Parenting wishes

I'm sitting quietly, listening to Isaiah wail his head off in the next room, calling out "mama, mama" and I'm doing nothing about it. He needs to be sleeping right now and the longer he cries, the more tired he gets. The more tired he gets, the longer he'll sleep. The longer the sleep, the better the nap. These are all good things, right? Babies need naps and based on the way he's been carrying on, my baby DEFINITELY needs a nap. But he's been crying for almost a half an hour, which is sort of a rarity for Isaiah. Don't get me wrong, he cries, just not for super long periods. I keep having to find distractions to keep myself from going in to 'rescue' him. So I'm blogging. You, dear reader, are my current distraction :)

I am learning that I find myself wishing for certain things as a parent...

1. The thing you wish your kid would grow out of.
 I LOVE having a baby around. I know that all babies must grow and if he wasn't growing then something might be wrong with him, but I also secretly hate how quickly he's growing up (I know, I know, every parents says this.) But I am SO ready for Isaiah to grow out of the napping stage. He goes down for a nap at 8am, 11am,  and 2pm. Do you know how hard it is to go to the grocery store knowing you only have a 2 hour window before it's time for another nap. My technique is to get myself ready, get the car loaded, get shoes on and the second that kid wakes up we are out the door. Stressful.

2. The thing you wish you knew about your kid.
I wish I could read Isaiah's mind. Has he had enough to eat? Let me tap into my gift of telepathy to ask. Why is he crying? Mind reading would keep me from nursing for comfort instead of hunger, changing a diaper that's not dirty, or forcing him to nap when he's not that tired. Did he actually poop or is it just gas? I'd never have to peek down the backside of his diaper again. If I continue to lay in bed when he cries at 6am, will he go back to sleep on his own? Nope, probably not.

3. The thing you never ever in a hundred years thought you do/say/experience.
(OK so it's not technically a wish. Just go with it.)
Examples: I never thought I'd be so excited to see a person poop. [This was following almost a week of no pooping for Isaiah.] I never thought I would say "Oh my gosh I think he ate a dust bunny." [EVERYTHING goes in Isaiah's mouth. Luckily (this time) I was fast enough that I fished the dust bunny out of his mouth before he swallowed.] Which leads to my 3rd example, sticking my fingers in someone else's mouth. I probably have my fingers in Isaiah's mouth twice a day. Seriously EVERYTHING goes in this kids mouth. Unless it's time to eat, when the things we place before him we encourage him to put in his mouth. Then he's not interested.

4. The thing you wish you could protect your kid from.
This is the serious one.  Someone told me once that having a child is like taking you heart and allowing to walk around outside of your body. I so get that. I hate when Isaiah experiences pain. Teething pains, growing pains, actual pains (like the time he fell off the bed. and the ottoman. and the couch.) I want to protect him from everything bad. I can spend the next 18+ years doing that, right? And still raise a high functioning, normal, responsible man? OK probably not. I don't WANT to spend the rest of my life worrying. I reject the mantle that all mothers worry. I just don't see that as being the best possible way to show God that all my faith is in Him. "Yes Lord, I do trust You. I'm just going to sit over and worry about every little thing that Isaiah might ever encounter in his entire life. But I'm still trusting You, Jesus!" Uh no.

So while some wishes are funny and some wishes are impractical, they're just wishes and not reality. You know what is a reality? Isaiah has been asleep for almost an hour now :) Thanks for the distraction!