Boy Mom

 Nobody told me how different raising a boy would be! Immediately! Even while I was pregnant with him!

It was like being pregnant with a starfish made out of all elbows, just constantly jabbing me. He came out screeching and red and steaming and was immediately starving and aggressively rooting. Head control was established upon receipt of the steamy slimy boy, no waiting for that milestone. 

And now he’s over a year old. At least 3 times a week, his teacher is sending me an injury report to sign - usually a scrape or bruise, often on the head. 

Noise and movement are fixtures of his personality, rarely does he just quietly curl up in my arms unless there’s a bottle involved. 

Which brings me to food. This boy can EAT! I thought he was born during a growth spurt and was amazed at how long it was lasting… for about 6 months. Then I realized he just eats like that and probably will always eat tons. He and L swap clothes now because they are the same size and within about 5lbs of being the same weight. He finishes dinner and eats his own scraps off the floor if we don’t quickly sweep it up before releasing him from the high chair. His teacher reports that he eats scraps off the floor that the other babies drop. 

My daughter was content to just play in one spot on the floor for hours, I barely had to baby proof with her because she had a routine of things she’d get into and play with and then nap. 

Not J. He explores every inch and we cannot have anything below the level of about 2 feet from the ground and that margin is increasing day by day as he grows taller and more agile with his reach. Every day, he roots through the pantry and pretends to drink his dads energy drinks, and we have to be stealthy about using the dishwasher because he has climbed INTO it on multiple occasions.

A few weeks ago, I heard splashing coming from the master bathroom and thought that was odd, the tub was empty… and here was J, grinning from ear to ear launching himself headfirst into the toilet bowl. 

My daughter, when told “no”, even softly, will burst into hysterical sobs. My son snaps his head my way and grins or giggles and then does whatever it was that he’s being told not to do again, to see if he can get another reaction. 

He is so different, and that was scary for me at first.  I was used to L, and I was doing well with her.  From the moment I found out I was having a boy, I panicked a little.  What do I do with it?  What does he NEED from me?  And I still struggle with that.  But I’m learning.  With both of them, I’ve had to embrace being out of my comfort zone in different ways. I’m learning to make peace with being out of my comfort zone.  

I wish you were around to see J.  He is so funny and ridiculous, we would be giggling all day long over his antics.  I wonder if he would remind you of your brother at all, because he reminds me of Jacob a lot.