peskypippi.comBecause I have a lot to say…

Have you ever boarded an airplane with your baby/children in tow and have the other passengers give you the:

• Stink eye
• Eye roll
• Exasperated sigh

Sheesh. When you are traveling with children, it’s bad enough that their little ears get aggravated by the altitude, that babies are impossible to change in the tiny airplane bathrooms (I can barely fit my own fat ass in there), and little children need constant activities: books, mazes. stickers, video games, snacks, drawing.

Oops. The crayons drop and roll all the way to the back of the plane.

When a child travels, the child deserves respect. And so does his mother.

Who says the extra-large guy who takes up more than his share of the seat is any better? You know, the guy who hangs over the arm rest and spills onto YOUR side?

So, the next time you are boarding the airplane and you and your children get the stink eye, eye roll, or exasperated sigh, just smile back.

Karma.

Maybe the stink eye-givers will get hit with the 24-hour flu bug and need their in-flight barf bag.

I went out to lunch and I encountered a mother in the restaurant’s restroom who was at wit’s end. She was yelling at her four-year-old to stay RIGHT THERE. She was battling the blow-out her two-year-old made, forcing her to throw away the entire poop-covered outfit in the trash and to use paper towels to wipe up the mess. Then she proceeded to wrap her child in a paper towel “skirt” because she didn’t have a change of clothes.

Been there? I have. And it nearly brings you to tears.

Don’t judge that mother for yelling. Yelling happens. Don’t judge her for forgetting her baby wipes. Chances are she used them all up. Don’t judge her for throwing away clothes. Who would want to bring home poop-covered overalls? Don’t judge her for not bringing a change of clothes. Chances are, she did and this was the second blow-out of the day. Poop happens.

I felt sorry for her. I handed her the baby wipes I keep in my purse. I ask, “Do you want these?” = “I know what you’re going through.”

She said, “Yes, that would be great. Thank you sooooo much.” = “Thanks for understanding me and not judging.”

Who would’ve known the power of the baby wipe?

I made three babies. And I have had five unexpected body changes as a result:

1. Bigger feet. Yep, they grew a half a size. Time to go shoe shopping!
2. Belly roll. Gotta tuck it into my jeans.
3. Jaw that clicks. Giving birth to one of my children resulted in my jaw clicking and popping. Permanently.
4. Breasts. Breasts permanently increased a full cup size. Woohoo! But now they require a fork lift.
5. Heart bursting with love. Enough said.

Change is good.

You know the saying “Sleeping Like a Baby?” It means, “If you sleep very well, you sleep like a baby.” Well…

Most babies don’t sleep enough. Enough hours in a row. Especially in the middle of the night. Getting up at 3:00 a.m. just sucks. So does 5:00 a.m.

We know that sleeping babies are the cutest. Calm. Sweet. Precious. No crying. No fussing. You stare at them and watch them while they sleep and breathe. But you know that if you stare too long, they could…wake up!

And you need these precious two hours of quiet.

Time to shower and shave your legs. It’s been awhile. Or maybe even to take a nap yourself.

So the next time you’re trying to explain pure and blissful, dog-days-of-summer sleep, why don’t you just say “Sleeping Like a Dog.” Man, you can’t wake those suckers up unless you’ve packing some bacon.

Cloth or disposable? Now there’s a question I haven’t thought about in awhile. Thank GOODNESS. But I recently spent three hours with my very pregnant hairdresser, due with her first baby in three weeks. She had all kinds of questions for me. Questions I could answer with confidence!

I used both cloth and disposable. (Not on ME silly.) My thoughts:

Cloth: Environmentally friendly. But not Mom friendly. My experience with cloth is this. Within two minutes of freshly diapering, pinning, and dressing my baby, the diapers became soaked all over again. And then, when these cloth diapers  are laden with poop and Mom has to scrub them out in a toilet. Then wash and bleach them.

The ginormous stack of cloth diapers in my house? Presto. Turned into a ginormous stack of cleaning rags.

Disposable: Not environmentally friendly. But oh so portable.

Go for it! Give both a try. See what works best for you and your baby.

Two more recommendations: diaper cream is a wonderful invention and the Diaper Genie (disposable diaper storage) is not. Unless you enjoy seeing a five-foot-long-poopy-diaper-filled-plastic-sausage, don’t waste your money.