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Reality Mom - Reality Mom: My New Found Reality
So, I have been told that when you have a baby, you take a ton of pictures. I understand that. I have taken my share so far. I have also been told that its customary to take professional pictures every month or so. Well, I was sucked in by an offer I received in the mail. Was it from "Sears"? No. From "JC Penny"? I wish. Was it from a local photographer that had a nice portfolio, expensive advertisement flyers and didn't list the prices? Yes. The deal was for the session fee. It was reasonable. I thought I would just order a few prints. So I booked the session, went and waited. The day I received the email with my proof's, I was mortified! SO basically, the lowest amount I could spend to get the bare minimum...get this...are you ready? $250! Ouch! If I was working, not so much "ouch", but now that we are on one income..."ouch-ouch"! Don't get me wrong, the pictures turned out absolutely a-dor-able!! But, not enough for me to shell out that kind of cash to get a few prints. I even emailed the lady to see if they could work with me, no, but they do have a payment plan. Oh how nice of them.
Lesson learned...looks like I will be breaking out my SLR camera that takes, get this, FILM and make my own "studio memories". Oh and don't trust those fancy flyer "deals" you get in the mail. Oh and one more....ALWAYS find out the price-points BEFORE you make a commitment!
I was talking to a friend who became a grandparent for the first time last year recently and, during the conversation I asked how the baby was doing. "He is great." was the reply. "He'll be one in two weeks. They are having a birthday party. With music. Can you believe it?"
My response was, "Well the boy needs to have his birthday party though at this age it really is more about mom and dad than the child."
And so it is. The first birthday marks the end of a year that no amount of planning can adequately prepare parents to handle. From wistful longing for a powdery smelling bundle of joy, you are thrust into a reality of crying infants and dealing with more bodily excretions than anyone who is not a parent could ever understand.
It's true though. Professional women flee meetings ahead of tell tale milk stains, fathers arrive at the office with milky stains on their ties. That little bundle of joy will go through more than three thousand diapers in the first year, some of these will be relatively benign and others will be so toxic propriety forbids further discussion.
There is more than a little anxiety attached to the first year of life. You go from being a reasonable person to some demented sleep deprived creature whose only concern is whether the contents of the diaper appears to be the proper color and texture. You will get up roughly twice in the night because the baby is crying but check on the little one every time nature calls just to make certain he/she is breathing.
Because always, always there is that undertow of fear that somehow something unexplained will snatch the baby away if you fail to be vigilant. Then there is the crying, there is no way for this little being to express his or her desires except through screaming. Some develop colic which causes hours of prolongs wailing that no amount of pacing seems to soothe.
Not that there is nothing pleasant about the first year. It has plenty of happy moments. There is the drooling smile they great you with, the first tiny white tooth shining through pink gums. There is sitting up alone, crawling and for some a few toddling steps unassisted.
So much happens in this first year, no wonder mom and dad want to celebrate, and they should. As parents they should celebrate the first year and all its milestones. Invite all the family and friends and celebrate moving from being the parent of an infant to being the parent of a toddler.
I should warn you though, this is only the end of one era. It is the beginning of quite another.
So today I watched the Octomom on Oprah. Wow. Now that I have a child, I see it so much more differently. Those unfortunate kids. To think that they are all not getting her 100% love and attention 24/7 is heartbreaking. I can't imagine having more than one baby right now, let alone 14 kids! 14 kids...that sounds so much more when I write it out. She is up there with the Duggar family on TLC. But at least they all know their dad and seem to be well rounded. Oh and God. That is another important part too, in my opinion.
They showed Octomom on a typical day. She looks stressed to the max, although it was hard to tell with her Botoxed face (like I'm one to talk, oh wait 15 mins until my next tan and Botox session! I'm seriously kidding people!!!) and balloon lips. It looks like she can also fit in getting her nails done on top of all this. I don't want to judge her, but my heart breaks for those kids. I still can't fathom the idea of knowing what you were getting into and doing it anyway.
After seeing this show, I am so thankful for my one baby and all that comes along with it. Good and bad.
So, I'm surprised by the question I have seemed to get a lot lately when I tell people I quit my job to stay home with my child is, "so what are you going to do all day?" Seriously?! What am I going to do all day??? Well let's see, how about take care of my child! Does that answer it?! No, I'm going to get spray tans and Botox, surf Facebook, talk on the phone to my working friends, and oh yeah, shop. Ummmm no. No time! I think a lot of people that don't have kids don't understand that taking care of a child is very time consuming! If I'm not feeding him, I'm changing his diaper or trying to entertain him. That's what I'm doing all day, what are YOU doing all day?! I think that is what I am going to say when I get that question again.
R.I.P PPO. I am going to miss you dearly. I have had you most of my life. I was proud to answer the question "What type of insurance do you have?" with "PPO". It was like that safety blanket I never wanted to get rid of. I could go almost anywhere. I LOVE the hospital I delivered my little guy at. Now I am officially out of the club. I joined my husband's Kaiser plan and am a little scared of the unknown. I heard its like "one stop shopping". That could be good. I was scared when we bought our Mac and I love that. I am hoping I will love this just as much.
Ok, so I did it. I had to. I took the plunge. The plunge into a whole new world I wasn't sure I would ever be a part of. I thought mom would retire and watch our kids one day, I guess. So, I had too. I quit my job to stay home with my special little guy. The hubby and I discussed it extensively and agreed it could work out financially for us. It would be tight, but it would be the best thing for our little one.
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