In my next life....

I've decided that in my next life, I'd like to come back as a Dad. Now don't get me wrong, I love being a mom, but Dads just have it so much easier! Here are a few things I'd like to experience as a Dad that I've been unable to do as a Mom:

1) Sleep through the night, right away. Sure, Riley helped out in the first few weeks, changing diapers in the middle of the night, swaddling our newborn son and trying to help curb the 2am crying fits. However, that was short-lived, while I continued to be up in the middle of the night, sometimes all night until...well,  actually I'm still up in the middle of the night sometimes, almost 1 year later. Sure Griffin sleeps through the night some of the time, but other times he still wakes at midnight, or 5:00, or both, or if I'm really lucky and he's sick (like he has been the past week), then we are both up every hour to 2 hours. Yes, Riley wakes up when he hears the baby cry, but then he rolls over and is snoring again by the time I leave the room. I want to roll over and go back to sleep, knowing that someone else is taking good care of my babe in the middle of the night.

2) Leave the house by myself for as many hours as I want. I know what you're thinking - Moms can do this too. Sure they can, but only if they've pumped enough bottles, left enough food for snacks and meals, left instructions for nap time and a pile of clean diapers, and strategically planned to be back when the bottles run out and the baby needs to nurse again. Now, I'm lucky enough to have a very capable husband and great friends and family that I can leave Griffin with for a few hours (or longer) when needed, but it's not the same as just leaving the house in the morning and not getting back until the evening, doing whatever I want all day and not having to worry that Griffin is doing okay at home because I know the lady with the boobs is with him.

3) Go to a movie, out for lunch, to the bathroom, or anywhere for that matter, BY MYSELF. Now this isn't necessarily something Riley does often (except for the bathroom), but he could if he wanted to. While I could too, it would again take planning and preparation (see above).  Just once a week, or even every second week, I'd like to go to the bathroom without having to bring a baby with me, or leaving the door open so I can see him while trying to hurry because he's crying for my company on the other side of the baby gate, or go out for lunch...on my own, without a little slobbery, snot-nosed monster attached to my hip.

4) Be the fun guy, instead of just the human milk machine or the lady with the boobs. Don't get me wrong, Griffin and I have lots of fun playing and being silly every day. However, we also spend lots of time as follows: Griffin falls down, bonks his head, gets something he shouldn't be playing with taken away, or just decides he wants to nurse. Is he hungry? Usually not. But he still climbs into my lap or pulls on my pants until I lift him up and sit with him on the couch, where he proceeds to frantically pull at my shirt while I'm trying to unhook my nursing bra and get my boob out. Then he nurses for between 10-30 seconds before something else catches his attention and off he goes again, until the next time he wants milk, needs to be comforted, or maybe just needs something to suck on. Dads don't have to do this. They get to play and read books and have fun, and when baby is hungry or needs to be comforted, they pass the babe to mom who drops whatever she is doing to nurse the baby...again.

I'm sure I could come up with many more things I'd like to experience as a Dad, but I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. So here are some things I love about being a Mom that I wouldn't get to experience if I was a Dad instead:

1) Griffin needs ME. When he's sad, angry, upset, or hurt, he needs his Mom. And I have some magical tools with me at all times to make him feel better - my boobs! Sometimes a cuddle or a hug is all he needs, but if all else fails, I know I can make it all better by nursing him. When he's sick and can't breathe through his nose or fall asleep, he needs Mom to cuddle him and nurse him until he feels better and can fall asleep again. It's a great feeling to know that you can make your baby feel better, even if you can't always take away the hurt or sadness or illness.

2) He wants to be around me all the time. Who else could spend that much time with you and still want to spend more time together? Griffin and I have spent most of every day together over the past 11 and a half months, and he isn't sick of me yet!  (And I'm not sick of him either, for that matter. Well, most of the time anyway :).

3) Watching Griffin grow and change and learn new things has been the most rewarding experience of being a stay at home mom. It's exciting to see his first smile, hear his first laugh, watch him crawl for the first time, see him take his first steps, watch him learn to wave, sign, and clap. I usually get to see these things first, calling Riley right away to let him know what cool new thing Griff learned today. Sure, Riley will see it too, but he's not always there for the first time because he's at work every weekday, providing for us so Griffin and I can stay home together.

Of course there are many more things I love about being a mom, but right now my little slobbery snot-monster is waking from a nap and the lady with the boobs must be available for his every whim, stat!