Day Two: How to Get Rid of Baby Fever

Blouse: Cynthia Rowley via TJ Maxx Pants: NY&C Flats: Payless Necklace: From Mom

Ugh I need a haircut.  This weekend...fingers crossed!

For the second day of the Blog Every Day in May challenge, the prompt is to write a "how to."  I had many thoughts, such as how to survive an endoscopy (yes, that's me in the video...please don't judge too harshly...), how to take awkward outfit pictures, or how to talk like a Minnesotan (seriously, I'll vlog some time and you'll see how bad my accent is), but I decided on something else much more pressing...

I've always loved children and have wanted to be a mother some day.  However, with both Kevin and I being in graduate school and working, this isn't the right time for us to start growing our family.  I get a wicked case of baby fever pretty regularly, but I've learned ways to cope with it.  I'm here to share my wisdom with you all today.

Me and my cousin about 2 years ago.

1. Borrow someone else's baby.  I am lucky enough to have a few friends and family members who have babies and toddlers, and I love to spend time with them and their children.  I get to play with them, snuggle with them, teach them things, but ultimately, I get to send them home with their parents at the end of the day.  I've mentioned before that my mom does daycare, so I sometimes get to hang out with her and the baby she watches.  [I think that doing daycare for my mom is a way to stave off grandbaby fever, too ;)]

Snuggling with my mom and dad's dog, Piper, about a year and a half ago

2. Get a dog.  I've noticed that in the two years since we've had Pippin in our lives, I've contracted baby fever a little less.  I know she's just a dog, but I've definitely poured some of my maternal instincts into her, and she's just as cute and snuggly as a baby.  I have unconditional love for my dog, and I get to share it with Pippin all the time.  Again, I'm not comparing a dog to a child, but the desire to care for and love another being has partially been fulfilled by my sweet pup.

3. Watch videos of women giving birth. This, for me, is the quickest way to cure said baby fever.  Nooooo thank you.  Plus, Kevin and I are choosing to adopt our children (for many reasons), and watching birth videos just makes me more secure in our choice to adopt.  I honestly do not want to experience that.  Kudos to those who have gone through childbirth or who want to someday, but it really is just not for me. [I'm not attaching a video here...if you really want to see, that's what YouTube is for...]

4. Watch TV shows and movies about babies.  Have you seen the movie Babies?  Or watched any of those shows on TLC like A Baby Story?  Sometimes I watch things with babies in them just to get my baby fix.  Usually, it tides me over for a while, until I can actually interact with a real baby.  Be cautious with this one, though...sometimes it actually worsens the fever... :)

5. Picture your life as it is today...but with a baby added to the mix. I do this allll the time.  Right now, Kevin and I are super busy with school and work, as I mentioned above.  We know that it would be incredibly stressful to add in a baby.  Plus, we don't make very much money, and I know that children are expensive, so that's another factor.  We like the freedom to come and go as we want right now, and we understand that when you are a parent, you need to plan more.  We don't have to arrange for a babysitter (although, living on a college campus, there are plenty of built-in babysitters!  Oh yeah, I don't think I mentioned that Kevin works as a residence area coordinator, so we live on a college campus.).  I tend to be a realist, so when I start getting all baby feverish, I just have to remember the logistics and realities of our life situation right now and remember that this isn't the time or place for us to have a baby.

So, there you have it!  My five methods to curing baby fever!  Do any of you ever get baby fever?  What do you do to help get rid of it?

I'm also linking up with Marissa for the Pantone Color Challenge.  Today's color: Linen!