Month 16: Is it Bedtime Yet?

My parents came to visit this weekend. My mom arrived with a complete fall wardrobe for Miles. He's now got a rugged quilted vest for outdoorsy activities, a sporty dump truck sweatshirt for the gym, and a crisp khakis-and-doggie sweater vest ensemble to wear to ... I don't know, his toddler book club?? The kid dresses better than I do, that's for sure.

We went out to dinner one night and my mom remarked that my flowy Old Navy top looked like a maternity shirt. And there I was thinking I was looking stylish for once! Anyway, we had a very nice weekend, filled with multigenerational fun. Which mostly consisted of sitting around watching Miles do funny things, like spin in circles and shout "Moo!" at any toy with a tail.

I have to admit I felt pretty vindicated when my mom, clearly exhausted, asked at 6:50 one night, "Is it his bedtime yet?" There's been many an evening when I counted the minutes until 7:30 p.m., a big bottle of wine waiting in the wings. Not that anyone accuses me of spending my days lying on the couch eating bon-bons ... but still, it's nice to have someone else recognize the rigors of my daily life.

The other day I called my neighbor around 3 p.m. to see if she and her 2-year-old were available for a playdate. Miles had woken up from his afternoon nap (1 -2:10 p.m.) and the long afternoon loomed. I thought the point of one nap is that kids sleep LONGER. Miles? Not so much. My neighbor called back at 4:30 and said, "Oh, we both just woke up from a 3-hour nap!" I hate her.

My pediatrician, however, never fails to remind me that I'm lucky I've got an all-night sleeper. Except for the fact that Miles wakes up before 7 a.m. EVEN ON WEEKENDS, I really can't complain. I mean I can, and I do. But it could be worse, I know. It's just that in my pre-baby life, I never knew how bad weekend morning shows were. And I was happy in my ignorance. Also, I relished late-night reruns of "The Fresh Prince." And now I can't even stay up past prime time. In fact, it's going on 9:30 p.m. I'm calling it a night.

TIP O' THE WEEK: I'd like to give a shout-out to some new moms: my real-world friend E.M. and her gorgeous girl, Luisa, and my virtual friend Dooneybug and her new baby girl! Congrats, ladies!!