What Not to Say
As I amble into Target -- newborn in tow -- with my hair askew and an un-showered appearance, a person (or 10) undoubtedly stops me to say sweetly "Look at the new baby! Don't you wish they could stay like this forever?" Though I smile politely at this stranger's notion of perma-infants, in my mind I have landed an upper-cut-jab-combo squarely on the unsuspecting shopper. To be clear: this stranger wants to freeze my son at an age where sleeping one to two hours is considered an amazingly long time? Where his all too frequent diaper changes are filled with piercing screams as if an appendage is being removed? Where he sleeps like an angel in my arms, only to wake with a jolt the moment his head hits the crib mattress? No thank you. I understand their heart is in the right place. A sleeping infant with its cute button nose and little baby coos is undeniably wonderful. Seeing such a teeny human is a bit surreal. They are so new, so innocent.