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StatCounter Props
Neb. Officials: Parents Misusing Infant Drop-Off Law : NPR
Neb. Officials: Parents Misusing Infant Drop-Off Law : NPR.
It’s surprising what parents will do if the law allows it. I was always of the belief that without laws, we’d be OK because morality and personal responsibility would prevail. I’m seeing that belief challenged, however. Apparently, some parents need laws to remind them that a child is a lifetime commitment.
Priorities
Today, I learned about a key difference between couples with kids (chitlins), and those without. I observed a couple about our age in their front yard with their little dog, washing their shiny BMW. This observation occurred from behind the nozzle of my hose, where I was engaged in a futile effort to restore my half-green lawn amidst a Texas drought. My motivation for this lawn revival has been to provide Cooper with a nice, lush lawn where he can play with his friends as he grows older.
I wasn’t shining up any BMW’s pre-Cooper — we have both owned Saturns since 2001 — but any shining or cleaning we do now comes in the form of bathing Cooper, or picking up after the messes he makes. That small moment today reminded me of how we’ve changed as a couple.
Sleeping Like a Baby
In an effort to keep Cooper’s chronic diaper rash under control, we’ve been taking turns checking him at about 10 PM, which is about two hours after he’s gone to sleep. If needed, we’ll change his diaper and apply a fresh coating of cream or gel to his bottom to get him through the night.
What dumbfounds me is that Cooper remains sound asleep through this entire process. Keep in mind that this is a boy that will fight us through an entire diaper change when he’s awake.
I tried to put myself in his place, and I cannot conceive of staying asleep if someone were to put me through the following process:
- Remove me from my bed.
- Plop me down on a chilly changing table
- Remove my diaper
- Apply a cold, wet, wipe to my bottom
- Suit meback up
- Put me back to bed
