Getting a Little Creative

I think sometimes mommies get a bad rap as losing… well, many things. Their looks. Their inner passions. Their sexuality. Their sanity. Their keys and cell phone. I have specifically become a repeat offender of that last one. I’m not sure what happened to my ability to find those two specific items the precise moment that Amelia was born, but I can tell you that on any given day you can hear me say ’Where are my keys?!? Sweetie, have you seen my cell phone?? I just had it!’  I’m pretty sure the same gnomes that thief our socks while they are in the dryer move my cell phone and keys around the house just to add a few hectic moments to my days.

I would add to the list, creativity. I mean, let’s face it, when you are in a routine of change diaper, feed, make goo goo noises and smile, rock baby, clean house, REPEAT over and over again, all day long, things may very well get monotonous. I have become pretty good at mixing things up enough to fluctuate our routine and have some summer fun. Despite having a baby to care for, we pretty much do something enjoyable every day, whether it is a picnic, shopping, farmers markets, or a baseball game.

I think the reality is, mommies have to be pretty creative to make it through the day. The first creative moment was probably when we came home from the hospital and I had to change Amelia’s diaper for the first time. While at the hospital, I had no practice doing this task, as I was bed ridden due to passing out twice after birth. I’m pretty certain my body was telling me it was displeased with me for putting it through meds free childbirth. In any event, as soon as we got home with our little bundle of joy, Jon had to leave for a job interview. He looked a little nervous about leaving me, but I assured him we’d be fine.

And we were, except I was not aware of the importance of making sure little Amelia’s diaper was plenty high on her back. By the rules of parenthood, if you fail to follow the essential diapering techniques, that will be the moment your child has a great big bowel movement. Of course, my daughter was no exception. I should add that she hated having her diaper changed for the first six weeks of life. So now you have an exhausted mommy, two days post childbirth, with a screaming baby with poop up her back. And no surprise, her outfit was white, of course. I don’t recall what technique I used, but I know somehow through several tears and a backache from bending over the changing table, I used every bit of ingenuity to get that poo covered outfit off my newborn without smearing it on her little angry face.

This past weekend has required some additional creativity. While Amelia is generally a joy on most days, she, like all of us, has her moments of discontent. Sunday was one of those days. Perhaps you are thinking I had back-up relief since her daddy was home, but alas he was busy fixing the water that’s been mysteriously leaking into our basement, and therefore, I was on my own. To be honest, she was driving me kind of batty. I’d sit her on the couch next to me. WHINE. Feed her. After finishing, WHINE. Let her hang on to me while she walks. Well, yes, she loved that, but how long can you be a human support before you tire of it? Apparently for me it’s about twenty minutes. I tried putting a kid’s movie in. Nope, didn’t like that either. After about an hour of this, I’d had it.

What to do, what to do (in reality, I was really muttering swear words under my breath). We took a little walk around outside, which made her happy but ideally I was looking for a little break, without taking her for a walk in her stroller in the blazing July sun. The following was my solution.

This is the cheap swing I bought at a children's resale shop when she wouldn't sleep in her pack and play as a newborn and I was exhausted. It didn't cost very much, but I was a little dismayed that I wasted money on it when I discovered that she HATED it. She only liked her swing in the living room. So, this has been sitting out in our garage collecting cob webs for months. Not anymore though!

And this is when the sun started shining down on her little chunky legs. I certainly wasn't going to move her in the swing when she was sleeping peacefully. Never fear, the swing is now a baby tent.

She was a little distraught at first when she couldn't figure out where she was. Or perhaps disgruntled that Mommy had duped her into taking a nap that she was attempting to avoid altogether.

A little reassurance that Mommy was there with her and that life is good, and she was my smiling girl again!