Mother-daughter bonding
Today (Monday – I realize that it’s after midnight now), I left Baby Boy with his Daddy and took the Munchkin out. This was the first time that I had been away from the baby for longer than 10 minutes. The Munchkin and I went shopping. We didn’t go to the mall – just to Target and Michaels. What was more important was that she and I were alone – no baby. Just her and me and a shopping cart.
The Munchkin is generally a pretty pleasant companion to shop with. She doesn’t mind riding in carts, buckled in, likes to say hi to other shoppers, and so long as Mommy carries treats in her purse, all is well. The only problem is when Mommy forgets the treats or we run out, then we have problems. While the treats – usually something simple like Teddy Grahams or animal crackers – keep her happy, they have also conditioned her to ask for them the minute we go into a store. Not the best thing, but I’m trying to make her wait a little longer between treats, so maybe I’ll get it cut down.
Anyway, we had a good time picking up some essentials at Target, plus checking out the kids’ clothes that were on sale this week. The Munchkin is pretty well prepared with fall clothes, plus her birthday and Christmas are coming in the winter, but I did get her a pair of khakis in her current size (she just grew into 18 month size clothes, especially pants) and three new shirts. Three-quarter sleeves are still in, and since most of her 18 month tops are short-sleeved summer wear, these will be slightly warmer. I like the three-quarter sleeves for her because then I don’t have to remember to push them up when she eats. Baby Boy got some little bibs, because he doesn’t always like to burp – and then he blesses us with spit-up on his clothes or our clothes. So the bibs are handy, and he can’t use the Munchkin’s baby bibs because they are all pink. The Munchkin also scored new black dress shoes.
I also picked up some more infant ibuprofen – a must-have at the moment since the Munchkin is cutting her 2 year molars. More on that tomorrow.
After Target, we hit Michaels and did some shopping for me. Their ad had a 50% off coupon, good for Sunday and Monday and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I bought a few things that I’d wanted to get – and did a little Christmas shopping – but my big item was a teddy bear cross-stitch book. It has lots of patterns – one in particular that I had to have. I know who I would make it for, too. I considered getting the Crayola Color Wonder fingerpaints for the Munchkin, but I decided to hold off for now, seeing as they are supposed to be for ages 3 and up and she’s not 2 yet. I figure I’ll wait until at least then – or she stops tasting her crayons.
By the time we got home, the Munchkin was sound asleep and went straight to her nap. We had had a good time just being together. She got all the attention, some Mommy time without a baby around, and I really think that she enjoyed it. It was nice for me, too. Baby Boy thinks of me as his food, not as Mommy. The Munchkin and I have a real relationship, and my being available to her is important. It is good for me to remember that, and keep cultivating our relationship as mother and daughter and spending time together one-on-one. If we do that now, I hope that she will still expect to do that in later years, too.
Subscribe to my feed