It Happens

by Jenn in Holland

One of the great untold secrets about becoming a parent is the amount of goo a baby brings along. I don’t think I had any idea prior to my firstborn’s arrival just what parenting would entail (I mean that on every level—I was a pretty naïve first time mama) and I certainly had no concept at all just how much goo I would be witness to.

First there is just the goo of birth itself. If you haven’t had the opportunity to experience or witness such a goo fest, you can just trust me here when I tell you that there is A LOT OF GOO involved in childbirth. Mama goo, the baby’s goo, the goo that leaks from your eyes (after the mama goo and the baby goo combine to make a helluvalotta goo) which you let flow down your cheeks as you stare at this very gooey creature which has just emerged. Strange, but everyone involved just acts all normal about a moment like that—like this level of gooiness happens everyday.

Hmmm. Maybe it does.

So the docs hand you a gooey baby and you ooh and aah and goo all over him/her. And then others come round to ooh and aah and goo too. It’s just the beginning of a life of goo. And sticky stuff.

Things like baby barf which at some point you start believing is really the cutting edge perfume. You don’t know what you’d smell like without it. Would you even have a smell at all?

Stuff like the crusty eye smooge that comes out of baby eyes as they sleep. Even occasionally sticking their eyelashes together or sealing lashes to cheeks. That’s the kind of goo you have to pry off with warm water or the edge of your fingernail. Kinda gross, sure, but somehow takes on a feeling of normal in the new goo world you’ve entered.

Sometimes there is crusty goo on baby’s scalp too.

Always, there is the runny goo that comes out baby’s bum.

The moment you know mundane gooreality has set in is that moment when you reach over to wipe your baby’s snotty, gooey, leaky runny nose. And you do it without a tissue. Yup, it’s a bare hand swipe and wipe without a thought or even a shudder.

Because the truth is the gross factor long got passed when the first moment of catching baby’s gaze in yours riveted you to your very soul.

That’s when parenthood happens. And it’s a moment that sticks.

Here’s wishing Leslie, Dave and Julia much joy in the arrival of baby Lucy.

Oh, and lots of goo too.

Veel Success mijn vrienden!

Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd,
Jenn in Holland

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, Guest Contributors |

Comments

6 Cool Kids Came To Play

Toni on April 22, 2008 9:23 am
A perfectly apt description of parenthood. . . and funny to boot.
Jerseygirl89 on April 22, 2008 10:35 am
I clicked on this right after wiping some goo from my kiddo’s nose - without a tissue! Great description of parenthood.
Jami on April 22, 2008 11:40 am
And you know they’ve gotten big when you reach over to wipe off something and hear, “Mom! What are you DOING?”
Jenn in Holland on April 22, 2008 12:13 pm
Jami-
Yah, it’s weird when they outgrow the spitbath isn’t it?
Scout's Honor on April 22, 2008 3:20 pm
Yep, whenever I got overwhelmed with a new infant, I think how disgusting it would be to have babies in the medieval ages: no wipes, no running water, no disposables, no safety pins, no bleach or disinfectant.

Disgusting.

Better yet, let’s take a trip to the cave ages. Can we say those babies would have been ripe, crusty creatures? Yes, I think we can.
Soccer Mom in Denial on April 22, 2008 9:22 pm
Welcome baby Lucy (terrific name!). And great idea having Jenn over hear talking up the news.