Play Date

When I was pregnant, I met pretty regularly with a group of girls who were all due at the same time (like, within days of each other). We'd grab coffee and chat, or email back and forth. I didn't know a couple of them before, but we met through mutual friends and there's nothing like the wild and bizarre (and scary and exciting) experience of pregnancy to spark an insta-bond. Now all the babies are here--hooray!--and we wanted to get them all together.

I'm still not totally believing that I have "play dates" on the calendar...not sure whose life this is. Plus, the babies are barely aware that they exist, so insinuating that they are aware of each other or playing is downright comical. I prefer to think of it less as a play date and more as a fart party. Baby farts, that is. If we're being honest, it's totally for the moms, but there's so much value and comfort in talking to someone who's doing the exact same thing. All moms of all ages have been helpful in their own way, but memories of each phase fade quickly and having this group of ladies who are all acutely experiencing the same in-the-trenches moments, emotions, and challenges has been really fun so far. And it helps mitigate the social isolation that comes with having a tiny baby and the restrictions that come along with trying to keep said baby alive. Our birth experiences were different, and our babies are different, but trying to do this alone seems totally crazy. And is probably a great recipe for postpartum depression. I figure there's no sense in trying to reinvent the wheel, so we all pool our (admittedly limited but rapidly advancing) knowledge. It's also nice to be in a setting where it's socially acceptable to talk just about the baby, because I know in my normal brain that that isn't what everyone else wants to talk about all the time, but I seem to have temporarily forgotten exactly what regular people talk about.

At the first fart party, we all chatted happily while the babies slept the entire time (some play date, right?). They started to stir simultaneously, prompting everyone to load up and head home for dinner. But we wanted to get some pictures for posterity first. Somebody suggested trying to get regular group pics as they grow, which would be fun. We just figured this one will be pretty good material for the high school graduation slide show. We can't guarantee that they'll all be best friends, but they'll grow up knowing each other for sure.

I don't know if this is funny to normal people, but we were amused seeing so many goofy newborns lined up. It's like your very own "caption this" contest.

Oliver kept trying to eat Helen's arm. She was stunned and immobilized by this.