Thursday, July 31, 2008

Bad Parenting 101

Time for some confessions. I've been a bad mother. Done things the books say not to. So here are two recent sins. (Must be the Catholic in me that necessitates such a public confession).

1. Automotive Breastfeeding

On the way home, we drove for 13 hours at night through pouring rain only to reach rush hour / flash flooding traffic in Kansas City. We crawled through crowded interstate lanes at 5 miles an hour for about 40 minutes with a wailing child. Jonas doesn't like his car seat, and traveling by car continues to be a trial. I had the option of using my hand-held, battery operated pump to prepare a bottle of breast milk for him. But this would take lots of messy maneuvering within the car, and we'd be almost home by the time the bottle was prepared. I told Ed to drive carefully and lifted Jonas out of the seat to feed him directly. All in full sight of the morning commuters. I haven't engaged in such risky and immodest behavior since college.


2. Alternative Sleeping Arrangements

When we got the bad news about Ed's dad, we packed hurriedly and headed to Ohio. We didn't know where we'd be staying or for how long. Most logical parents would bring the pack-n-play. That's what it's really for, right? And we bought that Subaru Forrester so we'd have plenty of room. Well, that's not what we did. I just didn't think we'd need it; don't ask me why. So, when we got to Ki's new house and discovered beautiful hardwood floors (but no rugs) and a comfy (double) bed, we were grateful to have such great accommodations. But where to put Jonas? This was our best solution, and it actually worked out quite well. Yes, that's my suitcase. Who knew it could be so useful for such a variety of purposes? For you worriers, please note: Jonas was well supported by a pillow, and I put him sideways so he wouldn't fall into the crevice on the side.


I worried about him all night for the first 3 nights, and used by iPod as a flashlight to check on him. We were staying in the cornfields and there was no light (except moonlight) to see by at night.

I hope Jonas appreciates being a guinea pig. It's the honored spot of the oldest and/or only child.


1 comment:

Pam said...

Shelly, Lizzie set up your site for us. Our family has really enjoyed you and Desi. What a wonderful baby you and Ed have! I had to laugh at this one. I told Butch that Sherry & I would still be in jail if they had all these laws back when. I used to put baby Lizzie in a bean bag on the van floor-safe huh? I would love phone numbers. Our phone # is 972-442-4992.