Since Turning 60 I’ve Learned…

Since turning 60, a couple of years ago, I’ve learned:

That even though I’m a morning person, I can sleep through early summer sunrises, and the day will still be there;

That I don’t have to feel guilty if I don’t get 3 miles of walking in every day. Taking some time off can be a good thing;

That it’s fun to collect stuff.  But there a comes a point when it’s more fun to get rid of stuff;

That spending my summer vacation with my newborn grandson trumps working in my garden.  Sorry, tomatoes and beans and carrots and daisies and dahlias.  I love you, too, but this year grandbaby gets my attention;

And that turning 60, then 61, and then 62 is really okay.

 

 

 

Time Flies When You Have a Baby

It’s been 26 years since my youngest was born. It’s been 3 weeks since my youngest grand baby was born. And I’m here to tell you that stuff for babies, and the rules for caring for these babies, has totally changed.

Now car seats have movable handles and tops, and snap into a permanent base in the car or into the stroller; cribs grow into toddler beds, then into twin beds;  baby monitors are video so you can keep an ear and an eye on the baby in the other room.  No more wind up baby swings.  Now they are battery operated and come with choices of speed and piped in music. We had none of that.  Heck, we didn’t have a strollers with a cup holder.  If I wanted a drink while pushing the stroller I made the baby hold it.

And the rules.  Always put baby on his back, never on his tummy, when you lay him down.  No blankets, no bumpers around the crib, no stuffed animals.  Too dangerous.  Baby lays on his back, in  his warm jammies, all alone, in that crib.  Makes me kind of sad.  How can you go to sleep in a lonely, empty bed?

But time itself  has not changed.  Back in the day when evening came and I reflected on the day and what I had accomplished it could be described in a simple  continuous loop: fed the baby, diapered the baby, put baby to sleep, fed the baby, diapered the baby, put the baby to sleep, ad infinitum.

That has not changed, even though I’m now the grandmother, not the mother. I’m helping my daughter for a bit with her newborn and when we get to the end of the day we say, what a day.  Actually, what happened to the day?  Oh yeah.  We fed the baby, diapered the baby, put the baby to sleep, fed the baby, diapered the baby, put the baby to sleep…Not much to report.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

 

 

Things I’ve Learned From My Two Week Old Grand Baby

I’ve been visiting my newest grandson for a week.  He’s 15 days old today and has already taught me a few things.

First,  have a few changes of clothes clean and ready for wearing.  You never know when your mood will change.  Or when you’ll spill lunch on your lap.

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Second, listen.  You don’t have to do all the talking to be the center of attention.  Listen to others.  You can learn a few things and your company will think you’re absolutely the best.

Third, don’t be too shy.  When you need something from others, let them know that you need something.  People can’t help you if you don’t let them know you have a need.

Finally, there’s nothing better than a good meal followed by a good nap. Followed by a good meal. And another good nap. In moderation, of course.

Thanks for the advice, Grand Baby.

 

Happiness is holding a sleeping baby

My kids are grown and gone.  But oh! how I remember the feeling of holding my sleeping infant.  I treasured it, wishing I could wrap it up and save it forever.

But I couldn’t.   Before I could fully believe I had a baby, my baby was a toddler. I woke up the next day and my toddler was a pre-schooler, then in kindergarten, then graduating from college. Then my daughter got married. Babies don’t stay babies for long.  And in truth we wouldn’t want them to.

Because now, when the time was right, the circle of life has circled around.  My daughter has given me a grandson to hold and snuggle. It is as wonderful, with the grand baby, as it was 29 years ago holding his mother.

Some decades ago Charles Schultz said Happiness is a Warm Puppy.  But happiness is really a snugly infant.

 

Baby, it’s hot outside!

My new grandson arrived 4 weeks early. People ask me why my daughter’s water broke a month before her due date. Heck, I don’t know. Maybe he wasn’t paying his rent and her uterus evicted him. Whatever the reason, he came early, spent a week in the NICU, then graduated out.  He’s little, under 6 pounds, but is growing and gaining.  The one thing that needs to be carefully watched is his body temperature.  He’s little and still isn’t fully regulating his own body temp.  If he gets too cool he’ll use all his energy staying warm, instead of growing and gaining. So every diaper change includes the dreaded thermometer-under-the armpit which he finds very intrusive and he shares his opinion. His mama has become an expert at swaddling and wrapping him up like a little warm burrito.

We’re in high dessert country.  Hot during the day but the redeeming quality is that it’s high dessert country and cools at night.  At least it’s supposed to.  But it was having none of it last night.  It was 90+ yesterday and “cooled” to  about 70 at night.  Which meant the house was edging up above 80 during the day and not cooling at night.

But the little burrito stayed cozy and it is, after all, all about him. In the meantime, it’s hot outside!