A recent post by one of our favorite bloggers, Mary Teague, the mom behind A Momma Grows in Brooklyn.
Baby is officially a Wiggle Monster.
Pros:
1. Baby is curious.
2. Baby has an adventurous spirit – ready to explore the world.
3. Baby is getting strong enough to get himself around, which means he really wants to get himself around (an amazing positive cycle that builds confidence and independence).
Cons:
1. Bath-time has morphed into: “Oh, [Baby] look at this awesome ____ [insert: frog, penguin, duck, puffer fish, turtle, star]!” “Ummmm, [Baby], try to enjoy the bath while you are sitting down…” “[Baby], please do not try to climb ____ [insert: out of the bath, up the wall of the tub, onto the soap dish].”
2. Diaper changes are starting to resemble putting a diaper on a rotisserie chicken–if said chicken had wiggly arms and legs and let out great sounds of frustration and irritation with said attempt to put said diaper on said chicken.
3. Changing Baby’s clothes is a process that sometimes involves two people, or, at the very least, it involves several moments of pause while Baby flips over, gets on his hands and knees, and rocks back and forth in what appears to be an attempt to launch himself off of the changing table and out into the World, where he is obviously meant to be, clothes or no clothes, Momma.
Tonight, after the bath (See, Con #1), I brought Baby to his room to get him ready for bed (See, Cons #2-#3), and an epic wiggle battle ensued. Baby rotated on his own axis at least three times while I tried to fasten his first diaper. Yes, first diaper. One of the tabs on the first diaper broke free from the rest of the diaper, which resulted in more rotating, more wiggling, and – oh, yes – a prolonged diaper experience.
By the time Baby and I were working on his PJs, I found my mind wandering. I flashed to my adventures in Kruger where I tracked lions on foot, stood several yards from a rhino, and walked through a herd of water buffalo. If I could handle those wild animals, surely I can handle a Wiggle Monster.
But here’s my question: If, during a mere diaper and clothing change, I summon the inner-strength it took to face lions, rhinos, and water buffalo, what when Baby becomes Toddler and delivers his first (and second, and third)…temper tantrum?
Mary Jacobsen Teague is an attorney by day (and night…and, begrudgingly, by weekend) and writes about the occasional triumphs, many pitfalls, and the hijinx and hilarity of motherhood. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.
