Rolling over

There's so much to post about this last week. But I didn't want to forget the most important milestone, which is Bumpus rolled over! He did it once when we were hanging out on a blanket on an incline, so I thought it was a fluke. But then he did it again while on my cousin's floor, and again while on the bathroom floor of my b&b (with no swings or bouncy chairs, he spent a lot of time on the floor). For the record he rolled back to front. Very exciting!

The trip was good. As noted I was wracked with anxiety for certain aspects of it; leaving him with a stranger when I sang, flying, various questionable driving situations. But he charmed the relatives with his unbearable cuteness, and I was interested to see his interaction with the male relatives. He's so used to my feminine softness - not scratchy faces, booming voices, strong arms, and rough-and-tumble play. And he does need all of those things. As much as I like to brush it off as unimportant, young Robert does need to learn maleness, and like it or not that just can't come from me.

Another thing that can't - or rather, shouldn't, come from me, is another baby. Much of this trip was so logistically difficult - flying, in particular sitting in this tiny tin can-like spot with a squirming, screaming baby, and your drink, peanuts, Hooter Hiders, blankets, diapers and tiny socks flying everywhere, while the baby simultaneously spits up, poops, and pees all over your pants, and he keeps wrenching off the Hooter Hiders so you flash your neighbors with your poor irritated nipple...then imagine throwing a toddler into this mix! It would be just impossible. So I would have to just not travel, not sing and not see the relatives for some five to seven years. Is that really in our best interests? I'm beginning to think not.

The first night in our dorm room in Boston I looked down at the baby in his swaddle and thought what a family unit we are. We're a team. And more importantly, he is the most important relationship of my life, and I'm his. Even though he won't remember any of this, it's the beginning of our adventures together.