A special kind of love… Grandparents

My husband and I were talking the other weekend on our way to a family Christmas get together about grandparents. He is fortunate to have 3 of his 4 grandparents still with us that we love to see and we are even more excited that we, along with his brothers and other cousins get to share their great grandchildren with.

I was blessed to have many years with each of my grandparents as well but they are no longer here with us and it feels like forever.

He did ask me how old they would be if they were still with us. That kind of took me off guard when I did the math. They would be anywhere from 98 to 106 years old. My one grandmother did live a great life until she was 96, which was incredible. It makes me feel a bit selfish when I still wish they were here to have met my son.

Every year for my birthday growing up, when I was old enough to acknowledge how special they were to me, I would blow out my candles and wish they would be able to be at my wedding.
They may not have been physically, but I do know they were there.

We continued our topic along the lines about how special our grandparents are and the great memories we have with them. We hear stories from our parents how they were with them growing up and we have a hard time believing some stories because well, they were never that way with us.

Grandparents have a different kind of love with their grandchildren.

Now that we have a child, we get to witness it firsthand. It makes me realize even more now, how special they really are in our lives. When you are the grandkid getting all the love and attention, you just know you are spoiled and get what you want from them because they say yes when mom & dad say no. However, what you do not realize is that they love you in a different way than your mom and dad can. It is not that they love you more than them or better than they can; it is something that is indescribable but so, so special.

It is almost as though they found a place they did not know existed in their heart that has so much extra love that has been waiting on these babies to arrive and when they do, they cannot help but smother them with their love.

I love to hear my hubby tell me about all he remembers from his grandparents growing up because I learn more about them that way and I get to watch him light up when he remembers that memory. I do the same and tell him stories of my grandparents. We relish in those moments that make us smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside.

It brings back the fun of our childhood for us and those special moments we will forever cherish in our own hearts. That special spot in their hearts that I mentioned before, kids have one too that holds those moments for them as well. We hold onto those moments so incredibly tight that to this day I still miss my grandparents as much as I did the day they left because they have that special place in my heart. The same goes for my husband and his grandfather.

Our son has four grandparents that we get to watch turn into mush and love on him when they see him. It is something special to watch each of them interact with him and how he can make them light up in a different way than we have seen them before.

He is the first grandchild to my parents as I am an only child. I couldn’t have imagined how much my parents would change with him. The good kind of change. It’s like a whole new light came on with them. My mom is so fun to watch with him while she talks and plays with him. They have their own special thing already. And my dad has even got down on the floor to try and teach my son how to crawl, which is totally not something we expected!

That’s what is so fun to watch, how everyone finds that kind of bond among the children and the grandparents. Now is when they get to enjoy every single moment with their grand children and not be so worried about them like they were when they were new parents. That special bond is something only they know and the kids do too.

Whether you have them with you still or they are watching over you, soak in those memories and relive them over and over by telling the fun memories you may remember. I can not stress enough how you don’t want to miss the moments in a grandchild’s life because as a grand kid myself, we cherish what we remember and we’re only children for a little while.

The holidays bring back many memories and allow us to make many more with whom we have. Use this time to smile on all of those memories and get that warm fuzzy feeling inside. I know we will be relishing in the moments of watching our son make those memories as he grows.

I hope you and yours have had a wonderful Christmas!

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No Sick Days

There is an unspoken rule among moms.

We are not allowed to get sick.

If you did not know this, you may be a dad. Just saying.

I’m not trying to take a dig at my hubby here because I have a rock star husband and dad to our little boy. I could go on and on about all he does for us, but this is not a post for that right now. (love you, honey!)

For whatever the reason may be, men were designed to be the sickest of the sick when a common cold comes along. I’m not sure if their bodies weren’t equipped with the proper genes to fight off the germs or they just don’t like to wash their hands every time they use the bathroom. Actually, let’s not think about that last statement…

Either way, recently, our house was under attack from the common daycare snotty nose cold that made its way into my husband’s sinuses and mine. Our pediatrician warned us early of the many colds we will come across with our son in daycare.

A little boast about our daycare, we love our daycare because he has THE best teachers that I can’t brag about enough.
Don’t come at me about daycare vs. no daycare, please.

Somehow, while we were all sick, my son remained the happiest baby ever. I’m so thankful for that, snot running constantly and all. On the weekend though, we all had our ways of dealing with it. My hubby and son curled up on the couch with college football on and relaxed to fight it off. Me on the other hand, it was GO time!

Go time is that list you make in your head throughout the week of the 100 things you want to get done at home in a short amount of time and hope you remembered enough of them to put on the physical hand written list at home so you don’t forget to do them.

I recall my husband smiling at me and telling our son, “look at mom, we’re all sick but somehow she feels fine and here we are on the couch being bums.” It was a cute moment but that is reality. It’s not to brag but to state the reality we all face as moms.

If we don’t do it, it won’t get done. And to be honest, I feel better when I am up and moving while sick. The congestion doesn’t have time to set in, so I tell myself. Sure I load up on the standard over the counter drugs to keep the cold at bay and drink lots of water, when I remember.

As moms, let’s add this to our list of super powers we have that we didn’t know about until we became moms. *high five to all you moms who have been sick and will get sick this winter but power through because well, you’re a kick ass mom!*

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Be Kind, always

Tis the season to do the kind gestures for others, right? You hear the stories about how someone tips a waitress a crazy amount of money or a team at a company pitched in to get their co-worker a car since he walks to and from work every day. Those are big ones and not everyone can do the big ones but the small ones go far too.

Here’s the thing…

Moms have bad days.

Everyone has bad days.

Kids even have bad days.

We had a bit of a “grinch” situation this week that my husband and I are trying to wrap our heads around. Instead of staying stuck on that rotten moment, let me share one with you that still makes my heart feel warm even months later.

When I first started back to work after my maternity leave I was having all the feels of mom guilt. I cried multiple times in the first few weeks for obvious reasons.

There was a moment that stands out in my mind and will for a long time. It was the kindest gesture, yet so small during this tough time when I had to stay late at work one night within the second week back to work. I was getting used to my new routine and my mom had picked up my son from daycare. I was riding the subway back home nearly in tears the whole way guilting myself about working and my son having someone else care for him.

When you get on and off the subway you scan your ConnectCard that carries a balance of funds to ride daily and when I was attempting to scan my card, it read an error and stated I had no funds. I always carry a $5 bill in case it does this to be sure I can pay without having to go to the machine to load funds. As I went to put it in the machine, the driver had put his hand over it not letting me pay. He smiled at me and said, “have a nice night.”

(No one go tell on him if you know they do this simple act for people!)

I had the money, but he has no idea how his gesture of being so kind to let me get those extra seconds back to my day to get home to my son meant to me. He had no idea I just had a baby and recently started back to work. He had no idea how I made myself feel for being a working mom. He knew nothing about me yet he did something so small to make my day a little brighter without even knowing it. I held it together long enough for him to drive past then I lost it and cried walking to my car.

My point is, especially with the giving season here, go ahead and do something nice for someone else. No matter how big or small the gesture, it can mean so much to someone.

The Dirty Duties

A topic every parent can relate to…

Diaper changes

Things seem more “normal” when we can relate to one another or when we can say, “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

I want to share a few of our adventures in these past 6 months of our diaper duty stories and woes. Feel free to share yours in the comments of a horror story or a humorous one that we can all know we relate to in some way or another.

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The Pooping Hiatus

When we were first home with our son, he had a pooping hiatus. His tiny little body decided he wasn’t going to go for a few days. Ensue mama worrying x1000!

I had called the nurses that weekend who told me, go ahead and supplement formula for extra fluids and use the rectal thermometer to assist. If you read my posts, you’ll know how that thermometer experience went with my hubby. After a few extra visits to the pediatrician’s office and them telling us the SAME thing each time *eye roll*, that his bowels were moving since he was passing gas and to keep up the fluids, we kept crossing our fingers each day.

On day 5, the explosion happened! I was never so excited for a blow out diaper. He was only a week old and while chatting at the dinner table with my parents, he pooped out of his diaper. My mom and I jumped up in excitement, I took a picture to send to my husband who was working, and we sighed a breath of relief that the little man finally pooped again!

Breakfast Balance Change

We went to breakfast with friends of ours a couple of months back. We chose the small town, itty-bitty diner with great food… but they only have two single bathrooms. One for ladies and one for men with a single toilet and a sink. These tiny bathrooms do not have a changing table though. What do you do when your child’s diaper is about to explode?

I sat down on the toilet, yes, my pants were still on, with no seat cover either. Why would there be? Ugh. He and I do our best balancing act and change him on my lap. Totally awkward and not easy but we did it. I know I’m not the only one in this situation for sure! Some dads can probably relate to this one, right?

Pap called it

We were visiting my in-laws and hanging out Sunday morning with everyone. Our son was hanging out in his rocker by his Pap. His Pap isn’t one to pick him up, but will chat with him lots. I’m going around the house cleaning up our stuff to pack to get ready to leave soon and I hear my FIL say, “oh, that looks like a poop face!” I replied, “yeah, he does that a lot. Don’t worry, he’s good.”

Pshhh, I was wrong. My husband had gone to grab our son to pick him up a little later and I hear the reaction. “Ohhhhh noooooo!” It was a massive explosion. One that you don’t want to even transfer the child elsewhere because it was up his back and out the leg. My FIL was there snickering, “I told you!”

I grabbed the wipes and it took the two of us to undress him the best we could without additional smearing and then do a quick baby wipe bath. You’ve all been there, don’t lie! If you haven’t, just wait for it. He got a sink bath quickly after that since we were leaving soon, but man oh man was that a doozy!

Table Decor Change

We went on a family vacation and had gone to a local brewery by our lake house. It was a normal sized bathroom but another mom was using the stall with the changing table and had a toddler with her. I could hear she clearly had her hands full and as a fellow mom I’m not about to rush her but I’m also not about to walk out because I had to change him.

No one else was waiting and I made a quick judgement call. There was a decorative table there by the sinks with plenty of space for my son’s little booty and only a small vase of fake flowers on it. So, here we go, quick change! It was only a wet diaper anyways, what’s the harm? As I was putting his pants back on, the other mom came out and giggled a bit but said the big stall was all mine to use now. I had been done and we kind of smiled as a mental high five was shared because we both had challenges they were just a bit different. #momlife

Pee on Grandma

An evening when my mom was over, he had just got a bath. As I laid him on his changing pad, we were making him laugh and giggle while he was naked and drying. I always hate to throw a diaper on immediately after a bath so it doesn’t trap any moisture between those chunky thighs to cause a rash or chaffing. We have not had many open peeing situations occur… you see where this is going, right?

Well, in the midst of chatting and making him giggle. He wasn’t waiting for mom to put that diaper on any longer and a rainbow high stream shot through the air towards my mom. As quick as I saw it go up was as quick as I covered his wiener with my hand and I think I scared him because he quit immediately. It was all in slow motion to me as it happened too.

Laughing, I said to my mom that I thought it landed on her since I saw none on the floor. “No, I don’t feel anything” she says. It took a few minutes until she touched her shirt in the right spot to find that wet spot he nailed her with. So much for that extra drying time!

Public Bathrooms Rant

1. Someone explain to me how we are to wash our hands effectively while holding an infant without a stroller or car seat with you? I’ve walked out, handed him to my husband to turn right back around and go wash my hands. Put a sink in the bathroom with the changing table or at least some hand sanitizer I can pump with one hand.
   
   
2. Also, why are there not always trash cans near the changing table? We have to pack up the child, the table, and carry out the dirty diaper and whatever else we have along with us. Then maybe wash our hands if we can juggle it or do what I mentioned above.
   
   
3. Men’s bathrooms with changing tables. We are finding that more have them than they used to. However, they all should have them. Obviously, not something we thought about before having our son, but they’re extremely useful when my husband takes him anywhere alone and has to change him or even when he’s trying to help me out.
   
   
4. A bar we went to recently didn’t have a changing table in the women’s room and I believe it’s due to where it’s located in our city since it’s geared more towards the night life and younger scene. Whatever their decision not to have one, add it, dammit. We went for a college football game during the day and you get more than just the young ones coming out to drink on the weekends. Needless to say he was changed in his stroller in the restaurant. Not sorry.

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If the stories above reminded you of any memorable diaper experiences worth sharing, please do so below! It’s fun to share the stuff we go through as parents because it’s always good to know we go through similar situations and are not alone in any of this!

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With all of those above stories, do you know what you do when you’re a parent? You adapt. Every situation challenges you to learn new things and adapt quickly. If my son has taught us anything over these last 6 months of his life, we have learned to adapt and quickly find the best way to handle a situation no matter what it may be.

It’s amazing how they teach us so much isn’t it?