Category Archives: child

Munchie’s Fear of Dirt

Munchie is afraid of getting dirty. She is two. She is not supposed to be afraid of dirt. I wasn’t afraid of dirt until I was about ten. I remember my mother would put me in these perfect, pressed, little outfits, send me off to school, and I would come home looking like I had been rolling around in mud all day. I may very well have been. I don’t remember. But I was perfectly happy in my own filth for the first ten years of life. Then I turned into a little princess.
This evening when we were playing in the back yard she didn’t want to play with the chalk because it was dirty. Earlier today when I took her to the park she didn’t want to go on the slides because they were dirty. And she had me carry her across the play area because the wood chips were dirty. Odd.
Tonight for dinner we had salad. She has never seen red lettuce before and wouldn’t eat it because apparently the green salad got dirty. It was simultaneously amusing and disturbing.
I have a friend who’s child wouldn’t eat anything but french fries for a whole year. I wonder if this is like that. Maybe?

A Letter To Ducky

Dear Ducky,
Mommy loves you, but please stop growing. Of course I want you to grow up broad and sturdy. I want you to be tall, and generally well built. But you have time. You do not need to put on a lifetimes’ worth of weight before your first birthday. You are nine months old wearing twenty-four months clothes.
Aside from the fact that I can’t shop fast enough to replace your clothes, I am also running out of space to store all the clothes you can’t fit into any more. Including the ones you never even got a chance to wear (just in case there is another one of you down the line).
Also, you need to work on this crawling business. Not because I am worried about your development. I am sure you will get there eventually. But since you can’t crawl or walk, I have to carry you. Everywhere. And you are heavy. You weigh more than your two year old sister. I thank you for the really buff arms I now have, and the six pack belly that I am sure you contributed to, but my back hurts, and my arms are sore. And I am exhausted.
Also, we need to work on your sleeping habits. Meaning you need to sleep more. At night. This whole waking up ever hour or less trend is not working. I am exhausted. Your father is exhausted. How are you not exhausted? Do we need to enroll you in baby aerobics so you can burn off some of that excess energy? We would be glad to do it.
So you see, Ducky, mommy and daddy love you dearly. We are just asking for some effort on your part. I didn’t want to burden you, or make you feel like you are not a good baby. So I haven’t said anything. But you are now nine months old, and ready for the truth. Even though to me you are always going to be perfect, there is always room for improvement.
With love,
Mom
P.S. In a few months you are probably going to be obsessed with Elmo like your sister is. Please don’t. 

Comparing Your Child

I know you are not supposed to compare your children, but I think it is impossible for any parent. Even if you do not have multiples, at some point your probably compared your kid to someone else’s.
Yesterday I compared Munchie and Ducky, to Ducky’s disfavor. He is six months old, and I am not seeing the same progress Munchie had made at his age. She was a slow walker (about fifteen months when she started). Before that, she was a slow crawler (13 months). But her hand eye coordination was excellent, and she was a master of fine motor skills early on.
Although Ducky became aware of his hands and feet about a month ago, he still cannot get a grasp on his hands. He waves them around frantically, trying as hard as he can to grab things and make them do what he would like them to do, to little avail. I think he may be even less coordinated than me. Which is scary since I have the depth perception of a Cyclops.
Experience is my consolation. I was terribly worried about Munchie because she wasn’t walking yet, crawling yet, talking yet, etc. And in the end she is perfectly fine and normal, and in some cases, as with her speech, advanced.
Kids learn and accelerate at different rates. But eventually they will get there. They are all going to learn to walk at some point. Ducky may never become the next Ethier, much to Hubby’s chagrin, but he will eventually figure out how to, at the very least, hold a bat.
So yes, experience is my consolation, and for those of you who do not have the experience, I will simply offer my own. Rest assured, your child will get to where they need to get, at the rate which is best for them. I am not going to tell you to stop comparing, because that is human nature, and all parents do it to some extent. But I will tell you to stop worrying. I hope this helps.