The first few days after we brought Joseph home our little baby was confined to a light bed because his bilirubin levels were a little high. That was a horrible experience for us because he had to spend as much time in that bed as possible and could not be taken out unless it was for a feeding or a diaper change. It broke our hearts and took all of the stuff that we are made of for us not to pick him up and hold him as our tiny new baby cried his helpless cry. Of course we "broke the rules" a couple of times and held him anyway. Well because of the circumstances we had everything we needed in our bedroom: bassinet, breast pump, bottles, blankets. And we did everything in there: watched tv, fed the baby, talked on the phone, ate all our meals, and generally hung out in there.
Once we could take Joseph out of the cursed light bed we stayed in our safe little cocoon of a bedroom. I guess it was mostly out of convenience but probably also because we were so overprotective of our baby that the idea of venturing out into the rest of the world or the rest of the house (for that matter) with him in tow scared us a little. Before we knew it winter had arrived, we had missed a whole season, and our little brick home is a little chillier in the winter. But of course not our little cocoon that is very cozy, and might I add a little cramped at the moment, but also very warm. It certainly doesn't hurt that we are equipped with cable in there.
About a month ago a volunteer from a community program called Parents as Teachers came over. When she walked into our living room and looked around she had a surprised look on her face. I immediately understood why and explained that the lack of baby paraphernalia was due to us more or less living out of our bedroom. I was telling someone this story recently and they asked "Why?" I said "I don't know, I guess it just seems easier right now."
Unfortunately, there really is no good excuse anymore to remain holed up in our little cocoon. Soon we will move the pack'n'play into the living room. Eventually Joseph's playmats will end up on the floor of the den. Someday we can expect to see our dining room turned into a little play universe of his own. And then eventually one day he will bound out the front door to greet his friends down the block. And I fear, somewhere down the road he will pack up all his grown up toys and go off to college. And even later than that it might seem even less often that he actually graces our rooms with his presence, and perhaps only briefly, just to turn around, plant a kiss on our cheeks and walk out into the universe on his own...
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Though it may seem ridiculous to others and even a tad phobic, I think that at least for now we will continue to enjoy our little universe.
