I’m going to confess a little secret here. I’m really not very good with babies. That’s not so good for someone that has two of them currently in his house. Babies cry when I hold them and I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. Fortunately, my girls seem to like me a little more than most babies do. Thank goodness someday they will become children and we can do things like go to the playground, play ball together, read stories together, do homework, and other such stuff that actually sounds fun, but in the meantime I have two babies. That I’m not very good with.
I did find one thing that I am decent at this week. The girls had their vaccines earlier and while Erin seems to be taking it well, it’s been a rough week for Gracie. She has been unhappy and inconsolable a couple of evenings this week and cries and screams for hours. When all else fails, no food, no holding, no diaper change, no tylenol seems to work, I finally found something that will calm her down. I strap her into her car seat, put her in the car, and drive her around for about 30-45 minutes when she finally calms down and goes to sleep, leaving a quiet house for mom and Erin.
Much like watching football late night was a fall ritual for me that turned into something that aided me in caring for babies this fall as I watched games late into the night with a baby in one hand and a bottle in the other, it would seem that a winter ritual is aiding me now. Every winter, Adriene and I would get into the car and drive around the nearby neighborhoods looking a Christmas lights at night. This year, Gracie and I have had two dates already, as I’ve driven around our familiar locations (the best stuff is in Walker’s Ridge, there’s a whole street of endless lights, I’m sneaking over there with a camera sometime this year.) looking at the Christmas lights. I usually put Over the Rhine’s The Darkest Night of the Year on the car CD player (which, by the way, works as a lullabye CD as well, putting babies to sleep) and drive around a bit. By the time I get home, I have a sleeping baby for a relieved mom who can finally give her a bottle and settle her down for the night.
I’m not good with babies, but at least I’m able to do something well with them and that’s encouraging. Again, my seasonal rituals are re-introducing themselves in new ways that create new memories.