Giggle as You Grow
Allie on the advantages of amusement

From easing the queasies to suppressing stretch marks, from remedying reflux to taming teething pain, the progression of pregnancy to parenthood mandates relief.
Ginger. Zofran. Acetaminophen. Amoxicillin. Mylicon. Zantac.

Pick your medicine, any medicine. Me? Barring infections -- and even then -- write up a secondary prescription, Doc. Give me laughter.

When I was plurally pregnant, you can easily imagine the inundation of advice vociferously dispensed. Get them on a schedule. Sleep when they do. Ask for help. Perhaps none was as beneficial or as oft-repeated as this: Keep your humor.

Once a new baby arrives, we care for, coo to and declare our love in abundance; but we also make faces, rub noses and blow raspberries on those soft-skinned, sweet-smelling bellies. The punch line? Our instinct to elicit laughter from a little one is as compulsive as a comedian’s irresistible attraction to an open mic night. Silliness is always better shared.

Stocking the family pharmacy with a generous supply of jollity can work curative wonders on the sleep-deprived, stressed and tot-tested.

Make your home and heart safe havens of mirth and merriment.