Frith O’Steen

Ok, so I had a total “mommy moment” last night. (A good one, not the kind where your heart is breaking because your kid’s pet fish died or they got rejected from the cheerleading squad or something like that). Lately, when Decker bangs his head or gets his hand caught or whatnot, I’ve been saying “Here, let mommy kiss it better”, and then he goes on his merry way. (Yes, I’m trying to instill in him very early that his parents can fix EVERYTHING and will ALWAYS  BE RIGHT). Heh. So, last night he squished his finger while playing with his trains and cars, and immediately came across the room to me with his hand held out and a big smile on his face, saying ‘eh?’. I kissed it better and he was right as rain. That was the first time he’d initiated that routine on his own, and I melted. Kid, you can have anything you ever want. But just remember that your parents will always be right. Trust me, it will save you a lot of heartache later. (One caveat: you’re our first born, so we reserve the right to make mistakes with you that we can learn from for the later kids. Sorry, but we were both first borns too, so that’s the way it goes!).

So poor little Decker has gotten a bad cold. We’re pretty sure his immune system was down due to his teething (he got some giant elephant teeth in over the past couple of weeks, and was feverish and grumpy already). I was reassured by his doctor on Monday that he just needs rest, decongestent and baby Tylenol (no antibiotics! yay!), but of course until he is himself again (right now he just wants to sleep or cuddle, and when he’s awake he can’t seem to get comfortable) I temporarily lose my grip and the days become a surreal sort of blur. Here’s a basic overview of the thrilling world of a mommy with a sick kid:

Between 5 am - 6 am: Decker wakes up. I get him juice, which he downs like a lost person who’s just found an oasis in the desert. Take him downstairs, hope he will sleep on me so I can sleep too.

6 am - 8 am: Decker wakes/sleeps fitfully. Rouses to say bye to Sean.

8 am: Decker, would you like to eat?

8:15 am: Decker, one bite?

8:20 am: Ok, that’s ok you don’t have to eat. Your kicking tells me you want to get down. Milk?

8:21 am: Ok, no milk.

8:22 am: Oh, you want Sesame Street? Let me park you on the couch with your juice, milk, graham cracker (in case you’re hungry after all) and blankies. There, all cozy!

8:24 am: No on the Sesame Street, then. Ok, would you like a nap?

8:30 - 9:20 am: Sleeps (yay!). Mommy thrilled because it means she can get something done. Mommy gets nothing done because she spends entire time checking in on his breathing through the baby monitor, baby camera, and sneaking into his room. Ocassionally she takes time to call and bug Sean, and let him know Decker’s status. Or looks up helpful info online for how to soothe her grumpy, non-eating child.

9:20 am: REPEAT CYCLE

Noon: REPEAT CYCLE

3 pm: REPEAT CYCLE

6 pm: Sean comes home. Mommy practically weeps with joy. Excuses herself for 20 minute nap; wakes up 2 hours later. Note: this appears to be the one time during the entire day that Decker eats and perks up enough to play a bit.

Next day - repeat.

Little guy is awake - better go start the cycle again!!

As loyal readers may remember, Decker and I have been going to a playgroup (”Hippity Hoppers”) together once a week since November. I enrolled him so that a) he’d have somewhere fun to go play and explore, and b) he’d have a chance to interact with other people his own age and size, and c) it would force me, his mom, to get out there and talk to other moms myself. Despite my past career choices and history of being a theatre geek in h.s., I am at heart rather shy and really find it hard to make conversation with strangers. I can mingle with ease, but it doesn’t mean I am at ease while I do it. So this group has been for me as much as Decker, especially because right now I’m the only one of the two of us doing any talkin’.

So anyway. There’s a mom and kid (Erica and Colby, respectively) who were in our first group together, and are in this one too. I was pathetically thrilled to see a familiar face when this session started, and found  myself flattered that she remembered us! (This is where I start going back to the mode of being 13 years old, hence the title of this entry). She asked me today if we were doing the next session starting in April, and I told her we were signed up for Thursdays. She said that they were signed up for Tuesdays, and wouldn’t it be cool if we could do the group together again? She also said that other kids from the first session would be doing the Tuesday group as well. 13 year old Frith pushes her way to the front of all my other personality types, and is immediately thrilled to be asked to join a club, so to speak. So I immediately go down to the office and switch, as soon as class ends. And I am looking forward to telling them I switched when I see them at our make-up class tomorrow (see the entry from 2/18). Someone wants us to hang with them! Gee, what’ll I wear? (Kidding…kinda.). Poor Decker…it is absolutely no mystery to me why he does his own thing at playgroup. He’s friendly when approached, but not necessarily the most outgoing of kids. The apple definitely does not fall from the tree.

(Not that I wouldn’t be social with folks 34 inches tall or under! But I don’t know any adults that size, and usually kids that size are not very verbal…just to clarify…)

So this past Sunday Sean took Decker for a date over in Berkeley, while I spent the day steam cleaning our living room carpet. I was super sore the following day (who am I kidding, I’m sore today too!) but it was sooooo worth it! The carpet may not look brand new, but at least it’s a lot harder to tell where Decker’s feeding area is now! While the carpet was drying, Sean and Decker and I went over to Emeryville for a fun Oscar Night party at Rebecca and Todd’s house. Great food, good company, and Decker was really well behaved! He fell in love with this fuzzy red Buddha that props open their bedroom door, and he kept running up to touch it and then would run back down the hall. It was really really good to catch up with Rebecca and to talk to other grownups. Was very happy they asked us!

Then yesterday afternoon I took Decker with me to visit with Berkeley friends over at Raleigh’s on Telegraph. He was really tired but was a trooper for about an hour (which is really all I can ask, right?) so I got to catch up (somewhat) with those folks as well. It’s really weird to visit there now, because I used to walk those streets all the time, and now I’m not a “local” anymore. I realize too that I notice certain sketchy things a little more now that I have a little kid with me.

Movie pick for the week: “Wimbledon” - I really liked it! (The story is fluff, but the visuals and inner monologues were pretty cool).