We’ve had a few firsts around here in the Mommy developmental milestones arena, and I love honesty, so I’m sharing!

I let the babies watch tv this week while I was sick.  Well, not really.  The tv has been on in their presence before… I remember having it on once or twice when they were tiny and stayed put if you laid them on the floor pointed away from the flashing light box.  And it has been on in the other room while they eat or even in the same room while they hang out with us a few times.  But we don’t let them watch it or face it and we don’t sit them down in front of it.  The concern in all the information about television watching for babies is that they don’t have a “disengage” ability yet.  They appear to be wrapped up in what they are watching and very attentive, but actually, they can’t turn away.  Their little brains can’t say, “I’ve had enough” and so they are almost stuck there whether they want to be or not.  So they recommend not having kids watch tv until they are 2 or older to make sure they can disengage.  Well, I was mostly immobile and very exhausted earlier this week, so I switched on the tv to a very low volume with captions, had them on the floor playing, and took time to lay on the couch and watch a show.  And they were able to disengage!  They would glance up, but it wasn’t that mesmerizing to see people talking, so they went back to their toys.  Wheee!!!  Upon hearing this, Matt wondered if shows made to hold babies’ attention are actually the shows that are bad for them at an early age (along with any really loud, high-action, fast-moving, light-show effect shows), since kid shows intend to keep the child engaged, while informational shows (talk shows, the home and garden channel) have no flashy lights, fun sounds, and recognizable objects to observe.  Perhaps.  Regardless, I gave in, and it went fine!

You aren’t going to want to know this one, not because it’s so shocking, but because you won’t care.  I’m saying it anyway!  I am an avid showering fiend.  I love to shower.  I only do it once a day, but I’d do it more given the opportunity.  It’s my peaceful time to be in steamy water (Matt thinks I take WAY too hot of showers, especially for summer) with yummy smells of soaps and hair products and I can be all by myself, if only for 10 minutes!  I heard stories of people in college who were too stressed during finals week to shower.  Ew!  I’m the opposite — when I’m stressed, I have to shower more!  Some new mom magazine was saying that it is important to take time to shower every day even though it can be hard to find time.  I was a bit surprised that anyone thought I needed to be told that and thought “no worries there!” and I continued showering every day.  Until last week.  <sigh>  I missed one and I’m admitting it.  The drywallers were coming to do our renovated room and I was just going to hop in the shower when they called to say they would arrive in 10 minutes.  And then they were hanging drywall and drilling in screws and making a racket that disturbed the babies for the next 4 hours, so we stayed outside or elsewhere for the day and I just never got around to it.  It was a moral defeat for me, but I can accept that!  Missing one shower is fine!  It’s not that it’s about counting them, it’s that I need that time.  But I learned that I can do without in a pinch and that is good to know.

Oh, and while I’m being honest, I’m not making our own baby food right now.  And I haven’t for months!  They are eating factory-produced, only sometimes organic baby food!  And guess what?  It’s fine 🙂  They are growing and they love eating solids!  I ran out of time and motivation to do everything myself and decided that I could put in cooking time to feed the babies or I could put in cooking time to feed Matt and I, but not both.  Being a super mom is not about being perfect.  It’s about living life in such a way that you can enjoy being a mom at all.  So I do and it’s fine.

*This post was sponsored by the letter F*