Do you tell people “No thank you” when they offer to help? It was my O.B. who first turned me on to saying “Yes”. When I was pregnant he said, “From now on, when they ask you if you want help out to your car, you say ‘Yes’.”
Think of things that you feel comfortable asking others to do so that when they offer, you can accept their generosity. During the course of the day, say them out loud to your baby to help you remember.
Example conversation:
Baby: Daaaaa da daaa da uh ga
You: Someone needs to take the car to Jiffy Lube.
Baby: Dahhh shhsss da
You: I would love some Indian take-out for dinner.
Baby: ssshhss ah babababababa
You: The lawn needs to be mowed.
[...] I also want to mention that I followed my own advice, and when my friend Sharon called me from Walgreens to ask if I needed anything, I told her I needed a $10 baby pool. Done. [...]
[...] Activity #455: Wrap your baby and stay warm – See picture. Activity #38: Learn baby massage – I took a free class at Elephant Pharm this week. Next one is Aug 28. Activity #494: Build a better Kleenex box – I sent a personalized Kleenex box with a picture of my baby to all three grandmothers. Activity #17: Soothe that baby – Validating that a swaddled baby naps longer. Activity #92: Go to the theater where crying is allowed – Scarlett’s first movie was Hairspray! Activity #122: Say “Yes, thank you.” – I am pleased with myself because when my seven months pregnant friend Lisa asked how she could help, I told her to come over and hold Scarlett for 20 minutes while I go drive Julian to school. I’m proud of myself for saying “yes” to the help. Activity #100: Get a pedicure – Heather and Milo came, too, and we sat in spa chairs while the babies sat in their carseats. Activity #205: Meet a monkey at the zoo – Ok, this was really for Julian’s benefit, but the result of being #2 is that you get to go to the zoo when you are just a few weeks old. Activity #361: Make some easy kids pants – I made a pair of tiny tiny pants for my tiny tiny girl out of a cute pink tshirt. It took about twenty minutes. Super fun to tell people I made them when they comment. [...]