Am I OBSESSED with my baby?

Have you ever felt that you’re losing your mind once you become a mom? Of course, most of us have felt that a dozen times. But has anything like losing things happened to you? Basically, I am not an extremely organized person but I do manage keep my possessions in place. I do end up searching for stuff inside my home most of the times but I always have important things in place, like my wallet, my cards, my mobile and the basic stuff like that.

But in the past year, I ended up misplacing things so badly that people around looked at me with a bewildered expression, “Are you really normal? Is this woman nuts?” with my husband telling me, “I should get myself checked.” I laughed at all the comments and went through living my life. Just recently, I dropped my debit card at a parking lot, unaware that I had lost it until I got a call from a random stranger to collect it.

As I drove to collect my lost card (which I hadn’t discovered until I got the call), I wondered for the life of me, how was I getting irresponsible. My mother commented, “Either you are obsessed with the baby or you are probably a lazy woman who cannot get her day organized.” I let out a small laugh denying that I wasn’t obsessed with my baby, I simply loved him too much. And I wasn’t lazy either, there were a list of things I got done in my day.

I made a list in my head. Things I lost over the past year which I miraculously found.

1.       My mom’s passport – we had been to a trip to Ashville and I somehow missed the handbag which contained my mom’s passport. Thirty minutes later, when we began a search in the same place. We found it!!! (Husband very angry, though).

2.       My Smartphone – We were at a mall doing some shopping. With the baby and a diaper bag, I lost my most prized possession, my new S6 on a couch. 15 minutes later, I began to hunt and there it was, untouched, waiting for me.

3.       My Smartphone (again) – we were returning from Vegas when we halted at a gas station for a break. Few minutes later, husband asks for my cell phone. I tell him, “I don’t know. It must be in the bag.” He dials my number and finds a stranger answering that he found it at the restroom of the gas station.

4.       House keys – we are at Costco. Once I tie my baby up in the shopping cart and hand him his favorite snack, I have no idea when the keys slipped from my hand. Back at home, I am hunting into my handbag when I realize my keys are missing. We drive back up to Costco and find them from a thoughtful human being.

5.       My debit card – after shopping at Dollar tree, rather pleased with myself for spending only $17 and having two large bags filled, I open my trunk and stuff the things inside. I buckle up the baby in his car seat and drive off, blissfully unaware that I had just dropped my card on the ground. Two hours later, I get a voicemail that tells me my card is with them and that I can collect it. I hunt inside my purse and find that, my card is indeed missing.

I   I am terribly glad that all the things have somehow been returned to me but I can’t help wondering why I manage to lose stuff. I wondered if I could be obsessed with my baby, without me realizing it.So, I made another list of what goes into my head during a typical day.

     My hazy, blurry thoughts.

1.         Get up in the morning. Brush and decide baby’s menu. What will he like to have for breakfast?
2. ·         Baby awake. Play with him, brush his teeth and try stuffing him with food.
3. ·         An hour later, again try to feed him something because he must be hungry.
4. ·         My mom explains, “You need to give him time before he gets hungry. He needs to digest food to be able to eat.”
5. ·         I nod at her in agreement. Few minutes later, I am secretly feeding him bits of food which he spits out instantly.
6. ·         Give baby a bath, apply cream, apply oil, comb his hair and dress him up.
7. ·         Check his diaper every one hour.
8. ·         Give him water which he spits out, give him some fruit which he spits out.
9. ·         Let him wander around. Keep an eye on him as he puts random things into his mouth.
10. ·         Switch off the TV because article says TV spoils baby. My mom says, “Try to be realistic. A little TV won’t kill him.”
11. ·         I don’t agree and spend all my energy in reading books and playing with all the toys. In short, compete with TV.
12. ·         Lunch time – try to stuff food into this mouth which he throws out. I get pissed and angry.
13. ·         Few minutes later, I calm down and try feeding him again because he needs to have his greens and pulses. Sometimes, baby co-operates. Other times, he drives me mad.
14. ·         Before baby naptime – I am desperately waiting for him to sleep so that I can relax for a while.
15. ·         After baby naps – I am constantly thinking, “oh, he is gonna wake up any minute. What can I get done before he wakes up?”
16. ·         Once baby is up, stuff him with food, check his diaper, let him play for a while and repeat the process all over again.
17. ·         Once we are out in the car, I am constantly throwing orders as I drive. “Give him a snack. Give him some water, give him his toy. Give him this….give him that….”

To make sure I wasn’t over doing it, I browsed Google (my good old pal) and found that a term called “Mommy Brain” existed. Pregnant moms and new moms end up forgetting things often because dealing with a baby can be overwhelming at times. Wow, I am surprised that the term exists.

For now, I am going to laugh it off because I am not an obsessed woman, I am merely in love with my son which most mothers are.

First things first, things to do on my list –

1    Let baby live his life.

2      Get a life of my own.

I wonder if that’s even possible, duh!

       About the Author : Chital Mehta loves to explore new books. After becoming a mother, she started this blog to share her experiences as a mother. Apart from being busy with her baby, she makes times for writing, reading and watching movies. She has authored 4 fiction novels. You can find details on her facebook page :Chital Mehta facebook

Write to her : chitalmehta1987@gmail.com