Finley’s definition of a good book is in how good it tastes. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of his favourites and is a staple of pre-bedtime reading. It is also one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read, for reasons I could spend an entire post discussing. I’m still trying to get a handle on who “the old lady whispering ‘hush'” really is.
Today’s cartoon is cribbed from a throwaway gag in The Muppet Movie, arguably the best film of all time. Here’s the clip:
This one’s been on high rotation since the beginning. Surprisingly, it hasn’t lost it’s shine. My advice to new parents? Choose a song you actually like, ’cause you’re gonna hear it a lot…
The parenting books are rife with tips on feeding, napping, and hygiene, but they don’t provide new parents with the most significant impact caring for a newborn will have on the household: the laundry. I swear this stuff just grows in piles around our house like a bad mould. I don’t know where it all comes from and I don’t know how to get rid of it.
There’s nothing quite like a good birth story to bring women together. I guess reliving the trauma of labour again and again and again is in some way therapeutic.
Anyway, congrats to A.G. on the delivery of a bouncing baby girl! (Well, maybe not bouncing yet – those newborn necks are a bit floppy). All the best!
Laura has said on a number of occasions that she wished more women talked about recovery after labour. It seems that everyone is so fixated on labour because of the intensity of the experience and the anticipation of the baby’s arrival, that they forget to tell you that you that there’s a whole world o’ pain and discomfort awaiting once that sucker’s out!
I suppose our friend and Laura Knows Best guest star A.G. will soon find out first hand in a matter of hours. She’s in labour as I write this, and I have a feeling why things have been so slow for her is due to the delay in getting this strip out. Sorry, A.G.!
Apart from the Flintstones theme song, these were the only songs I used to sing Finley when he was first born, mainly because they were the only songs whose lyrics I knew. Sadly, none of these songs have had the staying power that something like “The Wheels on the Bus” has had. At least I tried…
Gentlemen, a word of advice: don’t call your wife ‘the Milk Lady.” I’m just glad we can all laugh about it now.
First off, a very Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers out there! Having now experienced what mothers go through before, during and after birth, I’d argue that there’s no good reason why we shouldn’t be celebrating mothers 365 days a year (and 366 every four). That said, I’d probably go broke buying flowers, and breakfast in bed would no doubt lose its novelty.
This week’s strip takes us back to the first few weeks of Finley’s life, which pretty much looked like this day in and day out. What impressed me most was Laura’s resilience in the face of exhaustion and recovery from labour. I don’t recall ever hearing her complain and she always made Finley feel as if he was the most important person in her life, regardless of the time of day (or night). I guess that’s what being a mom is all about!
For all of you long-time followers of Laura Knows Best – welcome back! Hopefully you’re as excited to read this latest series of strips as I am to make ’em! It’s taken awhile for me to adjust to life with a new baby, but hopefully I’ll be able to keep things on track for the near future. For those of you discovering the strip for the first time, buckle in and check out the archive to catch up on all that’s happened before!
See you on Sunday for a special Laura Knows Best Mother’s Day moment!
Laura Knows Best 