Parenting via TV

Last night while I was drifting off to sleep at about 11:45, knowing that 5:06am was going to come all too quickly, the ever faithful DVR’d version of Monster’s Inc was playing on our bedroom tv.  Proof that one of the minions had insisted on falling to sleep in mama’s bed instead of her own.  I flashed back to when I was pregnant with said minion and reminisced about all of the tv shows I used to have time to keep up on and enjoy on a regular basis.

During the last term of my pregnancy I was pretty much bed bound, and Annabelle only went to preschool on Mon & Tues, so it only made sense to spend the rest of the week hanging out and catching the latest episodes of Tori & Dean’s Home Sweet Hollywood, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, and of course TLC’s The Baby Story, supplemented with Days of Our Lives, and if really desperate or in the early am, The Food Network.  Diabetes or not, how can you not love Paula Deen?  And the husband from The Neelys??  Yummo!

While my sweet Belle has owned my heart from the first day I saw her in the NICU, all teeny, tiny, red and sick, it was really over that summer that I fell in love with her all over again.  It was lying in bed watching the famous table flipping scene from the RHONJ that we bonded for good.  She was the first person to tell me that a water birth was really the way to go, since the babies came out cleaner that way, and clearly, who wouldn’t want to have their brand new baby come out all clean and shiny versus cheesy and icky?  She explained to me that Dean loves Tori so much because she cooks really well, throws great parties and really knows how to decorate a house.  In between trips down the stairs to stock up on Diet 7up and popsicles, we discussed the pros and cons of Extreme Couponing, and whether Carol’s Corner Café was worthy of a visit from Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive Ins & Dives.  After snacking, we would doze peacefully, her woodstove of a body cooking and snoring away as I would watch her sleep.  Waking up to watch Oprah and see what Dr. Phil & Nate Berkas’ latest pitches were was a great way to start the afternoon.  We would head down to the kitchen to try out new food network recipes for Daddy & T’s dinners. 

To this day, Annabelle loves movies, and tv as well.  She always has.  I really don’t watch anymore, but I have to admit, every time she grabs the iPad and snuggles down to watch something from Netflix, my heart skips a beat and I remind myself of those days, that seem like so long ago.  I remember looking at her tiny, baby hands, the only chubby part of her body, blink and look at my now 7 yr old who is becoming a young woman.  Mind blowing.  I know that I should not worry about baths, jammies, vitamins and etc, and just snuggle in and watch with her.  Even if it is another freaking episode of The Suite Life.