The last couple of days have been a blur of unpacking boxes, putting contact paper in cupboards, and flattening boxes. Every time we move, I’m amazed at how much stuff we own.
My dear little baby hasn’t been getting much attention, and I’ve been trying to come up with ways to keep her occupied.
Yesterday I was struggling with my first experience with contact paper, and it wasn’t going well. At all. It was sticking to everything it shouldn’t, and my daughter was whining and fussing away. A light bulb went off in my head, and I ran upstairs to grab the subject of my brilliant idea: the Johnny Jump Up!
Our Johnny Jump Up used to keep her occupied for large amounts of time. She didn’t necessarily jump the entire time, but enjoyed the freedom to move around a bit while being supported. The problem with our last place was that there were no door frames except in the bedrooms, and we spent most of our time in the living room. In our new place, however, there’s a frame in every doorway.
I quickly put up the Jump Up, slid her in, and she went to town, jumping, standing, and keeping busy. No more crying, no more whining – just a happy baby.
I finally finished in the kitchen, picked her up, and went to spend time time playing on the floor in the living room. I was on the phone when I noticed something that horrified me.
She had two huge, round, raw marks on each of her big toes. They looked exactly like blisters that had been rubbed so hard that the skin came off. Wait… they were blisters that had been rubbed so hard that the skin came off.
The floor underneath the Johnny Jump Up is linoleum. My baby was barefoot while she was jumping. Her big toes are what she uses to push off the ground when she jumps. One plus one equals two.
So, while I was happily arranging my kitchen, relieved that my daughter was keeping busy, the poor thing was earning herself a pair of huge blisters. The ironic part is that she never so much as hinted that she was in pain during or after the jumping session. I never thought to check whether the hard floor was hurting her feet because she seemed so happy.
I guess the Mother-Of-The-Year Award will have to wait until next year.