Five on Friday: October 1, 2007
brought to you Five on Friday
Baby Talk
1. Are there any babies in your family or circle of friends?
oh my heck yes! no family (that i know of) but Alison's Baby Gracie made her grand entrance twelve days ago, and Heather could technically have Baby Girl's Baby Brother any time now (but we all know Baby Brother is waiting for October 12).
2. Are you one of those people who use a high-pitched, sing-song voice when talking to babies and small children?
occasionally, i will use the sing-song voice, not really high-pitched though. mostly i prefer to use my normal voice pitch, but babies are drawn into the sing-song cadence of a voice, so i tend to use the "one-sided conversation" approach most of the time, with some "sing-song" thrown in for establishing actual interaction.
3. If you were standing in line next to a *very* pregnant stranger at the bank or grocery store, what would you say to her?
nothing. it's none of my business and not my place. plus, i've known enough pregnant women to know that they get *really* tired of the commentary on how they look like they could go anytime, are you sure it's just one, haven't you had that baby yet nonsense.
4. Similarly, what do you say or do near babies in public?
rule number one: never touch the baby of someone you don't know. that being said, i would never ignore a baby that was smiling or waving at me. i would smile or wave back. i may, under the right circumstances tell a parent that their child is beautiful. sometimes when i'm waiting in line & a baby in front of me is fussy, i will try to provide a distraction by smiling or waving or or playing an impromptu game of peek-a-boo, especially if the parent is looking especially frazzled. mostly, i just try to not make an already stressed parent feel worse though. a woman across from me on a plane once apologized profusely for her fussing infant. i told her it was not a problem at all, babies fuss sometimes, and there isn't always much that can be done about it other than to try your best. the appreciation on her face was priceless for the few words i spoke.
5. When walking through a department store, are you the sort of person who can go by the baby clothes without even a glance or do you have to stop to ooh and ahh?
sometimes i look. i don't spend much time though. it depends on if i have a small person i may need to shop for in the near future.
4 with their own thoughts:
How about Youkilis finishing the season with a 1.000 fielding pct? That's crazy insane.
You must be so happy happy joy joy! Good for you enjoy it. Looking forward to watching tonight's Pat's game. Love all your meme's. How do you find time?
Dawn, as a parent of three, thank you BIG time for saying you would never touch a baby you didn't know: pet peeve number 1.
I'm always making faces at babies, trying to make them laugh, and I don't talk in a sing song voice, but some of the gibberish that comes out of my mouth should mean a automatic cancellation of my man card.
And being married for 15 years, I've learned this much. You never, EVER, say anything to a pregnant woman that doesn't involve the words "You look fantastic".
Seriously, Never.
Bart: Youk rocks. And we need him to stay at first base. Period. The only changeable part of the Sox infield is Julio Freaking Lugo.
Jeanne: I don't always find time but I do have the luxury of blogging between phone calls at work when I don't have any projects that need my attentions.
Ted: I started babysitting when I was twelve years old (different times back then huh?) and I did daycare with the six weeks through two years old group for five years. (I majored in Child Development; I've always had a very natural comprehension of children, especially infants & toddlers.) I never could understand people's assumption that babies were acceptable to touch, like the rules of personal space don't extend to infants. Babies are for admiring from a distance unless are on very familiar terms with the parents.
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