Babies: Do they do everything for a reason?
By Veronica MacDonald Ditko
An Accidental Anthropologist
As Mother’s Day approaches, many a mother can think back to the difficult newborn days each child went though. With my first child, I sometimes used humor to get through the weary, sleep-deprived days. It helped me keep my sanity and made me love my little bundle even more. And I started to notice that nearly everything happened for a reason. So go ahead and reminisce with me:
1. Babies wake several times at night at first. I believe it is to alert us of their full diapers. There is no overnight diaper that could hold a newborn’s discharges all night long.
2. Rolling over came just in time before my first son’s head became a slanted pancake. He favored his left side for everything, making his head horribly misshapen. Switching sleeping positions didn’t work. Tummy time didn’t help. We had hoped he would be a south paw like his mother, but alas, he is not. He’s just a creature of habit!
3. Smiling begins right before you consider returning him for another baby at the baby store…
4. Separation anxiety: babies recognize/want their parents typically right before walking begins, otherwise they would walk off with the wrong adults. Back in the day before cars, that would have been a very long way!
5. Talking: Just before you think you will hear the word “No!” for the rest of your life, your child actually starts saying things like “Please” and “Thank You,” once again saving him/her from being returned to the baby store.
6. Tantrums: They say you should just walk away, which frees you up to do things you want to do, like catch the last 5 minutes of Oprah, or file your nails, or make yourself another cup of coffee! Tantrums are wonderful things.
7. Naps: These are also nature’s glorious breaks. And they naturally make mothers very good at time management. I used to know exactly how much laundry I could do during those early 20-minute naps. And then the naps got longer and longer, and even I could rest! I will be very sad to see those go, especially now that I have two kids!
For as bothersome as they can be, babies really are worth all the work. The rewards come unexpectedly and unconditionally. And those are the best surprises. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and future mothers out there!