Our Impossible Adoption Story
If you're looking for the unbelievable account of how "impossible" became "done" in 5 business days, start here.
My Mommy Prayer
Some evenings the Meatball has had enough of the carseat for one day, and I can’t really blame him. We’re on the go a lot, and some days get busy – between the office and errands that are never close to home and summer construction sites.
Some nights he doesn’t want to fall asleep in the carseat again, so some nights he doesn’t gently sing himself to sleep. Some nights he fusses and cries and begs to be unbuckled.
So Husband drives and I crawl into the bucket seat beside his. And I turn on the dim light over his mirror and I hold his hand and we sing some of our favorite songs and I stroke his hair until he can’t fight it anymore.
His grip on my finger starts to loosen and his tired eyes reluctantly drop closed.
But only for a moment. With a slight startle, his eye lids pop half-way open – just enough to look at me – and then slowly fall again. Pop! Drift. Open! Shut.
That night, his eyes shot open and he looked for me in the dim light, so I leaned in close and rubbed his head and whispered, “Mommy’s still here, baby. I will always be here when you look for me.”
His eyes closed again, for the last time that night, and I held his tiny fingers and prayed that I would live up to that promise. Read more…
The Truth About The Poop
So we started solids (if you can call veggies that have been pureed to a liquid state, “solids”), and that’s been fun. Carrots are awesome. Peas, not so much.
And there were side conversations, and quick comments, and lines dropped about diapers and bowels.
Things like,
“Those diapers are going to start looking different.”
“Just wait until he’s eating real food.”
“His poops will start to change.”
These are vague statements, and I get that no one wants to jump into a detailed conversation about baby poop.
But words like “start,” are straight-up deceitful.
Words like “start” – as in, “… start to change …” – imply degrees and gradations and process. “Start” implies a beginning, a middle, and a Finish.
There was none of that.
For any other first-time mamas out there, here’s what really happens. Here’s the truth no one is actually telling you.
First, the schedule changes without warning.
Every baby’s bowels are different. Mine would shoot out a little of that sweet-smelling, yellow, breast-fed baby poop a couple times a day. His BFF regularly goes for days between poops. That’s cool. They’re both healthy and growing.
But one day we mashed up some avocado, and the pooping stopped.
And the second day, he had more of that avocado, and the pooping continued to stall.
Then, evidently when you’re not looking, a grown man – clearly some sort of ninja – sneaks in, steals your baby’s diaper, defecates in it, and reattaches it to his butt.
Because I don’t care how long it had been since his last poop, there is no way my cute, little, six-month-old produced that. That. Read more…
June Through the iPhone
And just like that, 2013 is half over. Here’s what June looked like for us.
So I pretty much only take pictures of my baby anymore. Whatever.
Sorting through photos, the word that kept coming up over and over again was
New.
Flowers bloomed and babies flew, and new life seemed to open up all around us. June took its job of transitioning us from spring to summer very seriously this year. And nailed it.
We made new friends and met new dogs. We grew into new clothes and tried new foods and had new experiences – like shopping carts and swimming pools. Even old things like church picnics were bursting with new friends and new locations.
What an adventure
We didn’t leave the county all month, but what an adventure nonetheless. Some adventures involve long journeys and peril, but some adventures involve blueberries … or bloodhounds. As long as it’s new. Read more…
Now Open: Spits and Wiggles Consignment
Super excited to open Spits and Wiggles Consignment this month! (Scroll to the bottom for a killer coupon code!)
So resale is awesome, right? Cheaper. Better for the environment.
Have you ever tried to shop baby resale?
In my (albeit limited) experience one of three things happens:
- The resale store doesn’t have baby clothes. (*cough*Goodwill*cough*)
- The resale store charges as much for their baby clothes as Target charges for theirs.
- The baby consignment store is small, and has not-awesome hours.
I’m a big believer in online shopping, anyway. (And it’s not like Meatball is trying on anything.) Amazon and I are tight.
And there are cute online baby consignment stores. There are. But they kind of fall into Category #2 above.
“What the world needs now,” I mused (Burt Bacharach stuck in your head now? You’re welcome.), “is an online baby consignment store that’s as cheap as the local ones.”
About that time I noticed that my little Meatball has a drawer and a half of clothes that don’t fit anymore – some of which he never wore because time and/or weather did not permit. (He has “Baby’s First Christmas” pajamas in a 3 Month size. He was born in December. Someone didn’t think that one through.)
I pulled out a few of each size that I really like, to save for the next one, and the rest, as they say, is history.
So check us out at SpitsAndWiggles.Storenvy.com.
We enlisted some friends who are also growing like … well, like babies … to try to give other mamas a really great selection. Right now Niah and his BFF, Seeley, are rockin’ it. (You can even shop by baby. Niah’s closet is here. Seeley’s closet is here.) We should have some girls involved in the near future.
Babies are constantly growing, so we’re constantly adding things. There are already a couple of small piles that are still waiting to be listed.
So check us out if you have babies that are growing faster than your income – or if you know a mama who does!
Oh and we’re doing that Grand Opening thing. Use the promo code GRAND at checkout, through the 3rd, and save 20% on some already super-affordable, like-new baby clothes! Talk about a steal.
Mama Becomes Pupil
Episode 1: People Are Awesome
Standing around with some friends recently, one of them – a good friend to some of them, but so far only an acquaintance of mine – asked if he could hold The Meatball.
I handed him over, and as the bulk of his almost-seventeen pounds shifted from me to this other young man, Meatball pushed away from his new handler, surveyed his face, and beamed one of his big, whole-face smiles at him.
“Awww! He smiled at me! Did you see that? That was huge! That was special.”
I glanced quickly at the friends who are more accustomed to Meatball’s personality, and we traded small, under-cover grins.
Because he smiles like that at everyone.
Unless he’s hungry or tired, or his gums hurt – unless something is already bothering him – he is pretty generous with that whole-face smile. If you line your face up with his and grin, nine times out of ten he’ll meet-or-beat you.
I sat there, probably smug with amusement at my little inside secret, and watched the two of them share silly faces and senseless noises and exaggerated expressions. I told myself, and thanked God, that he really is a happy baby, that he has a great disposition, that he’s okay being held by other people and he’s so liberal with that smile that makes everyone feel awesome.
And then it was like a still, small voice barged into my monologue and I realized – maybe he’s not overly generous at all, maybe people – each individual one – really are awesome.
Maybe it’s not him being ignorant, or ill-experienced, or easily amused. Maybe it has nothing to do with the silly noises or the ridiculous faces that people make at him. Maybe I’m not the sensible one watching him be unreasonable with his affection.
Maybe he’s just right. Maybe each person he sees is that awesome.
Maybe each person he sees really is a unique expression of the heart of our Creator. Maybe each person who holds him, and coos at him, really is completely unique and completely special. Maybe each person he meets really is gifted and beautiful and inspiring.
Maybe his innocent, untainted eyes see something I’ve lost sight of.
Spits and Wiggles 