Middle of the Night Feedings and Epiphanies

In the midst of this winter wonderland, we are continuing to do really well at home. BJ took all of this week and is taking all of next week off, so it's been nice to try to get used to this parenting thing together. If Charlie had his way, he would spend 20 hours a day asleep on BJ's chest...it has definitely become his niche.

The last few nights haven't been bad at all. I've napped in the early evening, which has helped when Charlie's decided to have a little awake time in the middle of the night. I've used the mother-son bonding time to fill him in on family members and the latest current events, as well as read a couple of books. During those middle of the night hours, I/we have had a few epiphanies:

1. As scared as I was for labor and delivery, I am almost equally scared to cut Charlie's nails. I've heard all of the "tricks" (do it when he is sleeping, use a baby file, peel them off, etc.). I'm not questioning these tricks, but the thought of causing one of his little fingers to bleed is frightening.

2. "Goodnight Moon" is not for everyone. "Goodnight Moon" was one of the handful of books that I chose to read aloud to Charlie when he was known as Poppy and every time that I read it I wondered how it was considered a "must-have" baby book. Lines such as - "Goodnight light. And the red balloon. Goodnight bears. Goodnight chairs." - leave me begging for more of a plot to the story. I worried that if I questioned the quality of "Goodnight Moon" aloud before having Charlie that my "mom" card would never be issued; however, I read it aloud to Charlie last night and he was equally unimpressed.

3. It is pointless to watch the 5:00 Am traffic report when it will be another 11 weeks before I am commuting.

4. Even though I think that Charlie has finished filling his diaper does not mean that he will not have additional deposits to make during and after a diaper change. If only a little bell would ring when he was truly finished...

5. In light of the over-the-top media coverage of Tiger & Elin Woods' marital problems, BJ and I discussed and agreed that if we ever decide to cheat, we will at least be smart enough not to send any text messages or record any voicemails for said third party. Whew - I'm sure glad that we cleared that up.

6. Never buy anything that is advertised on TV, especially if it is advertised between the hours of 1-4 AM. At first I thought that I was catching a rerun of Saturday Night Live, but it was commercial for some sham-wow product and the salesman looked completely deranged and was yelling at the camera. I'm not saying that it isn't a good product, but most of the tactics used during the infomercial are similar to those used by cult leaders.

7. The last few days have flown by and the only "sad" thought I've had is that the next 11 weeks are going to fly by as well, so I'm going to do the mature thing and be in complete denial about returning to work until late February.

Happy winter wonderland to all.