Getting Real with Brittany Tiedmann
This year will be the first Christmas with our new baby. Since we had her in October, my husband and I had agreed that because she is so small we wouldn’t do gifts for her this year. Now before you jump down my throat here let me explain.
She will be around 2 months by the time Christmas is here. She doesn’t have the dexterity in her hands to open a gift – heck, she can barely control her head movement. She’s not wanting anything other than a bottle full of formula or her binky in life at the moment. On top of that, both my husband and I know that our families will go above and beyond with Christmas gifts for her because it has been a long time since there was a baby in either family.
Both our nieces and nephew are older and have gotten to the point of just wanting the gifts. So why should we bother in looking around for that PERFECT gift for her? It’s not like she will even remember it, plus my husband has to work on Christmas.
We did both agree to do the whole picture with Santa thing. They might be overly priced bad pictures that you get after spending an hour of your life waiting in line for just to sit next to some creepy old man, but we are doing them for her grandparents. I mean what grandparent wouldn’t love that for Christmas? We aren’t trying to be scrooges; we are just thinking practically.
Having a newborn is stressful enough; we don’t want to add to it. Along with that, the money aspect comes into play. We already have to buy gifts for those nieces and nephew, parents, and each other. We are NOT rich and have a lot of trips coming up in 2018.
But then it happened. As I was setting up the Christmas tree, I fell into society’s Christmas trap. I went and bought her some books to “open” on Christmas morning. I decided that even if she doesn’t remember it, I will, and I want to remember it as a first for her not just another day in December. I didn’t go crazy on the books, though; I just got a few. Plus, I try my hardest to read to her once a day so it’s like the gift that keeps on giving.
Even though she won’t remember it, I will remember that first Christmas cuddling up on the chair with her reading a book as she has her bottle.
