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conuly
So, I wear the baby. You know that! And I put her on my back for the bus ride to and from the museum (or wherever we're going, but that's where we're probably going to be!) every day.
That's an hour or so each way. Maybe a little less...?
She's a year old now. She likes to walk. (The other day, Ana was incredibly tired and wanted me to carry her home, and when I told her this wasn't possible, she told me "Put the baby down. She can walk! Yes, she can!") So the first thing I do when I get anywhere (excepting random trips to do non-kid-stuff, which is rare since it's not my job), is I put her down.
This kid has been walking for just about three months now, hasn't she? And yet, there are people at the SICM who seem to think she's up all the time, and are honestly surprised to see her walking. I told this to Pam-at-the-front-desk, and she looked at me like I was crazy! (I wanted her to spread the word - baby walks now. I don't want to have this conversation a third time, fending off the subtle criticism of having her up "all the time").
I'll tell you something. This kid gets down from my back a lot more than other babies her age do, at least at the museum. Most babies her age come with their older siblings and stay in strollers most of the time. Evangeline's only up during cooking, animal time, and for her naps. (She doesn't nap at the SICM if she can help it, but if it's naptime and I put her up for a few minutes, she comes down brighter-eyed and bushier-tailed, which is something.) And it was more striking when she was younger - non-walkers are almost never put down (and many of them hardly ever seem to make it out of the stroller, even during the toddler programs), but I always was putting her on the floor so she could crawl around and play with things. I mean, I had to keep said things out of her mouth, but I thought it was the thing to do.
On another note, occasionally Ana will ask to go up - because I just put the baby down, because she fell down, because she's tired, because she wants some snuggle time - whatever. And I generally don't have a problem with this, so I'll put her up for a little bit. Now, I understand people laughing that I'm chasing the baby and carrying the toddler (I figure that as long as they're both happy, I'm happy - if I can't carry Ana, I'll put her down, no worries there), but I'm irked up to here *gestures vaguely* with people - staff members, whom Ana knows and pays some attention to! - telling Ana "Oh, you shouldn't be up there".
I like most of these people, but that's well out of line. They have the right to enforce the rules at the SICM. I encourage Ana to listen to them, because most of what they say is "Don't climb up there" and "Remember to put these toys back". And as it relates to the museum, they should be correcting her behaviour. But this doesn't relate to the museum. There are three people who have any input as to whether or not Ana is, at any given time, allowed to be carried around - me and her parents. It's clear to me that mostly, she wants to go up because of a combination of normal three-year-old clinginess and a little bit of jealousy over the baby. And if that's the worst jealousy she shows, I'm so busy being thankful that I don't have time to tell her it's only for babies. If I didn't want her up, I wouldn't put her up.
(And it's not like I'm excessively lenient in other ways by the standards of other people in the museum. I'm one of the few adults I've seen who actually carries through with threats to "go home" "give a time-out" and "not let you have the snack if you don't eat the food". These people *know* this! So I just don't know what they're thinking.)
That's an hour or so each way. Maybe a little less...?
She's a year old now. She likes to walk. (The other day, Ana was incredibly tired and wanted me to carry her home, and when I told her this wasn't possible, she told me "Put the baby down. She can walk! Yes, she can!") So the first thing I do when I get anywhere (excepting random trips to do non-kid-stuff, which is rare since it's not my job), is I put her down.
This kid has been walking for just about three months now, hasn't she? And yet, there are people at the SICM who seem to think she's up all the time, and are honestly surprised to see her walking. I told this to Pam-at-the-front-desk, and she looked at me like I was crazy! (I wanted her to spread the word - baby walks now. I don't want to have this conversation a third time, fending off the subtle criticism of having her up "all the time").
I'll tell you something. This kid gets down from my back a lot more than other babies her age do, at least at the museum. Most babies her age come with their older siblings and stay in strollers most of the time. Evangeline's only up during cooking, animal time, and for her naps. (She doesn't nap at the SICM if she can help it, but if it's naptime and I put her up for a few minutes, she comes down brighter-eyed and bushier-tailed, which is something.) And it was more striking when she was younger - non-walkers are almost never put down (and many of them hardly ever seem to make it out of the stroller, even during the toddler programs), but I always was putting her on the floor so she could crawl around and play with things. I mean, I had to keep said things out of her mouth, but I thought it was the thing to do.
On another note, occasionally Ana will ask to go up - because I just put the baby down, because she fell down, because she's tired, because she wants some snuggle time - whatever. And I generally don't have a problem with this, so I'll put her up for a little bit. Now, I understand people laughing that I'm chasing the baby and carrying the toddler (I figure that as long as they're both happy, I'm happy - if I can't carry Ana, I'll put her down, no worries there), but I'm irked up to here *gestures vaguely* with people - staff members, whom Ana knows and pays some attention to! - telling Ana "Oh, you shouldn't be up there".
I like most of these people, but that's well out of line. They have the right to enforce the rules at the SICM. I encourage Ana to listen to them, because most of what they say is "Don't climb up there" and "Remember to put these toys back". And as it relates to the museum, they should be correcting her behaviour. But this doesn't relate to the museum. There are three people who have any input as to whether or not Ana is, at any given time, allowed to be carried around - me and her parents. It's clear to me that mostly, she wants to go up because of a combination of normal three-year-old clinginess and a little bit of jealousy over the baby. And if that's the worst jealousy she shows, I'm so busy being thankful that I don't have time to tell her it's only for babies. If I didn't want her up, I wouldn't put her up.
(And it's not like I'm excessively lenient in other ways by the standards of other people in the museum. I'm one of the few adults I've seen who actually carries through with threats to "go home" "give a time-out" and "not let you have the snack if you don't eat the food". These people *know* this! So I just don't know what they're thinking.)
