Eliza’s Wardrobe:
Pleated Dress by Maternal America, Flat-Front Flare Pant by Chaiken.

Brought to you by: il cocco di mamma

INVASION OF THE INFANT
Eliza on reconfiguring romance in the baby daze

Allie, Sydney, Isabelle and I were pals long before we were Mamas. Actually, we were friends long before our husbands entered the picture. All along, we made efforts to maintain our close bonds, despite life-changes. Our camaraderie warrants working through the “tough times”... like when Sydney was virtually unreachable during a six-month photo shoot in Surinam… or when the typically tranquil Allie was amidst morning sickness, times two. If pressed, my gals might relay how unbearable I was following my session with a shall-go-nameless Hollywood colorist who wreaked havoc on my ’do.

True friendships deserve committed care. Marriages warrant nothing less. Traditional vows seem so all-encompassing the day they’re taken, but with the benefit of “we’ve had kids” hindsight, glaring omissions are apparent. I would like to submit the following addendum: For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. For sleepless nights, for usurped affections. You get the idea. Speak up now, my baby-bearing Sisters, or forever lose the peace.

When you babyproof your home, ingenious items are available to solidify your parental sense of security. Why not stockpile similarly appropriate accessories to babyproof your marriage?

I’m not suggesting you purchase products of a salacious nature (although it’s your option), or bribe your man with gifts to sate him due to your occasional emotional — and frequent physical — “absence.” Rather, collect accoutrements that encourage intimacy beyond the act that summoned the infant “intruder” in the first place. Rethink romance in the baby days by counting on the classics.

Seek out 20-minute interludes in which you can hold hands on the couch and listen to Rat Pack standards. Prepare — or better yet, order in — a shared favorite feast. Your honey loves “High Noon”? Get your inner Grace Kelly going and cuddle up with your gorgeous Gary Cooper.

Baby may be a welcomed “invader”; but war needn’t be the result. Thoughtful diplomacy works wonders.