New areas of expertise

Before you have a baby, people (all kinds of people!) find it necessary to tell you helpful things like "this will totally change your life" and "you have no idea what this will really be like" and "it's such a magical experience." I don't know about any magic, but I do know that having a kid changes you in many ways... let's focus on one today, shall we? I'll call it "new areas of expertise."

As a non-parenting child-free adult, you certainly have areas of expertise. They may be related to your job, your hobbies, what have you. As a parent, you somehow become immediately fluent on all kinds of unlikely topics. Here's a sampler:

1. Baby poop
2. The breast vs. bottle debate
3. The "cry it out" question
4. Solid food time lines and recipes
5. Vaccines and their link to autism
6. Baby sign language
7. Teething
8. Crawling and cruising
9. The best brands of teething biscuits
10. "Green" baby options

And on and on...

And lots more... I reflect on this right now because I just got back from the park. Elizabeth and I were walking with two other mom-baby pairs. And as I think back over our conversation (the moms', not the babies'), I realize that all three of us had taken on the air of "one who knows." There was quoting of experts, mentions of books we'd read and websites we'd used, an extensive dissection of the various pediatricians at our group practice and how we found them in relation to several of the topics listed above. It's bizarre. And sometimes stifling, because I fear that I might be running out of "non baby" things to discuss with others.

No matter. I need to go check in on my favorite baby food website and see where I'm going next with my daughter's food plan. Rock on weaning.