This has nothing to do with the title, but I have to start out with some exciting news! There's a new cousin in our family! Sacha's cousin, Rachel, and her husband, Joaquin, just had a baby boy a couple of days ago. Because of Orthodox customs, the baby won't be named until he is eight days old, but they did send some photos and he is adorable. I think he's technically our kids' second cousin, but who's counting? We're so excited for them and hope to be able to meet the little guy someday. They're living in Israel right now and won't be back in the States for at least another six months, so it might be awhile. It's amazing to think that we were just at their wedding last November 8th and now they have a little baby, born almost exactly a year later! Congratulations, guys!
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So, I was thinking about their baby and all the developmental milestones he'll go through that we've been through twice with our kids. One thing I have to work on all the time with new parents (and obviously we're relatively new parents ourselves) is not saying the phrase "just wait...". As in, you think he's into everything now? Just wait until he can walk. And so on. I know it does no one any good, except to emphasize that things will get more complicated and also that you have it harder than they do. It really makes me appreciate all the people who listened to us moan and groan about Mateo's sleep issues or his lack of wanting to eat any real food until he was almost a year old, or similar things with Natalia, and just let us vent without saying, "well, just wait until s/he blah blah blah."
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Finally, the new baby's arrival made me reflect on what our kids are into right now. In some ways, it's similar to a newborn: repetition. Newborns want to eat, sleep, poop, and cry all the time. Toddlers and preschoolers are more mentally and physically developed, but they thrive on routine. Our days are like groundhog day over and over and over again. Of course, I do different things with them every day, but we have the same morning routine every day with Mommy, the same coming home for a nap routine in the middle of the day, and the same dinner and bedtime routine as well. No matter what their days are like in between, they always know what the next big transition will be.
As far as I can tell, they like it, and what they like, they want to repeat. They want the same books over and over, the same fun tricks with Apa every time they see him, the same songs to listen to in the car, and the same adventure to the library, coffee shop and home. And, when we occasionally let them watch videos (except on vacation, when they can pretty much watch as much as they want on the plane or in the early morning) they want the same one or two videos every time. They must have watched Blue's Clues Biggest Stories about a thousand times, and yet they still want more.
Obviously, this phase doesn't last forever, because eventually they'll be teenagers, bored with everything we have to offer, and wanting to do everything on their own time. So, I'm trying to enjoy this simpler season of routines and repetition before things change again. Please, nobody tell me "just wait until they can drive" or anything like that, and, in return, I will refrain from saying that to other parents, although sometimes I have to grit my teeth to prevent the words from escaping!
4 comments:
That's so funny - we were just talking about kids and books today in one of my classes, and how they want to read the same ones over and over and never seem to get sick of them. Our teacher was musing that people always say kids have short attention spans, but sometimes it's the grown ups that want to do something different. :)
I used to hate the "Just waits..." when Teo was a baby. Now, like you, it's hard to stop myself, although I try to... must be human nature.
Great post. I often have parents saying, "I know it just going to be worse when... , but right now....." I wonder how many of them have been deluged by the "just waits" when venting about whatever it is that is bugging them in the moment.
You guys are so sweet to post about our little guy's birth! We can't wait for you all to meet him hopefully someday soon! His circumcision ceremony was yesterday and he has a name...Lev Yaakov, pronounced "Layv Ya'akohv". Lev means 'heart' in Hebrew, and Yaakov is the Hebrew version of Jacob, and was Grampa Harold (who I called Papa)'s middle Hebrew name. So many new cousins in or out of utero right now in the family!!! :)
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