I had a lot of lovely reactions to the incoherent musings I shared on mini last week and I recently admitted that I am currently living out the em dash IRL, so I trust you’ll forgive me for another scattershot post today:
Minimagpie Musing 1: My Baby Is My Friend?
I was changing mini the other day and, mid-struggle with my writhing, “I’d-prefer-to-be-naked” baby, I accidentally ripped the tab off of her diaper, rendering it useless.
“Uh-woops!” I said loudly, instinctively.
Mini caught my eye and burst into laughter, throwing her little blond head back in delight.
It was contagious; I started laughing, too.
And there we were, two girls laughing riotously about a not-particularly-funny happening on a not-particularly-remarkable Sunday afternoon.
I walked around the rest of the day a changed woman. It was one of the first times I’d viewed mini not as a child, a lovebug, or a responsibility — but as a companion. How many times in the future will we throw our heads back in ridiculous laughter together? Countless, I hope.
Minimagpie Musing 2: Can I Pull Off a Backpack?
I took mini to meet a friend’s precious newborn baby and then to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan last week (BTW, moms in NYC: it costs $14 for an adult, and is free for children under a year, and mini was totally obsessed with the play area — I thought it was a bargain if you’re looking for something to do outside of the house but INSIDE during these cold winter months; classes can get really pricey!). I put her in her carrier so we could take the Subway and get around a little more easily, but by the end of the trip, I was so physically exhausted, I could barely move. Mini is almost half my height, and she weighs over 20 lbs now; carrying her around for a few consecutive hours is tough on the old bones — at least for me. This led to multiple thoughts:
- Maybe I should try the backpack position and see if carrying her on my back makes things easier.
- Maybe it’s really time to invest in an umbrella stroller.
- Maybe I need to start working out more often.
- I wish carriers were easier to fold up when not in use. When we got to the museum, I took mini out of the carrier but then was schlepping around a bulky black mass of straps and strings (aka my carrier), my ginormous winter coat, my diaper bag, mini’s coat, and mini, and I felt like a complete disaster zone.
- The carrier on its own wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t also always carrying a diaper bag, which, at least during these winter months when I’m wearing a bulky parka, cannot fit over my shoulder, so I have to hold it out to the side and it gets really annoying. It made me wonder if I can actually pull off a diaper bag in backpack format. My bestie made fun of me for this thought, but GUYS, it is so annoying to hold a bag in your hand at all times. I was for some time toying with the idea of a Fawn backpack, but one of you lovely readers wrote to mention how stiff it was and how you find yourself shunning it over time. If I were cooler/hipper, I might reach for one of these, which I see all over New York on cool moms wearing Golden Goose sneakers and ripped jeans. StateBags has some clever/funky prints, but — like the Kanken, they’re just not my steez. What are our thoughts on this? Too edgy? I feel like I need to also drive a motorcycle to pull it off. This Gucci or this one (shown above) are more up my alley, but a little logo-heavy for my taste. I have a feeling I’d wear one for a season and then never want to look at it again. Smeh. I’ll keep looking.
- Or maybe, just maybe, I’ll retire the carrier and transition into umbrella strollering around. Which leads me to share — and I know you’ve been sitting on pins and needles to hear how this very boring decision will pan out — that I have decided to go with the Babyzen after carefully weighing the pros and cons. Stay tuned for a full review! And P.S. — for those mamas who have and love their Yoyos, I just discovered that their coordinating footmuffs are 50% off here!
Minimagpie Musing 3: How Quickly We Forget…
Whenever I would ask my mom (mother to FIVE, all birthed without pain medication — aosdijasodijasdoijasdioajdioasjd) about childbirth, she would say: “It’s no walk in the park, but you forget about the pain almost immediately because you have a beautiful new baby to love.” I haven’t quite forgotten the misery of those first few weeks of rocky recovery post-c-section, although I’ve blocked out the physical memory of it and now look back shruggingly (“oh yeah, it hurt, but I got through it”) — but I feel as though I’ve completely lost track of the ins and outs of newborn-hood. When I was visiting my girlfriend, mother to a three-week-old, last week, all I could say was: “I can’t remember Emory ever being this small or squishy…she was never this little!”
In fact, mini was that small — even smaller! In the week after her birth, her weight dipped down to six pounds even. Six pounds! I can barely remember anything from that time, least of all the feel of her nominal weight in my arms. I wonder whether this is God’s way of encouraging us to have more than one child. How quickly I have forgotten the exhaustion and confusion and emotional chaos of those first few weeks, when everything had changed. As my sister put it while I cried to her on the couch, adrift in postpartum hormones and pain medication, “the world is shifting beneath your feet. Of course you’re overwhelmed.”
Minimagpie Musing 4: Random Baby Things I’m Eyeing.
+Space is a premium in our petite Manhattan apartment, so we’ll probably need to operate on a one-in-one-out policy when it comes to larger toys, but this is a classic!
+I am nuts for all of the precious dresses by Luli + Me. Mini received a few of these as gifts when she was born and I’m in love. True hand-me-downs! Love this and this in particular.
+Mini wears a light of cableknit tights (these are my favorite) and dresses (I just bought her this, and I love the European labels Foque — swoon — and La Coqueta) during the week, but every baby needs a pair of Osh Kosh overalls. These are in my shopping cart. I’ll layer them over a basic white tee from 1212.
+In the category of kids-gear-that-is-surprisingly-good-looking-and-has-multiple-functions: this sleek stool-turned-table-turned-chair.
+Tilly recently destroyed mini’s Tom’s sneakers and I found a replacement pair here on sale for $14!!!
+Jacadi has some gorgeous pieces marked way down right now, plus an extra 20% off! How can you turn down heavily discounted basics like this or sweet jumpers like this?!
+Obsessed with this precious doll.
+This looks a lot like the darling but expensive ruffled swimsuits from Minnow, but costs about half the price!
+Such a fun print for a transitional jacket for a toddler. For older girls, this!