Conversations With Charissa

One of the things I read in a lot of baby books was that I need to be talking to Charissa on a regular basis. And not just rambling on and on, but having "conversations" with her so that she knows that when people talk there is a pattern of exchanges (i.e. one person talks and another responds). Surprisingly, this is something that is very difficult for me to do and I have to constantly remind myself to talk to her. It doesn't help that she is also extremely quiet unless she's crying so she's not exactly lending herself to conversation. The other thing that makes this difficult is that I don't know what to talk to her about. Someone told me to just dialogue what I'm doing with her, but that's hard too because I don't normally talk about getting dressed. I'm not really inspired to say, "Here comes the onesie! And now we're putting on the dress ... and now the first sock ... and the second sock ..." I do it sometimes - but it's just not my nature to be "cutsie" like that. Don't get me wrong - I love babies and I'm extremely fond of my own, but I've never been that person that gets in a silly voice and talks about their toes. I'm more of the person who says, "Wow ... that was a lot of spit-up! Do you like to spit-up? Is that your favorite hobby?" and other random comments. (I realize that as my daughter grows to be able to understand what I'm saying I'm going to have to SERIOUSLY reign in the sarcasm.)

So what do I talk to Charissa about? Let me give you a few sample conversations we've had this week.

C: WHAAAAA!!!
B: Are you so so hungry?
C: WHAAAA!!! WHAA WHAA WHAA!!
B: You want chocolate milk? I'm sorry but it doesn't come in chocolate.
C: WHAAAAAAAA!!!
B: A pina-colada? No you cannot have a pina-colada either! It'll be a long, long time before you have a pina-colada.
C: WHAAA!!
B: Well I'm sorry that you're upset, but you're just going to have to be ok with regular milk for now.


B: Whatcha thinking about?
C:
B: I have also often wondered why your clothing comes with pockets.
C:
B: I know, I know. What do you put in them?
C:
B: You're right, your pacie is probably the only thing you would be able to fit in there.
C:
B: Hmm ... doesn't fit. So it seems that pocket is pretty much useless.
C:
B: Well thank you! It's so nice that you appreciate me carting all your stuff around for you.
C:


Yes, I do enjoy my little chats with Charissa. For the most part she's a great listener and only occasionally falls asleep when I'm talking to her.

Stay tuned for more totally ridiculous conversations!!