Thursday, October 02, 2003 posted by Jen at 10/02/2003 09:15:00 PM
Adam has taken the Posh Tots catalog away. This is probably for the best.
Today La Lu visited the zoo, where she rode around in her Baby Bjorn and encountered the animals she's thus far only met in Sandra Boynton books. "Look, Lucy! But not the hippopotamus!"
We had a wonderful time. At least, I think she had a wonderful time. Although it's likely that she couldn't actually see and, thus, appreciate, the various lemurs and okapis and the wild dogs (the ones who say "Hey! Are your parents home this weekend? No? Let's party!"), and was basically just going for a walk.
Also, it's frickin freezing here. I feel so cheated. It's like we went from the miserable sweaty heart of summer to the ice-cold grip of winter with about ten minutes of fall in between.
And, not to bring up an old topic, but baby socks are killing me. KILLING me!
I remember before Lucy was born wondering how in God's name I was supposed to launder and keep tabs on little itsy-bitsy scraps of colored cotton.
Well, turns out that the cleaning and care-of is the least of my sock-related problems. My real issue is keeping the damn things on her feet.
Lucy, it seems, likes to be barefoot. Likes it a lot. So I put a pair of cute little thumb-sized socks on her in the morning. Five minutes later, they're lying beside her, and she's giggling like she acccomplished something great.
I put on the socks. I put her in the stroller. Twenty minutes later I pull her out of the stroller, and she's only wearing one sock, and the other one is nowhere to be found. Where did it go? I have no idea.
I'm flirting with the idea of footie bottoms, but they've always struck me as more pajama-like than daily attire should be. And I'm trying different brands. And I'm carrying an extra blanket so if nothing else works I can always wrap that around her legs and thus escape the dirty looks of little old ladies crying "You need to cover her feet!"
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Wednesday, October 01, 2003 posted by Jen at 10/01/2003 02:54:00 PM
I know, I know, it's ridiculous to even think of spending eight hundred and ninety-five dollars on a Pink Glass Italian Chandelier. Or a thousand bucks on a set of baby sheets. Or twelve hundred dollars for the Vintage Changer. But damn if I don't want at least one thing on every single page.
Why did they send me this? How did they get my name? And do they arrange to hit new moms when we're at our most exhausted and vulnerable, aiming for that moment of weakness or desperation where we'd actually believe that a thirteen-hundred-dollar Fantasy Wall Hanging will restore our vision of motherhood as a time of peace and bliss?
Must remain strong. Must not obsess over pictures of Brooke Shields' nursery in recent People magazine. Must remind self that own baby is at least as cute as Rowan Frances, even if own baby does not have Wendy Bellissimo-designed room in which to slumber.
In fact, may even resort to malicious fantasy that Brooke Shields' baby, in early act of rebellion, refuses to even sleep in fabulously cute nursery, instead preferring to invade parents' bed on nightly basis.
Anyhow. Life with La Lu is great, even without a Black Toile Rocker-Glider or a Screen Door Armoire (a mere $4500!)
We had a wonderful trip to Connecticut for Rosh Hashanah. Between my Mom and my Nanna, and then all my Mom's friends, I think I had Lucy in my arms for a sum total of fifteen minutes. Occasionally I'd catch a glimpse of a foot or an elbow, but that was about it.
Lucy acquitted herself nobly, impressing everyone with her pleasant nature, smiles, gurgles, and sleep habits. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself until my Mom took me out for a walk.
"You know that it has nothing to do with you," she said.
"Huh?"
"Lucy," she said. "Lucy sleeps well and is happy because that's her nature. You had nothing to do with it. And I don't want you to feel like you're doing something wrong if you next baby isn't so sweet or so smiley."
"I don't get to take any credit for this?"
"Nope," said my mother. "She is the way she is. All you can do is encourage it."
So there you have it. And whether or not I get to take any credit for having a most excellent baby, it was nice to spend the holiday with family and my Mom's friends. Lots of them were at our wedding, and it was really special to have them meet Lucy for the first time.
And when we got home, Lucy had her first rice cereal!
It was fun, but a little anticlimactic. She seems more interested in the accessories of dining -- sucking on the bib, gnawing on the spoon -- than the food itself. But who can blame her? The stuff looks like paste from a pot, which is about the way it tastes, too.
Ah, well. In a few weeks, it'll be on to oatmeal. Then mashed bananas. Then the world!
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Welcome to A Moment of Jen, author Jennifer Weiner's constantly-updated take on books, baby, and news of the world. Email me at jen (a) jenniferweiner.com.
