Happy beginning of the second trimester to me. Now things seem to be getting a little more interesting; there's beginning to be a perceptible size difference in my abdomen, boobies are still luscious, and all clothing related to those regions are generally getting tight. Apparently this is the time where your body is increasing the volume of blood, and as a result I get out of the shower and have a personal showing of the "Human Body" exhibit - I can see blue veins spidering all through my chest, neck, arms, shoulders. It's strange, but neat to see. (Alternate theory: perhaps as the result of the dark cold months of fall and winter my skin is just going more towards totally translucent... yikes!)
Having exhausted my current stash of pregnancy books and often (stupidly) confused by reading ahead in those "week-by-week" books, I've moved onto the next frontier: actual PARENTING books. How to deal with having just had your baby and such. How to get the little bugger to sleep happily and how to interpret those different types of cries. How to make a positive difference in the life of an infant and allow them to grow up a self-sufficient, independent, yet well-loved kid. All that sort of thing.
Lord knows you take things away from your interactions with friends, coworkers, complete strangers and all... and perhaps as a couple Mr. George and I do that more than most. We analyze ourselves and others a lot... and it's an exercise that provides fodder for interesting conversation but also makes you very introspective. One issue I'm personally concerned with is whether or not you can spoil a baby. When does that switch flip... or is it something that you've been doing from square one that results in a over-indulged little pig child? Pardon my terminology. But seriously?
Here's something I read... and found both fascinating and very comforting.
"When we think of spoiled children, we think of those who are rude or willful, who seem to be concerned only with themselves. How does this process take place, transforming a tiny baby who is newly experiencing the world into a child whom nobody wants to be around?
I think of a spoiled child as one whose ability to cope with the world has been damaged, or spoiled. Perhaps her parents worried so much that they tried to remove every obstacle or challenge from her path. Perhaps they got into the habit of being her entertainer or providing enough distractions so she lost her natural curiosity and never learned how to entertain herself. Perhaps they overdirrected her play and experiences so she never felt free. Or perhaps they didn't set appropriate limits so their child never learned self-discipline.
Attending to your baby in a loving manner is not the same as spoiling her. It demonstrates your love. While you attend to her needs, allow her the space, the time, and the support to do what she can on her own, whether it's to self-sooth, cry when she needs to cry, or explore her environment. Through observation you will learn to distinguish the fine line between her needs and yours, and learn how to help her help herself. [the bold is my addition]
The effort will be well worth it as your child grows to be a confident person who respects her parents because they respected her."
Everybody's been there. I've sat on a plane full of pre-adolescents who repeatedly told their loving but probably overindulgent parents to "SHUT UP!" You see SuperNanny dealing with kids who are so warped that they actually physically harm their parents when they don't get their way. You meet adults who, because of their actions, their conversation, their decisions, their lifestyles... you can tell they maaaaaay have been just a leeeeeeetle "spoiled" by their parents themselves. Channeling the whining power of children in the Dayton Mall alone could produce electricity for southern California, if some Monsters Inc. type technology was invented.
But every so often, and it seems to be more rare nowadays, you encounter a NICE, POLITE, CLEVER CHILD.
We definitely want one of those.
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