It’s been almost 3 months since the advent of the 3rd generation Mariano (parang computer lang no?). Having daily access to a squirming bundle of cuteness gave me the idea for this list:

TRIALS OF BEING A TITA
1. The baby squirts from both ends, so must beware the danger of projectile spit-up (curdled milk) or the silent danger of leaky diapers.
2. If I pick her up, must be prepared to carry her for an hour at least because she screams the moment you put her back down. And she thinks I’m a walking bib, so she takes the chance to spit up excess milk when I carry her.
3. Making her burp is tricky. Carrying her like a sack on my shoulder seems to work best.
4. When she is crying because she is hungry, I’m pretty much useless since I do not lactate. Same goes for diaper-changing; that’s the parents’ job.
5. Babies are distracting! I now have an alibi for procrastinating…

AND THE TREATS:
1. Free entertainment. It is very amusing to watch her move her head about in pursuit of her baby mobile, the laundry on the washline, the lightbulbs in her room, and i think she likes seeing her reflection on my glasses.
2. A reason to smile. Her toothless grin makes me respond with my own chipped-tooth smile. And her big cheeks are so familiar…
3. The smell of baby breath and when she just finished taking a bath. She can also act as weight lifting device; imagine a 5-kilo dumbbell that moves!
4. I can practice my action song repertoire on her. She likes the duck song best. =)
5. Since I’m a language major, I can observe firsthand how a baby acquires her first language. She really makes all those MA classes come alive. It’s also fun figuring out what her coos and babbling mean; she’s beginning to communicate with us instead of just wailing her head off all the time.

Tomorrow is AJ’s christening day. I will take a backseat  to the hordes of adoring fans and let them pass her around like a ball. Anyway, I get to harass play with her almost every day. Let them have their fun.

Disclaimer: This entry is not a sign that I want my own kids.  What’s the rush? The genes have been successfully passed on to the next generation. And I can always borrow her. Haha!