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Hey, baaaaaaby. By the lovely Grace Farris.
P.S. Parenting teens and spring reading.
May We Suggest…
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54 Comments
It’s not our fault for wanting to hold them when you guys have those babies dressed up and looking so cute in Target.
Yes yes yes! I get to be the mom with a baby at the grocery store right now and I feel like bringing him is my secret little gift to the other shoppers. Like — yes, please do enjoy this delicious little guy and validate my opinion that he’s the cutest thing to ever exist. AND it’s an opportunity to have tiny little social interactions in a season of life where I feel like all I do is go to work and come home to squeeze as much baby time in as I can (and fold laundry and meal prep and and and….)
As another Elizabeth who seems to be in the exact same stage of life – I felt this hard! Bonus points to the cashiers who see my baby coming and do a big theatrical wave!
Mom of a twelve month old here. Anyone who stops and smiles at my little guy makes my life 100% easier. Don’t hold back. The more enthusiasm the better.
I have always been a baby magnet and when all my friends and family were having babies I was dubbed the “baby whisperer.” Just today at Trader Joe’s there was the cutest strawberry blonde, soft ringlets, beanie headed baby – trapped in the shopping cart seat as Dad was lost in his phone. Baby kept saying, “go, go, go, go!” And I could’t help but smile as I passed by, Dad completely missing his sweet babies urges (and yes you had to speak baby to understand the, “go, go, go, go!”
ok but don’t judge dad too hard for being lost in his phone. One thing about being a parent is that you’re never not multi-tasking, and often you’re mutli-multi-multi tasking
Ok, I’m the odd one out here. Babies kind of scare me. I never babysat, don’t have my own children, never had young cousins, and I’ve only held a baby I think twice in my life. I just don’t know what to do or how to act! What do they like? Am I doing it right? Do I make a face, smile, go goo-goo ga-ga? I’m just so nervous around them! Sure, they’re cute, but I’ll be over here, looking from a distance! (Now, dogs… I get that! Sooooo cute. Lol.)
Cats for me, rather than dogs, but other than that I’m 100% with you. The weird thing is that babies seem to like me! I think because I have quite wild, curly hair that attracts their attention. It’s not that I don’t like babies, but I worry that if I smile at them wrong or fuss over them, they might suddenly burst out crying and then their parents would be mad at me.
I have a tendency to focus on dogs, but earlier today? A teeny-tiny toddler in pigtails and light-up sneakers blew me a kiss. In that moment, the floofiest of puppies could have passed right in front of me, and I wouldn’t even have noticed.
If all these women offering to hold all the babies and compliment the mamas could congregate at my local Trader Joe’s tomorrow at 8AM (or better yet, my next family vacation!), I have a set of Irish twins (22 months and 10 months) that you are welcome to hold and entertain 🤣 – Signed, A Grateful Mama Who Is Also Very Tired
Now that my kiddo is a teenager (!!!), I always offer to hold the baby at any social gathering, because I remember how difficult it was when you couldn’t put the baby down and wanted a break! I will always hold the baby, haha.
When my now-16-year-old was a just-talking baby (12-18 months?), she would perform this hilarious greeting to strangers as we made our way through the grocery store: She would look at a stranger from her perch in the cart and gently say, “Hi!” If the stranger didn’t reply, she would say it louder: “HI!” And if the stranger still didn’t reply, she would lean their direction and yell, “HIIIIIIII!” This usually got a response (and a smile). Better still, if we were walking the opposite direction down the aisle from the stranger and then we both turned down the NEXT aisle from opposite sides, the ritual would begin again with the same person, as if my daughter hadn’t just hollered her greeting to them 30 seconds before. So sorry to all the introverts who just kept having to talk to a cute and chatty baby 15 years ago in Denver-area grocery stores! 😉🤣
This is so sweet, Hilary! I love it!
I’m intrigued to know if she’s still this extroverted? I’ve got one of these and I’m so curious to know if this is his personality or not!
Babies always stare at me in public places. I wave and smile back. 🙂 I work with toddlers and they just seem to be drawn to me. When there’s a little one having a meltdown , it hurts my heart. I try and read the Mom’s face to see if she’s okay with me trying to calm or redirect the little one’s attention. 👶🏻 💛
I love to wave and smile at toddlers and I love when they yell ”Hi’ to me. It makes my day.
SO TRUE!!
Same…and also all dogs…
Yes, yes, and yes, Amy! I am a sucker for every baby and all dogs.
Riiight? Tiny humans are lovely, but this instantly reminded me of the Australian Shepherd brothers that I couldn’t help but make eyes at on my way out of the coffee shop this afternoon!
I don’t have kids but I love waving at babies and making silly faces back. They’re so new!
I ran into a parent of one of my kid’s friends at a crowded multi-school sports event. He was standing next to a woman holding a baby. The conversation went: “Hiya! (Very quick small talk). Who’s the baby?!?”
Shrug (they didn’t know each other).
It felt like a bar scene where I was desperate to be introduced to the cute friend—but it was a baby being held by his (now nervously laughing mother).
Then I said, “bummer. I was hoping to hold that baby.” And then could not believe I’d let myself act so bonkers! The magic spell of cuties with giant eyes and feety jams!
Stranger babies love me. I can’t tell you how many times a baby has spotted me from across Target or Costco and just been enthralled to the point of leaning around their parent to smile at me. My face must be hella symmetrical.
How about the time I was in the grocery store with 3 young children (now teens) – they were probably 2, 3, and 5 – I was so stressed and trying to get through the store and they were fighting, and a lady tapped me on the shoulder while I was trying to check out my yogurt options. “That one just threw up.” And she walked away! Then I was wiping throw up off the grocery store floor with baby wipes with a full grocery cart and 3 cranky kids. Ha! Hilarious story to me now, but I don’t know how I didn’t plop myself down and cry!
Totally feel the pain you would have felt. I was VERY heavily pregnant with my second child, heading to work for my last day before taking maternity leave. Had my five year old in tow, stopped at a grocery store to purchase some things for work, walking to the car my son vomits everywhere. Not one person stopped to help.
Omg Millie I relate to this sooo much lol!!
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"Everyone should experience being a foreigner. It is completely humbling and cannot help but make you a more compassionate person."
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