Sunday, May 17, 2009

negligent mother of the year

I have a confession to make. I haven't made Gabe a baby book. And let's not even get started on Josie. I haven't even PURCHASED her a baby book. Negligent mother, indeed.

I finally cracked open Gabe's baby book last night in my new quest for organization, and all I have to say is THANK HEAVENS for blogs. If I didn't have all of you, I don't know what I would do. At least I wrote down some of the milestones here, and I can spend hours going through my blog posts and piece together some of his firsts. The rest, well, I guess I'll make it up and hope Gabe never reads this post.

Some of these entries, though, GIVE ME A BREAK. First time he sang a song? Drew a picture? Talked on the phone? Held a bottle? I have no freaking idea. Plus, is he really going to care? Somehow I doubt it.

*******
Here's an aside to report that Gabe is standing 2 inches from his monitor and screaming, "Is someone coming for me please?"
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It's going to be even worse with Josie, I can tell. I am already realizing that everything you hear about the second child is true. I'm 100% as obsessed with her as I was/am with Gabe, but writing it all down doesn't have the same priority. It's funny, I also worry so much less about all of the milestones. At this age, I'd already been coaxing Gabe to sit up for months. I would get him to sit in that tripod position (legs spread, arms between knees, leaning forward), and encase him with pillows to make sure he didn't fall over. I was doing daily exercises to encourage him to roll over. I'd stimulate him with toys like crazy. With Josie, I do less of the tummy time, sitting, or exercises, and more time just enjoying her.

I don't worry (much) about the milestones, because I know she'll get there. I especially know that she has the rest of her life to grow up, and only now to be a baby. My baby. So if she wants to hang out in my arms, be carried in the sling, spend a little more time being rocked, that's okay by me. She'll eventually sit, roll over, walk, run. All of them way too soon for my tastes, I'm sure.

Anyway, I just placed an order for about 130 pictures off of the Kodak website and I'm going to try to put them in an album. I'm trying to get some of Gabe's baby information down into the book I have, and I'm on the hunt for a baby book for Josie. Any recommendations?

And please tell me I'm not the only one who hasn't made a baby book for their child. I'm feeling totally guilty about this. The only thing that is making me feel better is the knowledge that I have about 7,000 pictures of my children, I just don't have them printed out. I'm not a TOTALLY sucky mom on that front.



10 comments:

Ruth said...

HA! I feel very similarly about this. Basically I now just count my blog as baby book. My big plan was to make an elaborate scrapbook based on my blog entries . . . but my baby is now 2 and that hasn't happened. Actually I felt so guilty about this that I did start keeping a sort of toddler journal (The Toddler Journal : A Week-By-Week Guide to Your Toddler's Development from Ages 1 to 3 if you are interested) but now I am behind on that. So now I just count the blog. Maybe someday I will get it together and do something. But, hey, just with the blog I am doing way more then my family did! Really, I just think this is another example of the crazy, way too many and slightly misguided expectations, too much guilt/competition in mommying these days.

I love reading your blog by the way. VERY entertaining; honest and funny.

Chatty Cricket said...

Um, HULLO? I *MAKE* photo albums and baby books for a living and Lady has one album that documents her life in minute detail....until 8 weeks. And then? Nothing.

Mister has about half a baby book partially filled in, and absolutely no pictures in any albums whatsoever.

Sweet Babe? Has my undying love and affection, and a picture of him turning a month older over the past 8 months. Stored lovingly on the internet.

The Mommy said...

I remember searching for the perfect baby book...and it's still in the box. John will be 2 next month. The last time I actually developed pictures? March. 2008. I keep meaning to fill in the book but the longer it goes, the less I can remember. Thank goodness for digital cameras, if my computer ever crashed I am screwed.

BabyMac said...

Yes, thought my blog WAS the baby book. Surely this is where all the important stuff is...like how I felt about all the milestones...I mean it's all about me really isn't it? Isn't it? And I haven't had photos developed since Daisy was oh, 2 months old. What's what the blog is for right?!

Maribeth said...

Try being a third child. I have a book, with my birth announcement jammed in, a lock of hair and that is all.
Not even the pictures either. I think my mother was just too busy (and didn't love me, sniff, sniff!) to write.

Swistle said...

I don't have baby books for any of my kids, despite being a person who LOVED looking through my own baby book as a child. I have a journal where I write down milestones...when I remember to. But since I use it for all the kids, everything's all jumbled together.

Anonymous said...

he he he Love the last picture. :)

Stacy said...

Well when my first was born, someone got me a baby book, I stared filling it out and made a mistake in ink and tossed it out. Someone else had gotten me a calendar, easy to use, hang it on the wall, put some of the most important premade milesstones stickers on it. took millions of photos. When my first was 10 (yes ten years old) I finally sat down and learned how to scrapbook and am now making what is their baby books, but really life books. So see by my standards, you have until he is 10 years old to really start! (she was 10.5 truely)

Montreal Mama said...

Sean's baby book was filled out as things happened, and Mack's - I have it, but I don't think I've written anything in it yet... thanks for reminding me to do it.

I've place about 4-5 photo orders and have them in their envelopes they came in. I have yet to put them in albums and they date back to the fall. Whoops. Time? What's that?

All I have to say is thank heavens for my blog... or I wouldn't have anything recorded as well for my kids.

The baby book I bought for both my kids is the Guess How Much I Love You ones. Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Guess-How-Much-Love-You/dp/0763619094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242703400&sr=1-1

It's not expensive at all. Has place to put pictures, and to write everything in. Totally cute. Hope that helps!

Meika said...

First, I have also not done a baby book for either girl. My plan has always been to do one online, at Shutterfly probably, but haven't done it yet. Someday, probably.

I've been doing it the lazy way from the beginning. Everyone in our family has a certain color that their things go onto the calendar in. If the Lichen rolls over (hypothetically), or gets a tooth, or Asparagus sits on her daddy's lap and puts imaginary hair on his head, that goes on teh calendar in their respective colors. Someday I might get all that stuff collected in one place for them, but if I don't at least it will be written down somewhere.