Thursday, January 5, 2012

Trial Child

Every parent needs a Trial Child, so it's a good thing we all get one!
A Trial Child is the first born baby that you get to try things out on and learn from.
Carebear is our Trial Child.

When Mr. Rooster and I first had Carebear we were noobs, we were worse than noobs, we were utter noobs!
Both of our family and close friends hadn't had little babies for a long time so we had no fresh first hand experience to pull from. We took the prenatal classes and parenting courses so we would have something to start with. Although, a plastic doll that doesn't move while changing it's diaper is NOTHING like a real baby that squirms and wiggles!
We took the classes in stride and hoped that they would prepare us for our new lives as "parents". Then the big day arrived and Carebear came into our lives! I have never been so happy and so terrified in my LIFE!
We had taken the classes, read the books and had a ton of "advice" but nothing prepared us for the moment we held our baby in our arms for the first time. I was terrified of hurting her, dropping her, bathing her, changing her, you name it, I was scared!
When the nurse gave us the check list of things we'd like someone to go over with us before we left the hospital I think ever box had a check in it! LOL That poor nurse, we made her show us EVERYTHING! How to change a diaper, bathe her, feed her, EVERYTHING! The classes, books and "advice" meant nothing when faced with a real baby, that is 100% YOUR responsibility!
We were so new it was almost funny, and with that newness came paranoia! LOL I wouldn't let anyone leave Carebear alone if she was sleeping! LOL I hated bath time because I didn't know how to hold her properly. Those first few baths were few and far between and super fast! LOL Good thing it was winter!

It took a bit but we got the swing of things, we figured out how "we" liked to do things and what worked best for us. We tried numerous different approaches to things and there was a lot of trial and error, but we made it through that exhausting first year and really loved it a lot. So much so we decided to do it again and B-Man was conceived. :)

Carebear really is our Trial Child. We got to figure things out, decide what worked, what didn't, what products we liked, and which ones we hated, how to pack when you travel with a child, how to trust one another with a baby, how to work as a team.
She taught us a lot and so when B-Man was born it was such a different experience. When the nurse came in with the list for us to check off, we had nothing to check. It wasn't that we "knew it all" it was that it was still pretty fresh in our minds.
We knew how to bathe a baby, feed a baby and change a baby. We had the basics down. I just had to learn how to change a boy baby (something I HATED doing for the first few weeks till I finally figured out the trick, and yes, there is a trick to it). LOL
Our Trial Child is still at work as we start to battle the "terrible two's". We're learning each day how to deal with her and so when B-Man gets to this age we'll at least have a better understanding of what to expect and what to do.
Having children also opened doors for us to get to know other parents and talk to them about their experiences, what they like and don't like and to build some bonds that only parenthood can build.

Our Trial Child has taught us a lot and is still teaching us each day. I'm grateful for all the things I've learned and even though each child is sooooo different, the basics are there and I find I'm a much more relaxed Mom this time around.
I've done things with B-Man that I would never even dream of doing with Carebear, like letting him sleep unsupervised. LOL

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with today's post but I love it so much I wanted to share!



1 comment:

cdnkaro said...

It's so true that the first is a trial child! Poor Seb:)