Friday, December 04, 2009

Friday family photo--the baptism

Why do people bring tiny babies to the coffee shop--especially with it being flu season? Maybe it wasn't the same baby I wrote about at my coffee blog on Nov. 20. The mother said it was 30 days old, and the one I saw two weeks ago was 24 days. Anyway, too tiny to be out and about.

Yesterday packing away some things I came across my son's immunization and well-baby pediatric booklet from Dr. Batterson. I think at first it was once a month, then every 6 months, then once a year. They do grow up, and I do mean up (over 6'), very fast. I doubt that I took him anywhere except to the doctor when he was an infant. Might have had a few people stop by the house to admire him, but I didn't have a car, so we probably stayed home until it was stroller weather in April and May. We put a lot of miles on that red plaid stroller with a rumble seat.


As I noted before, because I was raised in a tradition (back to the 18th century) that didn't baptize babies (Church of the Brethren), we had no sweet little outfits to pass around at baptism time, so this little double breasted suit was practical. I can tell from his position he's trying to squirm out of my arms and get down on the drive-way to crawl.

3 comments:

Lorna said...

I took my babies around a lot. When my first daughter was born, I lived in Germany, and my landlady showed me how to wrap her in a shawl and carry her across my chest; with my younger daughter, we all used the Snuggli that allowed us to carry her everywhere. As you say, traditions are important, and those were ours, although I can't say we made any conscious decisions.

I like either to read or talk at coffee shops, so that wouldn't be a place I'd take a baby either.

I can remember one of my brothers in a suit like that---brown and cream seersucker I think.

Donna B. said...

I well remember that squirming to get down. My son was a master.

As for taking tiny babies out, it was something I never thought much about with my first two. We lived in a small town and it was no big deal.

We'd moved to Dallas when the 3rd was born and I was absolutely horrified at the way complete strangers wanted to touch her. After that first outing, I didn't take her out again for months.

Anonymous said...

my son was born in February...and a mild one at that...but he didn't get out until Easter aside from going to Grandma's house. But even 33 years ago I avoided crowds with him. I wrote the book on over protective mothering tho..coffee shops are for coffee and connecting...crying babies and toddlers are better left to Wal-Marting...they seem to know when they come in the door it is time to howl...and their timing...one stops and then anothers starts...I can't get out of there fast enough....and I love little kids! We have a new coffee shop in town and my friends and I are trying to support it,hoping it will make it and her children are in there often,but are very well mannered even to holding the door open for us as we leave,they read,color and play their board games,no running about or yelling...my kind of kids..they are pre-school ago,someone did something right there...