The Kaiser T-Shirt

When my nephew Parker was born I took his older brothers into the room to meet him moments after his arrival.

Drew, who was about 4 at the time, looked at Parker in the isolet crying, kicking his legs, and waiving his arms  and asked," Is he mean?"

As it would turn out, Parker was not mean, yet objectively, it was a good question.

When our babies are not sleeping they are either crying, or looking like they are just getting ready to cry.  Although it would be frustrating to have absolutely no control over any element of your existence, how do they even know?  There is no point of reference, so really, what is there to be crying about?

If I was a baby, I would only cry when my diaper was dirty or when I was hungry, the rest of the time I would just enjoy the lack of any significant responsibility.

For me the best part of having a baby so far has been giving them a bath.

Babies are like cats in water.  Sadie throws her arms in the air and extends her hands, I call it her praising Jesus position.   In fairness, she clearly doesn't enjoy bathing at this point, but this is mitigated by the pleasure I obtain in watching her sprawl her entire body, both arms and legs hyper extended.  Its a little bit like when Pinnter gets really upset and growls and shows me all his teeth, it feels really wrong to enjoy it, but I always do.

Our babies have lots of clothes, and this has already become a point of contention.  All of the outfits seem uncomfortable to me, so my default is the Kaiser t-shirt they each got at the time of their birth.   

It is easy, it doesn't even have the snap buttons on the bottom.   Suitable for any time of day or night, and when you are a baby, there really isn't much difference.  About every 4 hours you eat, get a diaper change and then go back to sleep, so why get dressed?

To me, it seems as though this is the best part of being a baby.  You can be a slob and no one cares, why not enjoy it while you have the opportunity.

"You want the girls to dress like you, " Gioconda said the other day.

PJ bottoms are an intricate part of my wardrobe, and if I was a baby I would certainly be hanging out in my diaper and t-shirt.  Gioconda will dress up to clean out the garage, she never, and I mean never, wears sensible shoes, even while doing yard work, so in my opinion she is not the arbiter of what is or is not comfortable for the life of a baby, which primarily consists of lounging.

The girls are 16 days today and have worn the Kaiser t-shirt at least 4 days, that is 1/4 of their lives so far-- they are definitely on the right track.