‘Excuse me…..but is that a puppy or a cat in your sling?’

WHAT?

Jackson and I were greeted with this question one night while leaving a restaurant after dinner.

As you can probably guess, it was neither a puppy nor a cat, but Gray.  Jackson was wearing the sling, and had Gray nestled in comfortably, with the little porkchop sound asleep.  (And I’m sorry, but are there people out there who would really take their pet to dinner in a sling?)  

I giggled the whole way back to the car.

So far, Jackson and I have agreed that we fall more into the un-scheduled parenting approach with our little man.  We both really appreciate and love the flexibility of bringing Gray everywhere, and he’s such a great little guy he’ll eat, sleep and poop anywhere we go.  

Who knows how long this will last, as he’ll need to have a dedicated bedtime and routine soon, but for now we’re enjoying it to pieces.  He eats when he needs to eat and sleeps when he needs to sleep.  And I’d rather be up more with him at night and be able to go out and about, then be at home and immobile after 5pm.

Now that Gray is starting to distinguish between day and night (and has finally corrected his reversed internal body clock and is sleeping more at night than during the day) we’re getting on more of a schedule, but we’re still able to go out to dinner and he can sleep for the first chunk of his nighttime sleep in the sling, on one of us.

This means that sometimes we’re out late with him, which we both consider a huge benefit in that for now it doesn’t trap us at home, and we can still go out for dinner or meet up with friends.

I wonder sometimes, though, what people think when they see us out with our baby at 10pm walking through downtown Burlington.  He’s well-fed, clothed, clean diapered and sleeping as soundly in the sling as he would at home in bed….but sometimes what I see in other people’s eyes is wary judgement. 

Well guess what, folks?  He is possibly the most loved, appreciated, supported and well-cared for baby on the planet.  It’s not like we’re out taking shots at the bar and clubbing while he’s naked and stuffed into my trendy hobo bag.  We’re smart about when to take him out and where, and he’s healthy and well-rested.

It’s hard to resist the urge to tell people this when we see that judgement in their eyes.

Everyone does this differently, and every baby is different.  So please respect that, and know that we’re doing a good job.  I will forever be glad that I can look back on this summer, the first of many with him, and smile thinking of summer dinners sitting outside people-watching passers-by, joining friends to celebrate a birthday, trips to the lake and weekends away with our little man.  

We make every decision with his needs as the number one priority.  Our world has changed and we’re both so incredibly happy, both to have him with us (what was life like before him?) and to be able to continue our lives with one important, hilarious and delicious addition…Gray.