Dirty Drew

It’s official, I have the first baby to not like baths! From the moment the very first piggy (i.e. toe) hits the water, it’s hysteria! The biggest problem is the fact that he gets so dirty from even one eating experience, let alone the three to five in a given day! And then there’s the dragging his body over a variety of different surfaces (i.e. crawling). Not to mention the attempts at walking that frequently end in fistfulls of wood chips, dirt and a ton of other unsanitary objects he can find! So clearly this child MUST learn to love the bath! Tonight we decided to introduce another way to bathe…the shower! I felt in my heart of hearts that he would not enjoy water running over his face but out of shear desperation we decided to give it a try. The result was not pretty. This poor pitiful child screamed for the entire shower, twenty minutes after and will probably permanently be scarred for life due to our attempt to bathe this dirty, dirty boy. I couldn’t help but feel that this is just the beginning to the end of times in parenting where you think (and maybe second guess) you are doing right for your child but somehow don’t. I have thought countless times about those screwed up children that we all know and criticize the parents. That parent didn’t do this right or that parent should have done that. Now faced with the many decisions parenthood brings, I realize that every parent is just trying to do their best. No parent wakes up in the morning and tries to find ways to screw up their child. To explain further I will explain the refined sugar debacle. Someday Drew may become an obese man that has no one to blame but his mother. The first time I let Drew taste cake and ice cream I was overwhelmed by the joy he had for it. Therefore before he was one I continued to let him taste (well maybe eat) refined sugar. No one told me that most concerned, neurotic parents (yes, I happen to possess those titles) don’t allow their infants to consume refined sugar. I read countless parenting magazines, read books on childbirth and products but never heard about prohibiting refined sugars. So now is Drew cursed to a life of obesity for my ignorance?!? The bottom line is that we all do the best we can. I guess we’ll all make mistakes along the way – showers, cupcakes, etc. I’m just hoping that I can love him enough to cover my small mistakes and learn from those so I don’t make big ones. I guess either way nobody walks away from child rearing unscathed…parent or child.