Bunch Family

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

I didn’t worry too much about my toddler going to see a pediatrician for his delay in speech. My family doctor has always been very thorough and would rather get a specialist involved then blow something off. Even when the pediatrician wanted to see my son again three months later, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I couldn’t come to the first appointment but I made sure to come to the second, armed with a mother load of questions like, well, most mothers.

The appointment was casual. The pediatrician viewed my son playing and interacting with us. She asked a few questions, we asked a few. When she measured his head, checked the range of motion of his hips and looked at his frank and beans, I questioned it, but didn’t get much of an answer.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

Daddy is officially my son’s favourite parent. I knew it was coming. I saw the signs. We can both make Jr. laugh, but it’s Daddy who usually gets the I’m-laughing-but-I’m-not-making-a-sound-just-shaking-because-it’s-so-funny laughs while I usually get the pity tee-hees. We can both rock our son to sleep at night, but it’s usually Daddy’s rocking that takes Jr. to Zzz town. I was coming to terms with all of this, but what happened last week was too much for my heart to bare.

After spending a weekend tearing up our basement and only getting to see my son for two hours or less a day during the week, I realised I needed to take some time off school to be with my family. It was getting hard to focus on respiratory pathologies when all I could think about were fish kisses from my lil’ man. And different kinds of kisses from my big man. I decided to stay home from school for a few days so my family could enjoy my company, and my classmates could enjoy some time away from me.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

Sure, Christmas is alright. There’s tasty baked goods, family dinners, A Christmas Story and gifts, but where’s the spookiness? Yes, a large man dressed in Coca-Cola colours creeping around and eating your cookies is a tad spooky, but it’s no Halloween. October 31st has ghosts, goblins, freaks and free candy. The Pettit household loves Halloween so much, we’re planning on making a eerie advent calendar filled with ghoulish goodies to help count down the days.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

Ahhhhh yes, Thanksgiving long weekend. Just kicking back and thinking about everything I’m thankful for. Show up at a relative’s place, eating enough to audition for Woman vs Food, finding room for dessert and napping on the couch. This is what Thanksgiving used to be like before Jr. came along.

This Thanksgiving we had to have three family dinners. Three. Back-to-back. There were no couch naps. There was barely any couch sitting. Two dinners were at family member’s homes. Homes with drawers full of knives and ground level plants and pets that expect petting and not fur pulling. One dinner was at our place. I made the traditional Thanksgiving tuna casserole, which is tuna, peas, a can of mushroom soup and plain potato chips. My mom made this every year for decades since we didn’t eat turkey, and she has passed the Thanksgiving tuna torch on to me.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

I have multi level to-do lists. What to do this hour, this day, this week, this lifetime. I’ve always written to-do lists, even after I forgot one at my first job and my co-workers and boss read the day to-do list which included “shave everything.”

As I wrote an updated life to-do list during a particularly boring class, I was trying to figure out when the best time to have a second child would be. Working for a while before working on #2 would be nice. It feels like forever since I’ve seen the bank account go up instead of down. I think it might be hard to get into my career and pull out of it just as it’s picking up. Establishing a career and having #2 a few years later would be hard as well. I’d be scared of losing clients and, let’s face it, I’m no spring chicken. Trying to start a career with a giant belly might scare people away. I started seriously considering getting pregnant this week.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

Each marriage is a tiny society with its own rules, laws and regulations. Something that’s enjoyed by one couple might be punishable by death (or castration) in another relationship. There are minor offenses and crimes that can tear societies apart. Adding children means more rules and regulations have to be created so the society can run smoothly, or as smooth as it can with the addition of lawless savages.

George and I weren’t married for long before I was pregnant, but we had lived together for a while. Our living, breathing society had its basement membrane all laid out. We both enjoy telling the other everything, and I mean everything. The time someone in a stall beside me said “pssst” and I said “yes” even though it turned out to be the person’s fart I was talking to? My husband was the first to hear about it. I say the same stuff to my friends that I do to George and that works for us. Some societies need a little more mystery and less fart stories.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

I like to think of myself as a social person. I have no problem chatting with strangers at a party. Stick me at the wedding table with the randoms and I’ll be busting a move to Beyonce with my new friends before the bouquet toss. But talking with other parents while I’m out with my toddler is something I haven’t quite mastered yet.

Some might think that having a child makes you less social because you’ll be staying in a lot more. Sure, you probably won’t be bar hopping with your friends every weekend, but you will be going to the park an awful lot, and you will be talking with other parents.

Jr. loves seeing other children and has no problem going up to them. His version of being social is squealing and flapping his arms around. While this goes on, I talk to the adult that is accompanying the child my son is flapping for.  Read more...

Megan Pettit‘s other half fills in this week

Look, I’m hardly Bill Cosby. I’m a young dad who is largely figuring this whole thing out as he goes along. So now that I have provided my disclaimer I will offer what little advice I have.

Don’t panic. That’s not to say a little fear isn’t good for you. In fact, I would say that the fear is paramount. It becomes the driving force that will make you a half decent father.

I remember the first night my boy came into this world. Megan was resting post op and I was the bumbling moron left in charge of a brand new, 9pound 14 oz baby boy. It wasn’t long before I faced my first parental challenge.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

Cloth or disposable diapers? It didn’t really matter to me. One hundred percent organic cotton onesies or hand-me-downs?  As long as my baby was comfortable, he wore whatever was clean. I didn’t have much of an opinion when it came down to baby supplies or child rearing, but I was hellbent on breastfeeding.

Not only is it nutritionally excellent and a wonderful bonding experience, breastfeeding also appealed to qualities I posses: cheapness and laziness. Formula is expensive. If your child has any allergies or is sensitive, it’s even more expensive. Plus, formula and bottles are in a different room that the bed or couch isn’t in. No thanks.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

I might take some flak for saying this but here it goes: toddlers are assholes. They are demanding, volatile, moody, selfish assholes. Don’t get me wrong, I love my 19-month-old son, but if he was a friend I would avoid his calls.

Most of the time Jr. is very loving. He gives lots of hugs and kisses and smiles at every person on the street. We have fun at the park and under the sprinkler. George and I have an unspoken competition going on to see who can make Jr. laugh more.

It’s all smiles and giggles until the toddler does not get his way. Gone are the days when we can distract him from eating/destroying something by giving him a bright, loud toy. Each toy now gets approximately four seconds of my toddler’s time before he launches it across the room. The bright colours and noises are clues that they are items he should be playing with, which is why he zeros in on the unassuming remotes, cellphones and books with only words in them.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

The long weekend was ideal to head to the cottage for the first time this year. The weather was perfect, the traffic wasn’t bad and I even got out of school early on Thursday. Yup, just kicking back by the lake with some BBQ, drinks and a toddler.

One of those things doesn’t belong at the cottage.

It was around 11pm when we arrived and Jr. had been sleeping in the car for an hour. I left a scroll of a to-do and to-bring list for my husband and he remembered everything except the Pack ‘n Play. We thought it wouldn’t be a big deal since our offspring is such a great sleeper. We were wrong.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

I played hookie from school and went to the zoo with George and Junior. We figured Owen would get a kick out of seeing the animals since he loves our cats so much. His first word was ‘cat’ after all..  Luckily for the animals, they would be out of his reach so he couldn’t get pull-y with their tails like he does with our poor and patient cats.

We envisioned Owen staring at each creature with mouth agape but that’s not exactly what happened. Sure Owen looked at some animals. He even waved at a few. But he’s 17 months old and waves to the toilet paper butt bears on commercials. If George and I were honest with ourselves, that trip to the zoo was for us.  Read more...