Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always had respect for fit mommas like MizFit and Workout Mommy who manage to rock both mommahood AND fitness at the same time.  But my respect has grown immeasurably over the last 24 hours. 

I’m in Colchester visiting a friend who had her first baby last November.  This is my first baby, too, at least in my sphere of “Friends Who Have Babies” (current membership: 1).  I’ve never spent a day with a baby before and I was pretty blown away by how much work it entails.

Here’s the view from someone who’s never been much of a baby person:

• Babies don’t just sit around like a lump drooling all day.
• Even when babies are just lumping out, you’ve gotta sing and talk to them or else they start crying.
• Babies cry a lot.
• Babies are a lot heavier than they look. 
• Babies are a lot smarter than they look.
• Baby time is a lot more fun when there’s some physical activity involved.

On that last point – and here is why my friend is a rockin’ momma, too – it’s way easier to care for a baby if you can actually do active things with the wee one.  Yesterday, the three of us spent the day walking pretty much.  We walked to the coffee shop, then to the supermarket, then around the park.  Half the time we were pushing the baby in a stroller; the rest we were carrying the baby because it seemed to want to cry otherwise (hence why babies are so heavy – you try lugging a 14lb wriggle work around town all day). 

It’s exhausting work – and I haven’t even mentioned the whole middle-of-the-night feedings.  I can see why some parents get totally wiped out by all this baby stuff and feel tempted to just plot their kids in front of the TV. So, it was cool to see my friend so engaged in her baby’s life beyond the playpen.  And her kid seems really happy for it, too.  In fact they both seem healthy and happy and full of energy.  It’s another one of life’s upward spirals, I guess – the more active and engaged you are in your baby’s life, the easier it is to STAY active and engaged in your baby’s life.

That’s all for now.  It’s St. Patrick’s Day and we are heading to the beach where we hope the English sun (a neglectful momma if there ever was one) will grace us with our presence.  No Guinness for baby though.