New Parent Optimism
R and I are trying to decide when (if?) we want to expand our family. You see, our son Moosh, now 19 months old, gave us a real run for our money when he was born. He was terminally unhappy as an infant, and it seemed we could do nothing right. Eventually we persevered, as people do, but our rosy vision of having a baby has certainly been tempered with our prior experience.
I see other people having kid after kid and I wonder what's wrong with me? I can barely fathom having a second child much less a third or fourth. As much as I hate to say it, I think that if I were a stay at home mom, I wouldn't be as reluctant to have another kid, because that would be my whole life. Of course, if I were a stay at home mom, I would probably be crazy, too, so I'm sure my judgement would be impaired.
But I'm not a SAHM, and the whole process of balancing work and family is hard enough with one child, let alone two. So what's a working mom to do?
I must say that as the Moosh gets older, I can sort of see having another one. He is much more independent now, but I still have that nagging voice inside my head. What if he screams for 10 months straight like the Moosh? How will I get anything done with two of them? Will my job/family suffer?
But this weekend as I was reading Michelle Au's annoucement, I realized that what I need is a good dose of New Parent Optimism. When I saw that ultrasound of her baby, I felt a rush of nostalgia for my pregnancy with the Moosh. When it's your first, you have so much hope and so many expectations about how great it's going to be, all of which are total crap because you have absolutely no idea what you're getting into. That's not to say that it doesn't turn out great in the end, but it's the getting there that's the kicker.
Besides, my mom says that I'm due for an easy baby. I know just because she said that, we're going to have the baby from hell. But I hope not. I really want a baby that I can enjoy. So I am going to go into the next phase of baby making with the New Parent Outlook. Everything will be fine. Everyone has two kids. It can't be that bad.
See? It's working already.
I see other people having kid after kid and I wonder what's wrong with me? I can barely fathom having a second child much less a third or fourth. As much as I hate to say it, I think that if I were a stay at home mom, I wouldn't be as reluctant to have another kid, because that would be my whole life. Of course, if I were a stay at home mom, I would probably be crazy, too, so I'm sure my judgement would be impaired.
But I'm not a SAHM, and the whole process of balancing work and family is hard enough with one child, let alone two. So what's a working mom to do?
I must say that as the Moosh gets older, I can sort of see having another one. He is much more independent now, but I still have that nagging voice inside my head. What if he screams for 10 months straight like the Moosh? How will I get anything done with two of them? Will my job/family suffer?
But this weekend as I was reading Michelle Au's annoucement, I realized that what I need is a good dose of New Parent Optimism. When I saw that ultrasound of her baby, I felt a rush of nostalgia for my pregnancy with the Moosh. When it's your first, you have so much hope and so many expectations about how great it's going to be, all of which are total crap because you have absolutely no idea what you're getting into. That's not to say that it doesn't turn out great in the end, but it's the getting there that's the kicker.
Besides, my mom says that I'm due for an easy baby. I know just because she said that, we're going to have the baby from hell. But I hope not. I really want a baby that I can enjoy. So I am going to go into the next phase of baby making with the New Parent Outlook. Everything will be fine. Everyone has two kids. It can't be that bad.
See? It's working already.
posted by Lisa C. @ 5:35:00 PM
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