Sock It To Me

I found myself contemplating what to write about for this week's Mommy Must-Have yesterday while I was getting Evie dressed. As I looked at her bare feet and instinctively reached for my favorite accoutrement to cover her little tootsies, it hit me.

I have been in love with these socks from trumpettetoo (yes, it's lowercased) ever since I got them as a gift. When I first saw them in the box, I fell in love with their obvious cuteness, but now I realize how practical they are!

At first glance, most people don't realize that Evie is not, in fact, wearing real shoes. Once they do catch on, I almost always hear, "Those are precious!"

Yes, yes. They're adorable. But allow me to tell you why I really love them...

For a long time now, Evelyn has enjoyed standing with help from someone propping her up. Shoes confuse her. They make her clumsier and less balanced than she already is. Socks, however, keep her warm without making her feel like she's got straight jackets on her feet.

Though babies are typically exempt from the "No shirt, no shoes, no service" rule, there are occasions that demand a sense of dressiness. These socks are the best of both worlds. Look good; feel good. I've layered them over tights and paired them with jeans. They're perfect for church or a dinner outing.

Because I received these socks as a gift, I didn't know where they even came from until I Googled them. Not surprising, they come from Target. A pack of three costs $8, and they also have plenty of styles for both boys and girls. I would recommend them for the classic Practical Mom/Stylish Baby duo.

The Cold War

Needless to say, Evelyn and I have a lot of close contact. If she drools, it ends up on my shirt. If she poops, I wipe her butt. So it only makes sense that if Evie sneezes, there's a good chance she did so all over my face.

This is how I caught a cold.

Four days ago, Evie woke up with a stuffy nose. I gingerly wiped it for her and went on with the day occasionally wiping a boogie or two from her sweet face. But that night, I felt the telltale tickle in my throat that said, "Congratulations, Mama. You and baby are sharing a cold!"

For the last few days, Evie and I have been sneezing, coughing and groaning through the Thanksgiving holiday. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time with family and food, but it wasn't without a zillion tissues and regular forehead checks for fevers.

Thankfully, I was worse off between the two of us. We both, however, shared matching diminished appetites and bright red noses.

As with everything else, the world did not stop turning until baby and I recovered. With tissues in my pockets and Sudafed in my bloodstream, I trudged forth to shift after shift at work while Evie continued with her taxing life of eating, pooping and sleeping.

The worst thing about taking care of an under-the-weather baby? The treatment. Since Evie can't share Dayquil with me, the most I could do for her was to suck out her snot with a suction bulb and wipe her face. If you've ever had a baby, you know they don't enjoy this.

As of this moment, the Peanut and I are almost fully recovered. While I ponder what ailments await us in the future, I can't help but giggle every time I hear a boogery snort from Evie's crib while she sleeps.

Mommy Must-Haves!

Young mothers- any mothers, really- form an intricate network of communication. It doesn't matter if you've never met someone in your entire life; if you have the same stroller, it's a basis for conversation.

That being said, the most frequented topic of chit-chat is consumerism. And why wouldn't it be? One study found that new mothers spend approximately $7,000 by the time their child reaches his or her first birthday. Which brings me to my point...

A lot of people ask me which baby products are Must-Haves and why. Because I often repeat the same speeches over and over, I thought I would turn it into a new blog segment, especially since I'm trying to get back in the habit of writing more.

With that, I present to you my first Mommy Must-Have:

This charming rainbow of plastic is called the "Ring O Links," made by Sassy. When I first created my baby registry, I made sure to put plenty of lower-priced items on the list. But when I pulled these out of a bag at my baby shower, they might as well have been a baby flat-screen TV. Call it a sixth sense, but I knew they would make an awesome toy.

Evelyn loves these little rings. Every time she sees them, she reacts as if they are brand new. I have a feelings she loves the spectrum of colors, and unlike some of her other toys, these are small enough to fit perfectly in her tiny grip.

The ring comes with eight links total, and they have different textures: smooth, bumps and ridges. Evie gets to feel the different sensations every time she picks them up. Additionally, the black stripes on the main ring are rubbery, making it easier to hold if baby wants to grab the whole thing and wave it around. (She does.)

Mommy loves these because they are, in a word, easy. I can throw them in my purse or the diaper bag. I can link each ring together to make a chain and hang it from just about anywhere, (great for car rides). If they get dropped or dirty, no problem. Just throw them in the dishwasher. The best thing of all is the price tag, only $2.99. We take these everywhere because if they get lost, it's no big deal to replace them.

When it comes to baby toys, I subscribe to the theory of keeping it cheap and simple. If she's anything like me, Evie will only want to play with boxes and pots by the time she can walk. In the meantime, I think I've found the missing link! ;)

Becoming "Mom"

Today is November 15, 2011. One year ago today was the first full day I spent with the understanding that my life was no longer a solo act.

Shortly after dinner time on November 14, 2010, I found myself squating over a stick in a less-than-clean bathroom. I remember saying out loud, "Please. Please." I can't be sure what I was praying for as the results slowly flooded over the pregnancy test. I know I wasn't necessarily wishing for any particular outcome, but rather that everything would be ok- that I would be ok.

And then, it appeared: A tiny blue plus sign in the window. For the briefest moment, the world stopped spinning while my life palpably changed forever. I stared at that plus sign as if it might start speaking to me any second before I quietly tiptoed out of the bathroom as if silence might help.

One year ago today, I woke up at 6 a.m. and waited for the University of Kentucky's Student Health Services to open so I could make an appointment, even though their phone lines weren't active until 9. They say the darkest part of the night is just before dawn, and I laid there in that darkness while crushing amounts of terror and excitement washed over me all at once. I remember those passing hours as if they were only this morning.

Finally, I made my way to Student Health only to pee in a cup and have someone walk up and say, "You're definitely pregnant." A kind, but stern middle-aged woman then sat me down in her office and handed me paper after paper on my different options before she pulled out a plastic model of the female reproductive system and explained exactly how an abortion works. Only a moment later, she explained to me what I need to look for in a prenatal vitamin and it hit me- This woman probably sees panicked, young, pregnant students all the time. It's her job to present every option and show no bias whatsoever.

I walked back out into that crisp, Fall day with my tiny hands clutching a fistful of papers and a new outlook on the world.

Though the fear was overwhelming, it was also the least alone I have ever felt in my life. There I was, still the same feisty, outgoing little fireball on the outside, no different from the day before. But on the inside, I held the most precious little secret I could ever have imagined. Every day from then on was a team effort within my body. I housed and nourished that little peanut, and in return she offered me the most sincere form of comfort.

One year ago today, when I was just over one month pregnant, I discovered that I would be a mother. At that time, my daughter was a tiny ball of cells, tissue and an inaudible heartbeat. Now, she's sleeping in her crib across the room from me. I can't even fathom where I'll be in another year...

All the Single Ladies

Allow me to provide you with a piece of little-known knowledge: Single parenthood is tough.

As I'm sure you're well aware, daylight savings time recently gave us an extra hour. By "us," I mean anyone who doesn't have an infant.

Evelyn gets tired at the same time every night these days. She's almost always fast asleep in her crib by 10:30. I, being the night owl that I am, force myself to put away the laptop around 1 or 2 a.m. Evie then wakes up at 6:30 to eat, and if I'm lucky, she goes back to sleep for a couple hours.

And then daylight savings happened. Evie now dozes off around 9 and wakes up around 5:30, but I'm still retiring between 1 and 2. So every morning for the last week, I've been squinting my eyes open and searching the room for even a glimmer of sunlight while my daughter howls for breakfast.

Without fail, I always look around me to see if someone- anyone- will grant my truest wish and take care of Evie's pre-dawn demands for me. And without fail, no one magically appears.

Such is the plight of a single parent. Sure, there are plenty of people who want to help me with Evie, but you can never go through the day assuming that anyone will help you. You start and stop the waking hour under the pretense that it's all on you.

Luckily for me, I have an amazing, helpful family who has given me more than I could ask for. I wonder, then, if it's the mere characteristic of being a single parent that feels so overwhelming?

I will say this in praise of singledom: Every day is a girls day. Our room glows with shades of purple. We don't have to share the closet. Every morning, I savor the peaceful moments of solitude with my daughter. Every night, we say her prayers and lay her down to sleep before I go watch my guilty pleasures on television.

So here I am, at 12:17 a.m. I've got at least another hour in me, but as I write this I can hear Evie turning her dream-filled head from side to side as if to remind me that not only is she in the room, but breakfast is in five short hours.