One Mother of a Day

Before I launch into my actual blog post, I have to relay an incident that happened this weekend. Besides, Heather wouldn’t let me get very far without saying something. It started early Saturday morning when the baby alarm clock went off. I took Finley in for a diaper change while Heather prepped for a breakfast nurse. A few minutes later, I handed Finley off to mama and about halfway through the first part of her breakfast, she dropped a big one. Now, it’s fairly normal for babies to pass gas or even poop while they’re eating… the meal goes in, moves the last meal onward and outward… But this one was particularly loud and smelly. At this point, it was easy to determine that a second diaper change was due, so as I lifted my little poop factory, I noticed (well, it wasn’t too hard to miss) that the nastiness had leaked clear through to her outfit. Not only that, but it had soaked the pad she lays on while nursing. Immediately, I began to wonder what I had done wrong. Did I not fasten the tape tabs to the diaper correctly? Were the legs too loose? As I removed the fouled outfit I immediately saw my mistake; it wasn’t that I hadn’t put the diaper on incorrectly. It was that I hadn’t put the diaper on at all. That’s right. Daddy, in his early-morning stupor, had forgotten to put the diaper on the baby. And boy, did I pay for it. The only saving grace in all of this is that we are so lucky she’s not eating solid food, yet.

And now back to my regularly scheduled blog.

For the past nine weeks, I have been living the life of a very lucky man. Not only do I have a healthy and happy baby girl, but that baby’s mama is pretty darned great, too. She may be a first-timer, but from what I’ve seen, Heather is in the running for rookie of the year. I had my two weeks of paternity to get my feet wet with the whole daddy-thing, but Heather is in week seven of leave and has it all down to a science. Sure, there are the moments that can’t be controlled… Finley likes to remind us that she runs the show, no matter what schedule we try to throw at her… But like a real pro, Heather has learned to roll with it and incorporate Finley’s forays into her plans. And then there’s all the love that goes around in our home. Our place may be small, but it’s packed full of hugs and kisses. That little girl may have me wrapped around her finger, but she’s quite the mama’s girl. They’re having little mommy-daughter conversations that I know, one day, will turn into the real deal. Heather is a fantastic mommy, and I know why that is. It’s because Heather is just like her own mom, which is a very good thing. And the reason I know that is because in many ways, Heather’s mom is much like my mom. You see, both began the life of mom at a young age. They didn’t get the chance to live out their 20’s or 30’s like their friends. Instead of college or weekends with the girls, they were at home, figuring out what it takes to not only raise a family, but keep that family together through tough times. I’m not saying they were alone or the only one’s that have ever had to do this, but both Heather and I have our moms to thank for giving us a great idea of what families are all about. We may celebrate moms once a year, but I know from what I’ve seen in my past and what I’m seeing right now, Mother’s Day is every day.