Smart Parenting

I was utterly unprepared to parent Lily. Having a baby was the farthest thing from my mind that day in June when the smell of scallops led me to puke my guts out in the kitchen sink. Ahh, the memories… Over the next 7 months, I didn’t do much to prepare for her arrival. A crib was purchased and car-seat installed, but that was about it. Jeff and I left the hospital incredulous that we were allowed to take that seven pound creature home. She was our sweet little experiment.

By the time Ben came along two years later, we were no longer novices. We knew to train him to sleep in his crib for the beginning. I started feeding him veggies rather than fruits so he wouldn’t get used to the sweet taste right away. I bought Target diapers over Pampers, and knew not to freak out over the sniffles. I modeled proper pronunciation so he repeated me correctly. I even bought my first parenting book.

Two years after that, Evan arrived. By this time, I was an expert. I knew all of the right things to do and the consequences of the wrong things. This should be our best kid yet, we thought!

But, along with my knowledge and wisdom, came a little something else called experience. While I know that Evan should be sleeping in his bed, it’s just so much cozier to have him in mine. Why bother making him anything other than mac and cheese when I know he’ll eat two servings of that and throw everything else on the floor? Ben wasn’t potty trained until he was three, so why even attempt to start with Evan before then? You get the drill.

Most of all, I just know how very quickly their babyhood flies by. If I can hold on to the cuddles and the cute baby pronunciation any longer, I’m going to. Because soon enough, my little baby will be a kid.

And, that’s something you just can’t appreciate with your first.