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My Baby Goes to Meetings
What a week! On Thursday (tomorrow) or Friday I’m going to take Baby Bug into the conference room of a small office in a big business park and present a whole year’s worth of direct mail marketing concepts to one of my clients. That’s partly what’s been stressing me out so much lately. I’ve been trying to finish this up for months. Through thick and thin, spit up and exploding poop, aaaaa-booooh’s, pterodactyl shrieks and mandatory trips to the park…we finally got it done, Baby Bug and I. And since she’s been such a part of my life with this project lately, she’s going to the meeting to present with me too. How about that?
My client wanted it that way. When I got pregnant, I told them I couldn’t really keep working for them because I was going to be a full time mom. They were sad and said they’d get along okay but asked if there was anything they could to do to change my mind. I hemmed and hawed because this client is a really good client. They always pay me on time and they almost always love my designs. I love easy clients who give me freedom to do what I think works best. We negotiated and they came back with some parameters I thought I could fit into. Deadlines were off. I could take as long as I needed to get things done. I could phone in my meetings and they would send couriers to pick up my designs. And they said I could bring my cute little baby into the office any time I wanted to.
I think that’s what sealed it for me. I get to take my baby with me. Obviously a mother is running the show over there. So on Thursday or Friday, my mom and sister-in-law are coming into town to support me and we are all going to get dressed up in our most professional duds and present my marketing concepts. If only I had an Ally McBeal suit for Baby Bug. After that I’m going to go shoot an event at the local big mall and my sister-in-law and my mom are going to push Baby Bug in the stroller. I told you it’s a big week.
This is all fine and good and I’m actually excited about it EXCEPT….I think Baby Bug has officially entered the “stranger anxiety” stage of her development.
She pulled a screaming stunt last night that surprised even me. A friend came over for some last minute graphic design help (I swear I should open up my own kinkos in my house) and I handed Baby Bug off to her while I worked on scanning in her images. I’ve handed Baby Bug off to this friend plenty of times. Never has there been any screaming. In fact, at one point I was actually jealous of this friend who was so natural with babies. My own baby fell asleep more easily in her arms than mine. Well, not any more. Baby Bug screamed bloody murder. And she screamed and she screamed and she screamed. I think the neighbors probably stopped eating their dinner mid bite and looked at each wondering where that horrible screaming was coming from. There was nothing I could do to calm her down. Even Daddy holding her made it worse. It wasn’t until after my friend left and I held Baby Bug tight, singing “This Little Light of Mine” off key forty-seven billion times that she finally nodded off to sleep from exhaustion. Phew!
I can just imagine how things will go down at my meeting tomorrow if this happens. I’m sure it will be okay. I can always just drop off my designs and leave. But I really want to talk them over. It’s amazing how opinions can go from bad to worse if you aren’t there to hype your own work. I need to explain my thought process behind each piece.
One way or another, we’ll figure it out.
I have so many theories about why Baby Bug might have lost it last night that I confuse myself. It could have been because I took her on a really really long walk and for the first time she actually stayed awake and looked around her, taking everything in. Maybe her little brain hurt from trying to figure out why the sky was blue. My friend came over at seven, which is when Baby Bug usually starts her bedtime routine. Maybe she was tired and over-stimulated from a big day. My friend had a glass of wine before she came over and she smelled funny. Maybe Baby Bug didn’t like the smell of alcohol mixing with her perfume. Maybe Baby Bug is just a mommy’s girl because I hold her 24/7 and I really need to be around more people so she gets used to it. Maybe it’s because I’m teaching her to nap in her crib now instead of in the sling… Maybe all these changes are just too much for her. I could come up with theories until my face turns blue. All I know is that I just have to roll with it as it comes and somehow my mother instinct will know what to do.
I’ll keep you posted on how our meeting goes.
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Kickin’ It Park Style
Wow. You guys have given me a lot to think about. It’s going to take me a while to process everything. I appreciate all your comments, even the ones from old friends asking me to talk about something else besides the baby for once. I’m sorry to say this (’cause I remember those days when I got bored to tears listening to my friends with kids talk about their kid) but I’m afraid this baby obsession is here to stay. I will make a little effort to broaden my horizons but don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, let me recommend some of my favorite blogs over there in the left hand column. Lots of good non-baby stuff there.
So anyway, we might not have the work/baby thing figured out but we definitely have the leisure time/baby time down. An afternoon in the park is delightful. (Can I pass you a crumpet Miss Moppet?) I really enjoy the park. Before the baby I couldn’t be bothered with taking the time to sit in the dappled shade of a tree unless I was there to do something else too. Like read a book or draw or write in my journal or at least wait for a friend or something. Not that those things are bad, they aren’t. They are delightful as well. But I’ve always had trouble just sitting and not doing something else too. I am a multi-tasker to the core. At least do your kegles if you must just sit.
But now I just sit for the sake of sitting. For the sake of getting out of the house. And though I may find my life frustrating, I do appreciate these moments where the world seems to stop turning for a few minutes.
Note: no harm was done to the baby while wearing the headband. I put that on her because I dressed her like a boy and even when she’s covered in head to toe pink, people still ask me how old my “son” is. I thought the bow might help. Plus, my mom has been on my case to put all the pretty girly hair things she gave me in Baby Bug’s hair. So I did. And then when I got home and showed Toby all the pictures we took at the park… he said, “You’re going to have to photoshop that garter-belt-panty-hose-thing off her head.” Whatever.
