Baby Lust and Birth Control

This is my nephew. . .

See his little chubby cheeks? And the red feathery hair reminds me of my son when he was tiny.

There is baby neck snuggling. And buttery soft skin. And little hands that cling like starfish.

This is the sweetness of babies that is at the heart of baby lust.

And this is birth control reasserting its way back into my rational mind.

See my nephew? He is sitting in the SnuggleEgg, watching the big kids hunt Easter eggs at my mother and dad's house.

See the look on his face? His mother just went around the front of the house. And he is what we colloquially call 'strange'. As in, "He's ten months old now; he's a little strange with people."

"Where is she? I don't think I can survive without her! I'm stuck in this damn SnuggleEgg, and everyone is laughing and it's not funny and where is she???"

"Why aren't you people helping me in my time of need???"

Every time my sister moved out of his eyeshot, this child cried heartbreakingly. And that is enough to remind me that I've have gone through this with my own sweet babies and that I'm glad that we all made it though in one piece. I don't want to go back there again.

See that man in the background? He's glad that the birth control wins over the baby lust. He the one who had to stay with two crying babies every time I went to work, to class, or to Target to find some sanity. And he's glad that our kids are not strange anymore.