A Double-Edged World

While giving H her bedtime bottle (yes we still do that and no, I don't care if you think shes too old) my brain somehow drifted to thoughts of all the double-edged swords in parenting. I had never thought of or even realized them before. Raising a child is full of happiness, frustration, crying (both us and the babies), miscommunication (with both our kids and our partners) as well as times where we are wishing them back to their baby-ness just as we finished wishing away their baby-ness. 

Lets start at the begining.

Newborns..looking back they are pretty easy because they sleep so much (hopefully) but so exhausting because they need to be fed/changed/burped/held so often. Though they are fantastic for leaving on a changing table unattended since they can't go anywhere! (in case you are a little special- that last part was a joke..please don't do that.)

Infants (around 5 months) are fun because now they are more aware..less blob-like if you will. They smile a bit (I think the whole "it's gas" thing is bullshit...those are smiles), they respond to stimuli, they may need to be burped/fed/held less frequently and are overall more entertaining. But they need to be entertained more..they eat more per feeding (so you are pumping/taking your boob out/buying formula more), they can grab things now (good and bad...say bye bye to your jewelry) as well as roll over so that "leave them unattended" thing is drifting away.

Around 7 months is when Hayden fell off our bed..this was when I realized leaving her on our bed while I ran to get a brush wasn't going to fly anymore. She was mobile. Awesome? Totally! It is so fun once they can move more and do more stuff. Dads get more interested in this less blob-like thing and everything becomes more entertaining. Flip side? They can move more and do more stuff. They become more entertaining thus they need more entertainment. They are becoming more aware of their emotions and environment which possibly means more crying due to sensitivity to things. It also can be the start or end of good sleeping...but that is always up in the air I think.

In the interest of this post not lasting forever lets fast forward to toddler time. 1 yr+. An AMAZING time. This is my favorite time thus far. She feeds herself & can entertain herself. She is everywhere-she is exploring everything, learning everything and being a real, talking kid. She has her own personality, sense of humor, ideas how to do things, likes & dislikes, feelings and thoughts and generally is an overall awesome little person. Flip it? All those things. She everwhere! She is in everything. She feeds herself..which means she feeds her hair, her clothes, her elbows and the floor. She is talking..a lot..which isn't bad but when she is trying to communicate in her native "Hayden language" and we don't understand she gets frustrated and then the whining or frustrated crying can begin. 

All in all I can liken parenting to a juggler having all their balls in the air and not knowing which is coming down first. It is thrilling, frustrating, scary and amazing all at once. Waiting to see which ball will drop isn't always easy but its always worth it!