how being a parent has also made me ridiculous
sam is a bigfatbaby. sam is also a strong baby. we have to swaddle him when he sleeps because otherwise, he constantly socks himself in the head or gouges his own face. right now, he looks like he was on the losing end of a streetfight:
hideyo and i have gotten quite adept at swaddling him, but to give credit where credit is due, sam is keeping up with us and learning how to bust out of even the biggest blankets and tightest wraps and likes to sleeps like this:
... and wakes up every 2 hours.
so, in desperation, i snuck out of the office at lunch and went to our Most Hated Place: babiesrus. that place is full of wailing children and harried, unhappy expectant parents and sleep-deprived parents. we went once to register (many thanks to a&j for directing and helping us survive that) and haven't been back since.
however, when you are tired and tired of waking up every 2 hours, you will go anywhere. so i went to buy some swaddleme blankets, which a former coworker had recommended. they come in two sizes. sam is kind of straddling the line in between the small and the large. hideyo suggested buying two larges, so sam has something to grow into. but when i get there, the large seems really large and the small seems really small. i am paralyzed with indecision.
do i buy two larges? two smalls? one of each?
what if they are too large and are therefore ineffective? what if sam starts to hate swaddling before we can actually use them if they are too big? i don't want to go back there!
but what if the small is too small and sam outgrows it by tomorrow morning? will i regret not buying the large? then i'd still have to go back there!
do i buy flannel ones? cotton ones? organic cotton ones? what if it's too hot for summer? what if it's too cold for right now? i don't want to go back there!
do i buy them in neutral colors in case some day sam has a little sister? still hating babiesrus!
if i buy one of each, will i be making a poor decision either way and ignoring hideyo's counsel? and then will i have to GO BACK TO THE MOST HATED PLACE to return things?
and that is how parenting has made me ridiculous. for a person who has a hard enough time what to order off a limited-item menu, the trick'n'scam you baby industry is killing me with the choices. i realize it's not the end of the world, and maybe even the velcro will not be able to contain dino sam, but i don't want to go back to babiesrus. EVER. but yet ... what an incredibly lame thing to agonize about.
this kid is keeping us in stitches.
posted by Unknown @ 1:28 PM
2 Comments:
Have you tried the Miracle Blanket? Sold at El Camino Hospital. It was a miracle for Abby. And she was a BIG BABY. We kept her in that thing for about 6 months, to the point where SHE looked ridiculous, flopping around like a dolphin... every limb was smooshed. But she was always a scratcher, so that took care of that. But the thing is, she's STILL a scratcher, but I think it's illegal to swaddle toddlers, so...
I can relate to the ridiculosity (so not a word but I'm using it anyway) of magnified indecision. I recently caught myself staring at the baby teething section of the drugstore...for 20 minutes. Don't even get me started on the toy store. It drives Zeb crazy. I read somewhere that parenthood magnifies everything. Suddenly every decision is IMPORTANT.
As far as sleeping...for us the baby swing was pure MAGIC in plastic form. We were never able to corral the arms when she was sleeping flat...they always got free, but keeping those nails clipped every few days kept the scratching to a minimum.
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