Shhhhhhh!!!

*Shhhhh: The sound this mother makes when her baby is sleeping.

Motherhood has taught me many things: I’ve become more patient, more aware of my feelings,  more giving, more  organized (I’ts a long list, you get the point); And still the one thing that has shocked me, the one I didn’t expect (Have I mentioned I’m kind of proud and stubborn?): It has taught me to eat my own words. I used to be that lady on the airplane looking at our baby with her nose held up high. Did you ever take your kid to a fancy restaurant and get the evil eye? Yep, that was me. Has your baby ever cried in public? I was probably criticizing your parenting skills. Fast forward to today: Peter has cried on airplanes more than any child I have ever encountered (I do my best ‘Sorry for the inconvenience fellows’ look), I take him every Tuesday to a fancy restaurant so that he can spend time with my father (He cries/screams every time). Whenever I see a mother and her child is crying I get this urge to hug her and tell her I understand. I have learned that mothers do the best they can. I will never ever criticize another mother for her child’s actions or for the decisions she makes about raising her child.

One of this ‘Written in Stone’ perceptions I had before I became a mother? Adequate sleeping noise. I swore I would never be one of those mothers who’s house has to be in complete silence in order for their babies to be asleep. These words I said so many times: Babies must learn to sleep through all types of noise (I despised going to friends houses to visit when their baby was napping and having to almost whisper the whole time). Ha ha, how naive I was. You see Peter, he won’t sleep if you so much as clear your throat. And my little boy, he wont nap for more than 40 minutes at a time. So napping time is a HUGE deal for me. I’ll do whatever I have to, to get my 40 minutes. Call my house during nap time and something or someone better be on fire. Call me on my cell phone and you better have your hearing aid on, otherwise you will not be able to decipher what I’m saying, because I can assure you, I will be whispering. I have become a ninja. You see my house has wooden floors, and yes, wood creaks. So I have learned where I can step on, I’ll stretch my body as far as I have to, I’ll crawl if it ever becomes necessary.  Peter will get his 40 minutes, and so will his mother. Even as I type this, my fingers are elegantly gliding through the word pad, no noise involved.

Yes I have mastered the art of silent napping. Unfortunately there has been some collateral damage: It drives Phillip insane. He is of course, less than willing to jump around from side to side in order for the floor to stop creaking. He will not stretch or crawl. He will not whisper on his cell phone, he will not watch the t.v without volume (crazy right?). So he gets a lot of Shhhhh’s during the day (and night). Even when he calls to see how we’re doing he gets reprimanded. So obviously this is something he will have to work on. I’ve tried teaching him all my ninja tricks, but for some reason he doesn’t seem interested.

He has left me no choice but to keep shushing him. So Shhhh has become the word (noise?) he hears from me all the time. Yes, I am a good wife.

So here’s hoping someone out there comes up with some 6 month old size noise cancelling earphones, so that Peter can sleep his forty minutes, his mother can write her blog, and his father can be left out of the craziness.

And he’s up.

*I have tried the white noise machine, but the noise drives me crazy, I can’t stand it.I don’t know why. I feel bad for Peter to have to endure this awful noise while he sleeps, so no white noise for us.

** There’s a dog barking outside while I type this, so please expect and abrupt ending to this post.

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