I Am Ready To Conquer The World

Four months ago, I left Prince Edward Island, Canada, with my daughter and two huge suitcases a little unexpectedly. My husband and I decided I needed to go for a family cure. I was extremely homesick, sad and tired. We didn’t want it to affect the baby and thought it would be the best for everyone on the long run. We left PEI on a stormy day and arrived in sunny France the following day. I felt better almost instantly.  After a month, I did feel that I felt good enough to go but my husband had planned to come for a two-week visit later in June so we stayed in France with my family.

It feels like we had been gone for a year. Or that we lived here in another life.It is still the same yet things have changed. I feel different…Sixtine is not the tiny baby she used to be. She is a very active little girl and I am a happy Mama. It was heart-breaking to leave my husband and be separated for so long but I am so glad I went to France. We had a wonderful time there and 3000 pictures later, I can say: “I am ready to conquer the world”.

10 things that make me cringe as a new parent

1. Touch my baby without asking. I am not talking about family, friends and acquaintances. I am talking about strangers in the street.
2. Stranger assuming baby is a boy because she’s wearing neutral colors. Do girls have to wear pink?
3. Tell me to “enjoy it while it lasts”. I can’t help it if my baby sleeps. She might not be a good sleeper forever but let me enjoy it without sarcasm.
4. Mention a second baby (or third, or fourth in your case). Mum, I love you dearly but please, she is only four months old. Give me a break.
5. Look at me like I have three heads when I answer that my baby’s name is Sixtine. I know you didn’t ask for her age in weeks. And I know it sounds like the number. And although English is my second language, “What’s her name?” is a very basic question.
6. Unwanted advice from a person who doesn’t have children.
7. Wish me good luck with cloth diapering. We didn’t make the decision to cloth diaper overnight. We thought it through. Thank you.
8. “She is/must be hungry.”Oh, thank you. I never thought.
9. Expect my daughter to greet you with aahhs and oohhs after a nap and tell me that “she is so serious” if she doesn’t warm up to you right away. She is actually a pretty sociable baby.
10. Sick strangers caughing around my baby. It makes me shiver.

I don’t mean to offend anyone. I am guilty of a couple of those, and sometimes, these are just innocent “making conversation” mistakes. Some of them are more or less annoying. I just wanted to share a few of them with you and most importantly, I would love for you to share your own cringe list with me !