Mama Talk about my MIL
Benjamin & Nama: Together forever
I’m chopped liver. No, really. When my mother-in-law is visiting, I have to beg my 19-month-old son to say hello to me.
“Who do you want to give you a bath, Mama or Grandma?”
“Nama.”
“Mama and Papa have to go to the store. Do you want to go with Mama and Papa, or stay with Grandma?”
“Nama.”
Even at bedtime, he finished nursing, offered me a wet kiss on the lips and then wanted “Nama” to put him to bed.
He’s even asked for her in the middle of the night. I drew the line there.
“No. Nama is sleeping. You go sleepy, too.”
He has other grandparents, and plenty of uncles and aunts. In fact, he has more doting relatives than you could ever imagine one baby ever needing. For the most part, I just introduce my husband’s aunts to him as “Auntie.” There’s millions of them, and I know he’ll never remember all the names.
But his “Nama” is someone special. She was there when he was born, she was the only one who volunteered to change a dirty diaper even though I was around. She takes him along when she goes walking for exercise, even though it certainly would be more convenient for her to leave him with me. When he was an infant, she volunteered to watch him at night while we were at a family event, rocking him for hours while he cried until I got home. And, if you can believe this, Ben isn’t even her first grandchild. He’s her fourth.
(She also manages to bake cakes and clean our house while baby-sitting, and she was the first person to put him to bed in his new big boy bed. Let’s all just take a moment, shall we?)
It’s that generosity that makes it hard not to take advantage of her while she’s here. It takes three times longer to run to Home Depot with a toddler in tow. And after a certain time in the evening, you just can’t go at all. Tantrum city.
Since she’s willing to watch him, and he’s more than happy to be watched, you wouldn’t think there’d be any problem here ...
It’s not that I don’t appreciate a break. I do. And it’s not that I want him to be miserable and miss me every moment that I’m away at work or running errands. I don’t.
But I admit, it’s been hard for me to lose that “favorite” position, even temporarily. I think there’s some ego issues mixed in there somewhere.
So when I got a phone call from my husband at 2:36 p.m. on a Tuesday, (there haven’t been any mama emergencies in many months) I was very surprised.
Ben was refusing to eat or drink anything and wasn’t interested in being comforted or distracted by Papa or “Nama.” He kept asking for me and cried for about 20 minutes before they decided to call and see how busy I was.
I have to admit, the slight inconvenience of stopping my work for a few minutes was far outweighed by the “awww” factor.
It’s nice to be needed again.
I’m chopped liver. No, really. When my mother-in-law is visiting, I have to beg my 19-month-old son to say hello to me.
“Who do you want to give you a bath, Mama or Grandma?”
“Nama.”
“Mama and Papa have to go to the store. Do you want to go with Mama and Papa, or stay with Grandma?”
“Nama.”
Even at bedtime, he finished nursing, offered me a wet kiss on the lips and then wanted “Nama” to put him to bed.
He’s even asked for her in the middle of the night. I drew the line there.
“No. Nama is sleeping. You go sleepy, too.”
He has other grandparents, and plenty of uncles and aunts. In fact, he has more doting relatives than you could ever imagine one baby ever needing. For the most part, I just introduce my husband’s aunts to him as “Auntie.” There’s millions of them, and I know he’ll never remember all the names.
But his “Nama” is someone special. She was there when he was born, she was the only one who volunteered to change a dirty diaper even though I was around. She takes him along when she goes walking for exercise, even though it certainly would be more convenient for her to leave him with me. When he was an infant, she volunteered to watch him at night while we were at a family event, rocking him for hours while he cried until I got home. And, if you can believe this, Ben isn’t even her first grandchild. He’s her fourth.
(She also manages to bake cakes and clean our house while baby-sitting, and she was the first person to put him to bed in his new big boy bed. Let’s all just take a moment, shall we?)
It’s that generosity that makes it hard not to take advantage of her while she’s here. It takes three times longer to run to Home Depot with a toddler in tow. And after a certain time in the evening, you just can’t go at all. Tantrum city.
Since she’s willing to watch him, and he’s more than happy to be watched, you wouldn’t think there’d be any problem here ...
It’s not that I don’t appreciate a break. I do. And it’s not that I want him to be miserable and miss me every moment that I’m away at work or running errands. I don’t.
But I admit, it’s been hard for me to lose that “favorite” position, even temporarily. I think there’s some ego issues mixed in there somewhere.
So when I got a phone call from my husband at 2:36 p.m. on a Tuesday, (there haven’t been any mama emergencies in many months) I was very surprised.
Ben was refusing to eat or drink anything and wasn’t interested in being comforted or distracted by Papa or “Nama.” He kept asking for me and cried for about 20 minutes before they decided to call and see how busy I was.
I have to admit, the slight inconvenience of stopping my work for a few minutes was far outweighed by the “awww” factor.
It’s nice to be needed again.