Anyone else ever struggle to figure out that weird balance
of doing what's best for your baby while still maintaining some level of your
own sanity? It's definitely a weird thing to figure out. You would really think
that after walking this same road with Ellie not even three full years ago that
I'd remember the layout so to speak. Unfortunately that's not entirely true as
it seems the road has changed in that time frame.
Honestly, I think part of the issue might be that the day
started off on a weird note for Ethan. As a result of him staying up nice and
late last night, he may have slept in so long that he missed getting to see his
mommy this morning. For the record, that was no fault of Bethany's. She tried
everything to wake him outside of shaking him or picking him up. She even poked
him in the back while saying his name to no avail. He just slept right through
it. When it was all said and done, Ethan didn't decide to start his morning
until an hour and a half after Bethany left for work.
For the record, when an infant wakes up for the day and
doesn't see their mommy anywhere in sight, confusion tends to reign. Ellie and
I had been curled up on the couch reading books together when I first heard
Ethan's unmistakable coo. I bounded up the stairs with Ellie following closely
behind. Once my sidekick joined me at the door, I opened it a crack and peered
in to see Ethan sitting upright in his crib staring at the door.
On normal occasions, anyone who opens Ethan's door is met by
a smile. Today, however, it was more of a head tilt and looking past me to see
if there was someone else there. When no other adults appeared, Ethan resigned
himself to lifting his arms for me to pick him up and carry him out of his
room. I seriously believe that if he could have sighed, he would have.
We headed downstairs where I grabbed the bottle I had
waiting for him and took a seat on the couch. Not long after he was done
eating, Ethan's intense desire to explore kicked in. After checking out every
square inch of our living room, he climbed the stairs to our top floor and
explored. Unfortunately for Ethan, there was only so much to interest him and
it wasn't long before he was at the edge of the stairs, thinking "I could
take those."
Ethan, of course, was completely incapable of taking those
stairs. In an odd turn of events though, my intervention (and total saving of
his life) went completely unappreciated. In fact, Ethan responded with the
antithesis of appreciation as he embarked on his afternoon (and morning) of
revenge. Now, I know what you're wondering. "How exactly does an infant
embark on an afternoon of revenge?" Simple, there's lots and lots and lots
of screaming. So...much...screaming.
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| He's not currently crying in this picture. However, you can see just how horrible the poor little guy looks. |
Try though I might, most of my day revolved around trying to
make Ethan happy and failing. I wouldn't let him crawl down the stairs so he
screamed. I wouldn't let him knock over the decorative NCAA stones resting on
our fireplace so he cried. I wouldn't let him crawl into the bathtub so he
cried. In fact, by the time the afternoon was finished, only one thing had made
him happy: an all-expenses paid trip to Sam's Club.
I know that it sounds strange that my son, a mere baby of
six months, would enjoy a trip to Sam's Club. However, there may have been
extenuating circumstances. You see, today marked the very first time Ethan was
allowed to ride in the little seat part of a shopping cart. Not only that, but
Sam's Club features double shopping carts. That means that Ethan and Ellie
were able to ride side-by-side as we cruised through the store. Before I knew
it, my second-born was laughing, giggling, and smiling as we picked up our
groceries. Unfortunately for me, our fun soon ended and we headed home where I
was serenaded once again by the nonstop onslaught of Ethan's crying.
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| Oh, those were such happy times... |
That brings me back to my initial point. If Ethan is that happy
at Sam's Club, even on days that he is sad, does that mean that we should live
at Sam's Club now? I don't want to live there. However, they do have
mattresses...and food...and diapers. You know, we probably could live there for
quite a while if we wanted to.
On second thought, I really don't want to live at Sam's Club.
Even if it does mean more screaming awaits. #DaddyWrite
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| Sam's Club's aforementioned "food" |
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