Announcing the New Man in My Life

OK, so he’s just a baby, but my nephew Dominic really is the love of my life. I took a vacation day last Friday and headed to LA to spend time with the new member of our family. When I left on Sunday, I was exhausted and sleep-deprived…and I’m not even his mother!

Dominic is a great baby. He only cries when he’s hungry or wet. One time when he wet his diaper, he started crying. All the diaper stuff is in their bedroom and I didn’t want to disturb my sister and her husband because they were sleeping. They rarely have time to rest. So the baby’s crying and I’m rocking him, rocking him. Super-duper kid falls right back to sleep. How great is that? I want a baby like that!

I’m not used to all this baby stuff. Especially all his feedings. “You just fed him. You’re going to feed him again?!”

“Cat,” my sister would explain, “you have to feed the baby every 90 minutes to 2 hours.”

“Wuh??? You do??? Wow, I do not want to have babies. That is crazy. Every two hours? What’s the big deal if you feed him after a good night’s rest? I want my eight hours of sleep!”

Therese would just shake her head.

I tried to help out as much as I could, but I’m a hard-working girl and I like to rest and relax over the weekends. I’d nap on the couch every so often. Therese would come into the living room, envious. “How was your nap? That seems nice.”

And I’m thinking, “I’m not the one who had a baby. This is what people who don’t have kids do. I fart around my place, go for a run around the park, get a Bloody Mary somewhere, take a nap, go out for the night, then sleep in for as long as I want. I love it.”

That said, it’s hard to believe how much love I can feel for this newborn baby. I love him so much. Nick had to take me out for a drink when I got back Sunday night because I was feeling a little depressed without my Dominic. It’s especially hard since my sister lives in LA. It’s not like I can see the baby every weekend. Two more weeks and I’ll be back. I felt really guilty about the naps so I’m going to try to be better next time. One weekend without a nap. I can do it.