Family wedding #3 is in the history books and it was lovely! You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day weather-wise, particularly with the reception being held out of doors. Our light green, light material bridesmaid dresses were cool and comfy in the July weather, the bride resplendent in her gown, and the groom equally up to the task in a tux and top hat. It was truly a special day for them and for my family, which gains yet another girl. When I was small I used to beg my mom for a little sister and she would always respond, “If it’s God’s will.” (I found out later that “God’s will” really meant “medical miracle.” I guess 3 kids were enough…) Now I have four sisters and they are all uniquely blessed and contribute in new ways to our Smith clan.
Now that wedding season is over until winter, VWH and I can turn our thoughts and well-honed event planning strategies towards the biggest event of our marriage. Baby S is due to arrive in November, which leaves us 4 months to figure out everything about preparing for his arrival…and how to parent…and how our revised budget is going to work…and…well, we’re never going to figure it all out. Even the brief forays we’ve taken into planning have proven to be a bit overwhelming. And with good reason…the world has changed.
When I was growing up (which really, truly, and honestly wasn’t that long ago) you didn’t need that much to keep a baby happy. A crib, a few clothes, clean diapers, a couple of toys (which could include household items like pots, boxes, a tube of toothpaste, etc…), a food grinder and voile…you’re set! I now see that our society has moved beyond the simplistic measures of child-rearing, as is illustrated below.
First off, I have already been given, not one, but two contraptions known as “wipes warmers.” That’s right…a wipes warmer. You plug this bad boy in, put your wipes in it (making sure the bottom has a bit of water) and your baby’s behind stays clean and warm. Because this apparently makes for a much more fruitful parenting experience. There’s something about putting a clammy warm wipe on anything that turns my stomach, but according to the wipes warmer people, kids flip for this stuff. The previous owner of my wipes warmers informed me that I should “keep one upstairs and the other downstairs so they’re extra handy.”
Secondly, cloth diapers have evolved people. My mom used cloth diapers and taught me to fold them at the ripe old age of 2, so believe me, I know what they are were. Those big safety pins looked like harpoons when I was little. VWH and I have kind of shied away from using them, clinging to the shaky “fact” that it’s just as bad for the environment to use all that hot water to clean them as to buy disposables. Well, I was recently educated in the advances of cloth diapers and I have to admit, they are a lot cooler looking than they used to be. They also look way more expensive and complicated. See the following video for a demonstration, noting that the baby stays perfectly still for over 3 minutes as his mom follows an intricate series of steps to change one diaper. VWH and I watched it and are once again invoking our environmental statistic.
Finally, baby monitors. OK, I’m not sure we ever had a baby monitor. If we did, it was named “older sibling” who picked up on the fussy cries of a baby at lightning speed. When I did babysitting, some families had baby monitors that looked like cheap plastic walkie talkies. And they were kind of cool, but nothing fancy. I imagine they didn’t cost more than $20. But now…NOW…we have Super Baby Monitor. This thing does everything but change that complicated cloth diaper. (But I’m pretty sure it could have managed the safety pins.) You have to click on the Amazon video link on the page to get the full effect…
Between recharging my digital, picture-taking, home-security-system-included-baby monitor and keeping my wipes warm I’m going to have to invest in a few power strips…
So you can see that we have much research to do. But ultimately I’m pretty sure the pots and boxes will still come in handy. Here’s to a happy baby and to parents with more than two pennies to rub together!
Isn't he cute? I think he's waving...or possibly thumbing his nose at us...maybe he wants a wipes warmer after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment