When Silence is Scary

Parenthood is full of irony.

For instance, it is ironic how, when you have a newborn who is asleep and awake on their own random schedule, all you want is for them to sleep through the night, yet the first time you wake up and they are still asleep you freak out and immediately think all the worst things possible. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is a very real and very scary aspect of having an infant. Though a ton of research is being done to figure out what, exactly, causes SIDS, the exact cause is still unknown. (There has been recent evidence that it could be a pre-existing condition in certain babies or an as-yet-undetectable birth defect.) New parents are swamped with information and a huge list of "dos and don'ts" to try and minimize risks: put them to sleep on their backs, don't use cushioned bedding or crib bumpers, don't have extra blankets or stuffed animals in bed with the child, use a pacifier at night, etc. It's overwhelming.

But once you pass that one year mark when the risk of SIDS drops dramatically and THEN your child sleeps through the night...you rejoice. It's very similar to the irony of wishing your child would play by themselves for a moment so you can clean or sit down and have some quiet for a change, only to freak out a few minutes later when you realize there is no sound coming from their room or the area they were just playing in.

I've seen awful pictures of a child who has smeared poo all over their room and themselves. I have heard horror stories of children pulling drawers from dressers onto themselves and being trapped underneath them. (Incidentally, not many people tell you how paranoid a lot of parents become throughout their children's lives. I never thought I would worry about half the things that cross my mind every single day. It's maddening!)

So, when this gem showed up on my Facebook news feed the other day, I knew I had to write about it and share it:

Once again, credit cannot be given because I have no idea who made this originally.

This is so accurate it's almost laughable! What is that toddler doing? Has he gotten into the fridge and is spreading sour cream all over the cat? Is she chowing down on the dog's food? Does he have a sharpie and is he decorating all of his appendages? Has she choked on something in the hallway and you just didn't hear it?

Needless to say, this has happened to me on several occasions. I'll be sitting in the living room reading, on the Internet, or maybe I'm in the kitchen doing dishes or in the bedroom folding laundry when suddenly I notice a distinct lack of noise. I race into my son's bedroom and find a myriad of situations. One time, he was playing quietly by himself with his play-doh. Another time he was hiding out in a pop-up tent and covering his legs with all sorts of markers. The worst instance, he was in the kitchen and had sprayed himself in the face with oven cleaner.

Everything was fine. Didn't even get a scar! :)

There are times, though, when silence is just as sweet as it can be. My husband and I have passed our Nintendo 64 down to our son and Addison's got a pretty sweet set-up on top of his dresser. He absolutely loves to play "Crusin' the World"; he calls it "Race Cars." A lot of times, he'll ask me to turn the game on for him, and he'll sit on his Corvette bed (he's so cool) and play. I will, usually, go about my business while he plays (unless he begs me to sit on the bed with him and watch him race - he's so cute that it's hard to say no - and who would rather wash dishes than watch a child play and laugh? Weirdo's, that's who.) Not that long ago, this very scenario happened. After several minutes had gone by without him yelling out, "check point!", I freaked the freak out and raced into his room to check on him, my paranoid parental mind taking me to dark places no parent ever wants to visit.

Do you know what I found?

This absolutely cuteness.

Life is so rough on toddlers, isn't it?

-Mommy Michelle