Thursday, November 20, 2008

Moms and Weigh

I took Ms. D to a drop-in "class" for babies 0-6 months. It's a joint program with ECFE and Public Health. Parents can bring their babies each month and have them weighed, then chat with other parents, a licensed parent educator and a public health nurse.

I generally don't have many questions to ask. That's not to say that I know it all, but by this point I know enough about raising babies and know myself enough that I realize any responses I'd get to my question, if it's not what I want to hear, would be soundly rejected anyway.

(I mostly go to have D weighed. Since she is smaller than my other two children were, I'm in uncharted territory with a petite child. "They" say that babies should double their birth weight by 6 months and triple it by 1 year. D is doing just that. No more, no less. She's 14 lbs 4 oz now, just two days shy of 6 months. She was 7 lbs 1 oz at birth.)

So once the weighing is done I figure I should still hang around and let D stay out of the car seat for a while. Wednesday afternoons are terrible for us and she often ends up in the car seat a lot since we're picking up siblings and taking them to 231 activities.

To entertain myself I've taken to just openly admitting all the things that I do "wrong" in part to see the reaction of the public health nurse.

My baby sleeps in bed with me.

(Okay, so that one didn't really get the reaction I expected from the nurse. She pointed out that babies are with their moms nonstop (obviously) while mom is pregnant, then generally with mom most of the time for at least the first few weeks. Why wouldn't they want to be with mom when they're supposed to be sleeping? They're used to being with someone all the time, then they're supposed to just sleep soundly all alone in a cold crib? What's the logic in that?)

No, the real fun at these drop-in classes is when there is at least one first-time mom in the class.

We always take turns introducing ourselves and telling the ages of our babies. I always smile at the moms when they say it's their first baby. Then it comes to my turn.

I try to put on the proper crazy lady face and say "This is D. She's my third baby" and drift off in cackling laughter.

The disturbed looks that I get are priceless.

I'm not the only one who does this am I?

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Anonymous said...

Your post here brings out so many emotions for me. First -- the playgroup thing -- I used to go to one of those; and we had these mean social worker that would walk around and scold the Moms because we were talking to each other and weren't playing with our own children "Hey, Lady, Motherhood is isolating... let us have some fun!"

About the first child thing -- this will last all the way through your third child's life. You won't feel like standing around with all the other Moms on the kindergarten playground and chatting because you will, by then, be "so over that!" I wish, sometimes, I felt the innocence I once felt with my first. But, instead, I find myself running from first-time Mom conversations because they bore me so much!

Anonymous said...

This post made me laugh! I have 3 teens and I still like to throw comments out there just to get a reaction. Ahem ... like yesterday when I put in a post that I'd be putting condoms in all of their stockings. I have a first time mom with a one year old living next door. She is appalled at my teens. They're all good students, stay out of the worst of trouble, etc. I love her reactions to stuff. Judgmental much?

Jennifer said...

ROFL. Remember when YOU were the first time mom and I had 3 kids? I can still remember the expressions on all the moms' faces when I came in with Spence and said I had 2 more and that Spence was just over a week old. You all looked horrified. Good times.

Anonymous said...

She perfect!! Amma

Kirsetin Morello said...

Heather, you hit it on the head with this one. It is so different to be the mom of three. As the oldest child in my family, I can say for sure that this is why the younger ones have it better. :)

Last year I was helping out in my 5-year old's class (he's the third boy), and the room was full of first-timers. We were working in a cramped space and one of the little boys accidently kicked another in the head. The kicked first child began whining, "He kicked me, Mommy," and before his mother could answer, I smiled and said, "Honey, you should just kick him back." Now OF COURSE I was just kidding, and I immediately said so, but the first-time moms were seriously horrified. The only laugh I got was from the other seasoned mom in the room. And we had ourselves a really good laugh! I'm sure the other moms are STILL pointing me out at school parties.

Damselfly said...

It's funny that you try to play with the medical people there!

You know, I only have one kiddo, and when we went to those little-baby classes, I would assume everyone there was on their first baby. I have no idea why.

Kate said...

Ha! That's funny.

And how un-p.c. of me would it be if I told them that my almost 3 years old still sleeps with me sometimes?

Anonymous said...

hahahaha I did that with E ... we were in a Baby's First books class and ALL the mothers were first timers ... they could not imagine WHY a sane woman would have any more babies. I think they all concluded I just wasn't sane! hehehhe

 
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