Dear Vince,

In Mommy’s school we teach the kids a phrase, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.”  This means you take what you are given.  You don’t complain that PJ got a red pair of scissors and you got stuck with orange.  There is no griping; you accept what you are handed.  Grown ups have a similar expression, “It is what it is.”

Well, my dear, I’m beginning to accept the fact that you are not a sleeper. Thank goodness you are an eater.  You’ve been a champ about going back and forth from breast milk to formula.  You’ve masterfully munched all types of cereal.  Sweet potatoes, carrots, and bananas all went down your gullet with ease.  I’m particularly proud of last night’s feat- string bean puree.   Hopefully you’ve inherited your mom and aunt’s love of veggies.

I’m proud to announce my son is an eater, just not a sleeper. It is what it is…

You get what you get, and I’m glad I got you.

Love,

Jennie

My husband had way too much fun messing around with iMovie…

Dear People of Earth,

Today I’d like to discuss a little thing called, personal responsibility.  It no longer exists on this planet.  I can say this with certainty because of the recent Bumbo seat recall.

I’d like to begin my tirade by thanking all the friends and family who alerted me of the recall.  It was really kind of you to care about my son’s safety.  I care about his safety also.  That is why I follow the clear directions on the side of the Bumbo, “Warning-Prevent Falls- Never use on any elevated surface”.  This warning was added to the seats in 2007 after an initial recall.  Now there is a recall of the 4 million seats, because 34 babies fell out of the seats while they were being “used on the floor or an unknown elevation”  According to Boston.com there were 21 reports of skull fractures in infants.

That is horrific.  Any injury to a defenseless infant is a tragedy, but I’ll tell you what else is horrific.  A co-worker of mine has a relative who has been known to leave her baby in a Bumbo on her kitchen counter.  I had an interesting conversation with a friendly gas station attendant who told me he takes his 11 month son to the movies in his Bumbo seat.  He props it right up on the movie theater chair.

I’m sharing these two instances, because I don’t understand why people can’t take the blame for their own actions.  If my son is fussing and squirming in the seat, I take him out of it. I also make sure someone is always directly supervising him while it is in use.  I don’t know exactly how the 21 infants were injured, but the term “unknown elevations” is suspicious.

I’m not saying I’m a perfect parent.  In the interest of full disclosure, I accidently whacked my son’s head with a refrigerator door when he was two months old.  Did I blame GE for having the freezer door at a height that would injure my child?  No.  I just kissed him like crazy til he stopped wailing and chided myself for being the world’s worse parent.  I took the responsibility.

I’m not being paid by Bumbo, but I need to give the product some kudos.  At his last appointment my pediatrician recommended it to assist my son in learning to sit on his own. I’ve been propping Vince in it since he was 2 1/2 months old (always with supervision) and he enjoys singing songs, reading books, and playing with toys from this seated position.  The seats works well when used properly.

As a self declared liberal I rarely side with or feel bad for corporations, but in this case I do.  Bumbo International has never claimed to make anything more than a baby floor seat.  It’s not to blame for the ridiculous adults who carelessly prop their children up on “unknown elevations” or place the chair on hard surfaces without supervision.  Now it has to endure the humiliation of an international recall.  You can find more information at this link, but essentially what it boils down to is that they will send you a restraint belt to add to your existing seat and a new larger sticker with additional safety warnings.

I don’t intend to discontinue using this product.  I do intend to continue to use is on the floor with adult supervision.   I hope others do the same.

Love,

Dear People Who Actually Read this Blog,

I owe you all yet another apology.  This summer completely got away from me.  I knew having a baby would be a colossal life adjustment, but somehow it threw me in ways I didn’t expect.

I didn’t really feel like my life was worth blogging about.  I don’t say this to be negative, and it is not even the postpartum talking.

Allow me to explain.  The way I see it, 50% of the world is made up of women.  Of those women, many become mothers at some point.  I didn’t think anything that was happening to me was extraordinary, interesting, different, notable, or worth putting out into cyberspace.  I was just living my life these past four months. I didn’t have time for any major home renovations.  All the craft projects I attempted where small scale and simple. There didn’t seem like I was doing anything relevant enough for anyone read.

But then it hit me.  It’s the reason people read and write biographies.  The reason reality television has superseded scripted programing.  The modern world is an isolating place, and everyone wants to feels a means of connection.  It is unbelievably gratifying to compare and contract your meager existence with another person’s.  Whether you judge their faults or relate to their circumstances, it’s human nature to care about other people.

So maybe my life isn’t glamorous right now, but its the tale of the “Everymom” that I want to share.  I think this blog will be a cathartic way of sharing my life, and hopefully you can take away something from me opening my world.

Surely you will see that I’m still the same Jennie.  I still love home decor, crafting, and shopping, but now I do those things with my little man in tow.

Ps: If I don’t blog at least once a week-you are asked to reprimand me in an email.  Jennie@openhouse.org