it with this nonsense. Plus don’t get me started on the bizarre claims that mothers never ever get to sit down and are on their feet 24/7, and never ever ever get a break at all 365 days a year. What the heck?
Being a mother is without question the best thing I have ever done in my life. I don't need any weird validation like this to feel good about it.
And if it were a job, I dispute whether it’s the toughest – I personally would find it much harder to be an astronaut, brain surgeon, or pretty much anything that features on that Dirty Jobs tv show. Do we really undervalue being a mother so much that we have to pull this kind of comparative bullshit to make people appreciate it? Because that’s sad. Being a mother is a really, really great thing, let’s not cheapen it with this nonsense. Plus don’t get me started on the bizarre claims that mothers never ever get to sit down and are on their feet 24/7, and never ever ever get a break at all 365 days a year. What the heck?
Being a mother is without question the best thing I have ever done in my life. I don't need any weird validation like this to feel good about it.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
What a wonderful time in Little Eli's life. It's so awesome this age - his communication skills, his confidence, watching him learn new things everyday.
For several months now when we get to the "H" page on Dr Seuss' ABC he has flung his arms in the air pre-emptively ready for "Horay! Horay!" which depicts two characters with their arms in the air. A couple of weeks ago I was reading a different ABC book (the metropolitan art one I believe) and when I got to H he flung his arms up. That was pretty cool, that he actually knew the letter, not just the Dr Seuss picture!
He had a few bad nights this week, teeth we think - although as usual his teething is so long and drawn out it happens a few times before any teeth appear! Ended up in our bed three nights in a row. One night he was just sitting in his bed howling at 11:30pm, inconsolable, nothing we could do. We took turns holding him and talking to him. Even tried distracting him with cats! Eventually he calmed enough to drift off to sleep in my arms. Poor darling. I am happy everyday with my decision to always give him the benefit of the doubt. He is too little to tell us what's wrong, so unless I know otherwise (and some tantrums are pretty obvious!) I will always assume he has a legitimate need. I hate it when people say "My baby is crying but he doesn't need anything!" - maybe what he needs is his parents? Eli has always been high needs in terms of the love and closeness he wants, but I treasure that.
The past two nights he has been up late-ish, but both nights when he's eventually seemed tired I've suggested bed and he's trotted off happily and put himself to sleep. I know he's capable of it. So I trust that when he's not going down and is crying it's for a legitimate reason. What better lesson can I teach my child than trust? That his parents trust him, and that we will listen to him? I know people have different levels of comfort, but I'm playing a long game here and I'm not going to compromise now on something that in 20 years time won't seem important.
For several months now when we get to the "H" page on Dr Seuss' ABC he has flung his arms in the air pre-emptively ready for "Horay! Horay!" which depicts two characters with their arms in the air. A couple of weeks ago I was reading a different ABC book (the metropolitan art one I believe) and when I got to H he flung his arms up. That was pretty cool, that he actually knew the letter, not just the Dr Seuss picture!
He had a few bad nights this week, teeth we think - although as usual his teething is so long and drawn out it happens a few times before any teeth appear! Ended up in our bed three nights in a row. One night he was just sitting in his bed howling at 11:30pm, inconsolable, nothing we could do. We took turns holding him and talking to him. Even tried distracting him with cats! Eventually he calmed enough to drift off to sleep in my arms. Poor darling. I am happy everyday with my decision to always give him the benefit of the doubt. He is too little to tell us what's wrong, so unless I know otherwise (and some tantrums are pretty obvious!) I will always assume he has a legitimate need. I hate it when people say "My baby is crying but he doesn't need anything!" - maybe what he needs is his parents? Eli has always been high needs in terms of the love and closeness he wants, but I treasure that.
The past two nights he has been up late-ish, but both nights when he's eventually seemed tired I've suggested bed and he's trotted off happily and put himself to sleep. I know he's capable of it. So I trust that when he's not going down and is crying it's for a legitimate reason. What better lesson can I teach my child than trust? That his parents trust him, and that we will listen to him? I know people have different levels of comfort, but I'm playing a long game here and I'm not going to compromise now on something that in 20 years time won't seem important.
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