Radio IST List: Graham Williams
I Am So Popular: Love Me Doo-Doo
Book Festival Interview With Jonathan Foer
Fun Fun Fun Fest Previews: Street Dogs and Betaplayer
Wine: Austin Cellar Classic Is Tomorrow
The views expressed in Bun in the Oven are those of the author's and do not represent Austinist as a whole. -The Editors
Thirty-three-point-five weeks. Forty seven days 'til Baby J is officially due. Soon, I'll start counting the hours. As the go-live date approaches, my thoughts inevitably turn away from myself and exclusively towards my baby—her looks, her personality, her taste in men... When you don't have any kids, but you're suddenly faced with the realization that there's no getting around popping one out sometime within the next six to eight weeks, reading about other people's little monsters somehow launches itself right up to the top of your favorite leisure activities. To that end, I've recently grown addicted to the pervasive internet phenomenon called the baby blog.
There are hundreds of mamas and papas out there with lots of time on their hands—or, at least, enough stolen moments at the computer—who've created a rich virtual world of temper tantrums, poopy diapers, and impromptu performances of Itsy Bitsy Spider that'll melt the grinchiest of hearts. The best of the blogs are unabashedly honest—true confessions of off-the-cuff parenting. You'd think reading about someone's precocious ankle-biter would get old and annoying after, say, a day, but Austin has no shortage of creative, rebel parents who admit to the most hysterical of pranks and mishaps they experience with their kids.
Of these blogs, my current favorite is Flailing My Arms. Though most baby blogs are penned by women—often stay-at-home moms who have a little extra time and a lot of motivation (8-9 hours every day with a toddler...ya gotta do something to stay sane)—Flailing My Arms is written by a young, working dad with an interesting start to his adventures in fatherhood. It chronicles the lives of Jonathon, his sweetheart Lady-A, and his "toddler du defiance" Little-E, as they explore Austin and its surrounds. Jonathon makes no apologies for—indeed he revels in—Little-E's "punk rock" attitude towards life, regaling his readers with stories that leave them laughing to tears. A classic is the video grab and beautifully written description of hapless Little-E's Texas-sized-shit walk, with accompanying lyrics to Lavatory Man. You have to see it to believe it.
On the mama side of roughly the same fence is Haiku of the Day. Kari is mother to a little boy and a littler girl—the wee one and the wee-er one. Having already authored Haiku Mama, a well received book of 100 of the 17-syllable gems, Kari kicks off each post with a new haiku. From what I can tell, she's a leftist urban mom living in a rightist suburb (maybe even exurb), which leads to some pretty damn comical situations, such as resisting the urge to "yell 'Bill O'Reilly can suck it!' and run from the room" when voting yesterday. Her recent post about the wee one's encounter with an evil chair glider—necessitating a call to 911—is hysterical and harrowing all at the same time.
One of the blogs I read daily isn't about kids at all, but rather is written by a woman whose baby is due within days of mine. On Skipping~Down~the~Stairs, Katrina talks about facing single motherhood and being pregnant on a timeline that matches mine almost precisely. She's an interesting woman, and it's been a curious thing to get to know her via her blog. In particular, I enjoyed her comments about the rigors of changing back to her maiden name. Whenever I ask my husband to do something for me (well, okay, not every time because that's about 173 times each day, but often), I think of Katrina and what a pain in the ass it must be to gestate all on one's own.
For some bloggers, posting daily can be a challenge. To address this malaise, and inspired by NaNoWriMo, Fussy.org is sponsoring NaBloPoMo: National Blog Posting Month. I'm an official contestant, as is Petunia Town Girl. In the past her blog has had its sparse times (much like mine), but Alison has churned out some nice content lately, and I'm having fun seeing where she'll take things now that the gauntlet of daily posting has been thrown. Another blog I'm new to is Daddy Clay's Blog: it's only pee. Clay is a successful local playwright, and his style is fluid and chatty. Good stuff.
Lastly, I asked around to find out whether there are any high profile parent bloggers in town, and the name that came up most frequently was Marrit, author of Inconsolable: How I Threw My Mental Health Out With the Diapers and the blogger behind Baldo (the Wonder Baby). From what I can tell, Marrit continues to struggle with the mental health issues that have plagued her since giving birth (diagnoses, meds, etc.), all the while keeping a wry sense of humor about it. She includes some nice Austin content (references to local bands, current events, and the like), and drops in great stories about the life of Baldo and, say, his girlfriend. (Baldo is four.)
Taking in daily doses of baby blogs is a combination of meeting Austin moms and dads—virtually—and preparing myself for the realities of parenting. I often think if I can model myself after these funny, clever people, who never seem to take parenting too seriously, and who have an amazing knack for laughing at themselves even in the worst of times, then I'm pretty sure I can survive the perils of motherhood. Though sometimes...I wonder.
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It's not the worst thing in the world, going it alone. Not that it would be my choice for the next time (if there is a next time). If anything, I suppose it does mean I get less done, while still proving to myself that I can do some of the things and further the idea that I'm invincible. :)