Like a bad date.
Dutch, when she was an infant, wanted to be held all the time. She was pretty much happy to go anywhere and do anything, as long as she was being held. I mostly just held her while I did stuff and told her about it, and she was cool with that as long as I NEVER PUT HER DOWN. When she got upset, she wanted to be closely cuddled and bounced. This was exhausting and tedious, and hard on the back, but it didn't require much mental effort.
Skipper, on the other hand, is happy to be held, but also wants to spend lots of time looking at me and chatting. She also seems to want other things I haven't yet figured out. I am often at a loss about what to DO with her. When Dutch was a baby, I had friends who said they didn't know what to do with their babies, and I thought that was weird. Obviously, all they needed to do was just be exactly like me, and I was obviously a brilliant parent. But now I understand. It's a little uncomfortable for me to be with Skipper all day, like being forced to spend lots of time with somebody with whom you don't really have anything in common, making super-awkward conversation. We have some very nice chats (though it's pretty hard to get stuff done when both your kids want to talk all the time), and that's fine. We've also worked out a system where I put her in the Bouncy Chair of Doom for short periods of time, and she watches me while I do stuff and talk to her about it in a jaunty, baby-engaging kind of way that would sound insane to any eavesdroppers. But that only gets us so far, and then we have these uncomfortable periods when neither of us knows what we're supposed to be doing.
Happily, she's now taking an extended crib nap for the first time in a long while, and I am free to (blog and) do dishes and pick up all the junk I kicked under the couch. Whee!
Skipper, on the other hand, is happy to be held, but also wants to spend lots of time looking at me and chatting. She also seems to want other things I haven't yet figured out. I am often at a loss about what to DO with her. When Dutch was a baby, I had friends who said they didn't know what to do with their babies, and I thought that was weird. Obviously, all they needed to do was just be exactly like me, and I was obviously a brilliant parent. But now I understand. It's a little uncomfortable for me to be with Skipper all day, like being forced to spend lots of time with somebody with whom you don't really have anything in common, making super-awkward conversation. We have some very nice chats (though it's pretty hard to get stuff done when both your kids want to talk all the time), and that's fine. We've also worked out a system where I put her in the Bouncy Chair of Doom for short periods of time, and she watches me while I do stuff and talk to her about it in a jaunty, baby-engaging kind of way that would sound insane to any eavesdroppers. But that only gets us so far, and then we have these uncomfortable periods when neither of us knows what we're supposed to be doing.
Happily, she's now taking an extended crib nap for the first time in a long while, and I am free to (blog and) do dishes and pick up all the junk I kicked under the couch. Whee!
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