01 December 2009

Baby Magnet

Just returned from 3 days away in Hamilton with Nana & Poppa, and I must admit I had forgotten that being out and about with a young baby is an instant magnet for people to want to strike up a conversation...it's rather nice!

First there was the lovely lady at Wellington Airport who stayed behind to help me organise myself as a last-minute poo incident saw a quick change required before boarding the plane so as not to upset my fellow travellers' noses on the journey to Auckland. She even kindly disposed of the nappy for me whilst I gathered up Mylo and all our gear as we made a dash for boarding to be last on the plane! I think she must have felt a little sorry for me as she had overheard me telling Mark on the phone that the cash machine at the airport had just failed to hand out the $50 I had drawn out. After my $200 parking fine the other week, it would seem that me and money were not best friends at the moment. However, as I have subsequently been let off the parking fine after a lengthy letter to the council, now it just remains to try and get the $50 out of the bank!

Then there were my seat mates on the plane (both there and back) who kindly offered to do anything they could to help us get settled including holding Mylo so I could master the seatbelts for us both. It seems everyone has a story to tell you when you have a baby in tow. The young girl in my row told me how her brother had screamed all the way home from the UK when they were returning from holiday when she was little (eek I thought, but luckily the drone of the plane's engine soon sent Mylo to dreamland for the duration of the flight). Then there was the air steward who told me that at age 2 his favourite past-time was chasing his father's chooks around the backyard, I wonder what the chickens thought of that?!

And I can't forget my lovely friend Andrea who drove across Auckland to come and spend a quick half an hour with me at the airport to meet Mylo while we caught up on each other's news before I had to board the plane home.

In this respect, it's almost a shame babies have to ever grow up as these encounters and conversations are such a unique part of life with a very young one, and definitely dwindle away as they grow older.

The time itself at Nana and Poppa's was very relaxing, well as much as it ever can be with a 10-week old, and apart from indulging in a lovely 30-minute massage at a beauty therapy clinic kindly shouted by Nana, I didn't venture too far from the house.

I also must extol the virtues of my trusty sling (from Dulce & Zoet) which I would be completely lost without. This wonderful piece of material has been my right arm since Mylo was born, it's perfect for travelling as it takes up no space at all, weighs nothing and Mylo loves being all snuggled up inside close to me. As well as using it whenever I take him out in the car rather than trying to carry around an unwieldy and ungainly car seat, it's also great for his last nap of the day when he would otherwise protest quite loudly about being shut away in his room. Then, I just pop him in the sling and wander round the house doing little chores and I have even been known to eat dinner with him curled up and sleeping soundly inside. I used it quite a bit with Noah too, and it's going to be a sad day when Mylo eventually grows out of it!

  

1 comment :

Sarah said...

Ah, such a lovely post! He's grown so much and is looking such an adorable 'Joey' in his pouch! I love those slings too and also used to carry Sophie around in one whilst doing the chores at the end of the day. Special snuggles indeed.

I am delighted to hear you had such a positive trip up to Auckland and encountered some friendly and helpful folk. You're so spot on about people interacting less, on the whole, with older children. I think some adults are actually quite scared of them!

Look forward to catching up with you next week,

Sarah x

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