Right of Passage

I was quick to point out in a recent post that no one cares to mention any of the possibilities of a less than stellar pregnancy, or baby for that matter. Sure, everyone knows about morning sickness, cravings, and weight gain, but what about the other less commonly talked about things? What about how your belly can itch as the skin stretches itself to wrap around this enormous bowling ball - which by the way can be a perfect ball, sticking straight out, an oblong football, stretching from one side of your abdomen to the other, it can sit high, it can sit low, etc. No one tells you about your inerts getting all out of whack and how your transverse abdominal muscles will realistically never be the same. And what about the aforementioned stretching skin, where's that going to go? Thanks to Kate, from John and Kate Plus 8, that's no longer a mystery - that stuff isn't going anywhere on it's own, not without a little snip-snip here and a tuck there. Then once the baby arrives, no one warns you of the possibility of the baby getting their days and nights mixed up and what to try if this happens. And heaven forbid, what if your child develops colic or acid-reflux? Well you might as well just throw your pillow and your sanity out the window because you won't be seeing either for a while. These are just the large, broad topics that I plan to discuss with any of my friends prior to them conceiving for the first time (you know who you are and you've hereby been warned). Trust me, you'll thank me for it later.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a thing and I've learned from my own experiences. But I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a small part of me that would have liked a brief heads-up prior to. Remember I'm a planner, so these unplanned events just really get me off track. I'm sure there were plenty of books that addressed all these various issues, but who has the time to sort thru 100's of books about bad possibilities, when all you want to look at are the 100's of books with baby names? So, that's what friends are for, they're the ones who you warn you but also be there to advise and listen once the issues transpire.

Wow, that was supposed to be a brief introduction and it turned into a rant! Aside from all the omissions, fellow parents do offer some stellar wisdom. I've often been told how children's taste buds can change and how sickness can be a big influence on these changes. (Thankfully, I'm living proof that kid's taste buds change because I survived on grilled cheeses and macaroni and cheese for years! I'm happy to report that I'll eat just about anything now that doesn't get up and crawl off my plate.) Since Colin has always been such a good eater, I let this advise go in one ear and out the other. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking that I just went on and on about people not giving advise, yet when they do I don't listen. I hear ya. OK? I hear ya! Up until last week, I had reason to ignore. Colin ate well and he had never been sick. That all changed Wednesday night. 4 outfits, 3 hurls, 2 bed changes, and 1 sick boy later, we finally got about 4 hours of sleep! Oh and I forgot to mention Wes and I each had 3 outfit changes and Wes was the recipient of said hurl directly in his face! The next day we didn't expect much from him in the way of appetite. He ate breakfast well and had a very bland, stomach-pleasing lunch and dinner. Since then, things he used to like are no longer acceptable. We had vegetable soup on Friday night and it was like trying to force-feed a monkey. He would twist and cry, all why keeping his lips tightly pursed together. His appetite has also diminished - which is not necessarily a bad thing considering my previous fear of him eating us out of house and home. He's just getting pickier, something we're not used to. He can't leave well enough alone, he has to keep us on top of our game.

Wes and I have decided getting sick to their stomach is just a right of passage for babies/toddlers. It's something they will all experience and it's just part of what dictates their culinary palates. Perhaps those with a pickier palate were challenged in the stomach region more as infants; whereas those who eat anything maybe weren't sick much. Luckily, these same friends who warned me of the taste buds changing also assured me that the likes and dislikes go in waves. So here's to the next post where I'll be back blogging about how much Colin eats and his perpetual tape worm! Who would have thought I'd long for those days?!