Why Nate Isn't Going to BlogHer

One of the questions I've gotten several times about BlogHer but didn't anticipate is "Are you bringing the baby?"

The fact that I didn't anticipate the question tells you something about me as a mother: I didn't even consider bringing him.  I'm not one of those mothers who immediately sees her baby as highly portable.

I could say that BlogHer is only providing childcare for babies three months and older and Nate will be a few days shy of three months, but I'm sure if I had asked BlogHer, those few days wouldn't have mattered.  I just simply didn't see a reason to bring him when he could stay happily at home and I could enjoy my time at BlogHer without worrying about him too much.  I can't envision how I would be able to pay attention to speakers if I had Nate with me.  Or how I'd manage to get some swag home if I also had to carry Nate on the bus with me (and he hates the sling - he only tries to stand up in it! - so I'd physically be carrying him).  Maybe I would've driven in, which takes the bus out of the equation, but I still would've been carrying Nate around all day.

When I think about it, though, what's the point of bringing Nate with me if he would have just ended up in the childcare room for a good chunk of the time or I would've ended up walking him around the hallways because he was too fidgety for sessions?  That makes no sense to me.  I'd rather have him home with Kate (Friday) and the hubby (Saturday), who will give him all the love and one-on-one time he's used to having daily.  (Not that I think the BlogHer childcare folks won't be doing a great job, but no one beats Kate and the hubby in my book.)

Plus, Nate's bottle feeding, so that means bringing enough formula to last, what, more than 12 hours?  Nate currently eats 6oz every three hours (sometimes two to two and a half hours), so that would be a bit to trek. And it takes a bit of work to get him to take a nap, so either they'd be spending a good amount of time with him, or they'd be letting him cry a bit because they'd have other babies to care for as well.  Carrying the formula and working for naps isn't crazy (I do it when I spend a long day at my parents' or sister's house), but I don't see the benefit.  It's not like I'm travelling overnight, either.  I get to go home at night and see him.

I actually think it's going to be a good trial for both of us.  I'm interested to see how he does without me around all day.  He's definitely got a little bit of mommy attachment (which is natural and nothing I have a problem with) so I'm interested to see how it goes when having me around is not an option.  And I'm curious to see how I'm going to feel at the end of the day after I haven't seen him for 12+ hours.  Will I be grateful for the time I had or is my heart going to be aching?  (For the record, I think it's going to be a (hopefully) bearable mix of the two.)

I still get nervous when I have to go somewhere with Nate by myself, even if it's just a ten minute trip to a store.  He hasn't yet had a public meltdown, and I'm just waiting.  You all will be sure to read about it here when it happens because I foresee being mortified.  I'm still learning how to be a mom with a child in public - and I'd rather not have that public be a Hilton in NYC.  I'll work on my local supermarket and restaurants for a while first.

So that's why Nate isn't going to BlogHer.  I think he's better off at home with people he knows - or maybe it's that I'm better off knowing he's at home with people he knows.  Either way, it just seems like the smarter choice to me.

Besides, he doesn't even have a blog, the lazy bum.

Comments

[Megan (Best of Fates)]

Well, I think it's an *okay* excuse that he's under 3 months - once he gets to 6 mo. though, you're going to have to have a talk with that boy.

He's got some pretty big domain names to fill.