From wondering how tall she'll be to how she'll look when she isn't a 7-month-old almost hair-free infant, we parents are always wondering what type of people our children will grow up to be. (Drawn by Althea Peterson)
I hope I'm not the only parent that always worries that s/he's raising his/her child wrong or that everything s/he does or says influences his/her child's future in some important way.
OK, not really, but I do the best I can to meddle.
Parental impatience
I cannot wait to see my little baby grow into a little person, so sometimes, I'll hold my own hair up to her face, just to try to see what she'll look like when she has her own head of hair (it's fairly short and sparse right now).
My husband and I also try to figure out what her baby features and behavior means for her future: She likes to be sung to, so maybe she'll play musical instruments like us! She's tall for her age, so maybe she'll play basketball!
Influence and encouragement
My husband, who loves to cook, ordered her first Halloween costume: A baby chef. He makes it no secret that he hopes she'll join him in the kitchen one day and hopefully eat (and prepare) healthy family meals.
As I breastpumped and baby-supervised early one morning after feeding, I noticed that she was staring at the television instead of playing with her toys for a few seconds. Immediately, I shut the TV off so she would go back to her toys. What if the TV is hindering her creativity? Bad mommy!
Since her early days, I have also made sure that the songs I sung to her were OU songs, not only because those were the ones I knew the lyrics to, but also, because it would be awesome if she grew up to be a Sooner fan (and hopefully Sooner student!) like mommy and daddy.
Future forecast
If I could forecast the future, I'd be a weatherperson (admittedly, I do a bit of that
on the side. Or a stockbrocker. But instead, I'm just a mom. I have no idea what the future holds for my baby, what she'll grow up to be.
So, I'll settle for this: I hope she's happy and healthy.
--Althea Peterson
Trimesterly tribute: Stupid shoes. Forget your belly, your feet are the first things to get fat when you're pregnant. It's like all of the water in your body suddenly realizes what gravity is and sinks to the bottom. I could not wait each day after work to remove my shoes and put on slippers (or nothing). We fortunately had a mild winter last year, so I fortunately didn't need to wear thick boots. I imagine that if there's one benefit to a summer pregnancy instead of a winter one, this is it: flip-flops.
Mommy moment: Never question a baby's illness, you might be next. Our baby had 102-plus fever last weekend, but recovered quickly and was back to bouncing and attempted-crawling in no time. A few days later, my husband and I both got our own fevers and could completely understand how energyless and tired our baby was a few days prior.
Baby bit: We posted a note on our door Halloween night begging trick-or-treaters to not ring the doorbell, but instead to knock on the door so that our baby wouldn't get woken up. I totally forgot that some trick-or-treaters are too young to read, but when I came to the door after a ring and say a late-elementary/early junior high student, she was extremely apologetic -- she didn't read the sign in time. Fortunately, our baby slept through everything, including the dogs barking... which, yes, is definitely louder than the doorbell.
Althea's previous entries:
Oct. 22: Little parent-child time makes big differenceOct. 15: Choosing a daycare center for your childOct. 8: Baby blood drawing, catheter, congestion, antibiotics...Oct. 1: Beginnning to feed solid foods to a babySept. 24: Baby's first long car tripSept. 17: Photos: A newborn baby in her new homeSept. 10: Motherhood misconceptions and baby mythsSept. 3: When a baby can't sleep and won't stop crying (possibly due to her first cold)Aug. 27: Baby's appetite changes can make breastfeeding more difficultAug. 20: Mom's hospital stay after the baby arrivesAug. 13: Returning to work after maternity leaveAug. 6: Life as a single, working mother with a babyJuly 30: Dealing with a baby's first sick timeJuly 23: Delivering a baby by Cesarean sectionJuly 16: Introducing a new baby to your pet cat and dogsJuly 9: Breastfeeding a baby is a challenging decisionJuly 2: Baby airport travel requires patience and timeJune 28: Baby means there's never an awkward silence
Althea Peterson is the proud mother of a seven-month old girl. Althea returned to work at the Tulsa World in May after two months of maternity leave. Baby advice, baby questions or baby words of encouragement can be sent to althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com. Also, follow Althea on Twitter at twitter.com/a1a4ou.
