What I Learned when my Baby Ruined my Bedding

For some reason the adult bed in the house is our hangout. Maybe because it’s comfy and my daughter likes to stand up and fall down. Maybe because I like to lay somewhere soft now and again. Maybe because I lay them on it before a shower or bath. That is when it happened. I like to put on my bathing suit and take both of them into the shower. In my mind, it helps prevent fear of water and gives them a little fun. I had the toddler and baby naked and ready to get into the shower.  I walk away for five seconds leaving the baby on the bed and – you guessed it – rear escape of recently digested dinner. All. Over. The. Bedspread. Okay, I got it 50% off at an end of the year sale. But it was thick, pretty, and not dry cleanable. I learned a few things after the not-so-disastrous-but-highly-annoying-event.

1) Many of the things we get annoyed at our children for are our own faults. Baby Boy had to go to the bathroom. That isn’t his fault and actually it’s a good thing. I’m glad his system is-a-workin’. The fact that he seriously stained the bedspread is my own fault because I – the adult here – left him there. We get irritated at toddlers for going through our purses, yet we leave them within their reach. We get annoyed at repetitive disruptive behaviors, but we don’t bother correcting or disciplining those behaviors. I heard it said once that most behaviors our children have are our own faults. We are in charge of the correction, discipline, praise, punishment and rewards in the house.

2) White gets a bad rap, but it is actually much more practical. People say you can’t have white upholstery or fabrics in a house with children, but you know what? You can bleach white. You know what you can’t bleach? Teal and ivory suede.

3) It is actually always better to be safe than sorry. Sure, my comforter doesn’t really matter and I can always get a new one. Or, even if I don’t, oh well. The point is that kids are unpredictable, fast and delicate. Too close to the edge of the bed and they could fall. Don’t lock the door and they can go out the front door. I’m not suggesting being paranoid (like I am) but I always tend to operate on a “better safe than sorry” mentality and don’t shortcut. As I said the other day, shortcuts never end well.

4) I have lightened up since having children. Before having children something like a ruined comforter would have made me flip out. I would have been angry passionate about the whole situation and had to take a while to calm down. After I saw the damage, because I heard the disaster from a few feet away, I just laughed. He laughed, I laughed and, well, we just took that shower we were waiting for.

Life is all about the little things that become memories that become stories. Maybe I’ll find another comforter (or doona, as they call it here in Australia) 50% off here soon. And if I do, I’ll make sure it’s white.

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