I Should Have Listened More...

I was that girl…the smug “I don’t have kids, but I know what I won’t do when I have them” kind. What a load of malarkey, you never know what the hell you are going to do when you’re faced with a newborn and zero time to prepare yourself for what comes next. I am now eating my words – every single one of them - damn judgey mcjudgerson. Even worse, once you are faced with a new infant everyone around you has advice and you’re not sure what to think…you just need to make it through the day without disaster. Don’t get me wrong, they have good intentions and I can appreciate that. But, I’m a stubborn one. My new favorite “I should’ve listened” debacle has to do with mobility. Your baby rolls over and you think “fantastic, I can’t wait until he/she crawls!”…then the cycle continues. He/she starts crawling and you can’t wait until they can walk. Everyone around you tells you that you can wait…because the world gets a little crazier once they are mobile.

Trust me, you can wait until that day. I didn’t believe it either and was overly anxious for Pickle to walk…then I realized quickly that walking leads to running, climbing, and jumping. Unfortunately, we have a toddler that has little fear of heights and zero understanding of the consequences of crashing. It’s become a game in our house…Pickle will run, climb, jump, and squeal like a barbarian. Most of the time it's humorous, then you turn around and she has climbed up the couch and is teetering on the window ledge and you have to choose whether to freak out or wait... There is a fine line between hovering and letting her explore her limits. Inevitably when she crashes/falls/screams bloody murder, I am the closest person to her. El husbando immediately gives me the “why did you let her crash/fall/scream?” look as I pick up the howling, wounded child. Then he walks over and does the “do you want daddy to hold you?” deal. You know…the one where you’re pretty sure he’s blaming you for being in the vicinity and he’s going to make it all better? I roll my eyes and go back to what I’m doing. Three, two, one…she’s done howling after about ten seconds. It’s a super fun game, don’t you think? I’ll give it to him, Daddies are supposed to swoop in and save the little princess from whatever danger awaits. I can’t wait until she’s thirteen, this game will be even more fun.