The Beach Bassinet

Nantucket

It's quieter here this morning. My newborn grandson, Edward, has gone home.

Believe it or not, a bassinet is hard to find on this island ( probably a business opportunity ). So, I fashioned one out of a 1950s vintage chest of drawers.Aesthetics are more important to me than I know, so this began to be a mission to be sure this four week old infant had the best.

Everything smelled musty in the linen closet, so I washed everything that was going to touch his baby face. Somewhere in the disarray of the linen closet, I found blue and white striped sheets and pillow cases to match ( never sure about matchy-matchy at a beach house ) and a blue twin size blanket; stuffed the folded blanket lengthwise inside the pillow cases and made the base. Every bassinet needs a skirt along the sides, so I laid the blue striped twin sheet aroung the sides of the wooden drawer . Finally a bumper made of a pink/blue striped hand towel. And Voila. The beach bassinet par excellence.


I never consider myself a Martha Stewart type, but sometimes, with my son's sons, I find myself taking special care that everything is perfect. I guess it's just another way of saying "I love you" and I understand what you're up against so I want to do anything I can to make your life a little easier, to be a resource for you.

And, of course, I can DO those little extras now that I'm the Grammie without worrying about whether I'm going to get a full night's sleep for the next two years. Just one of the challenges of having a new configuration, a new person that inextricably changes the dynamic of the family.

Changes everything. I have always believed that with one child you can do anything really. But with two, well, with two, it's game over. The addition of one more child exponentially alters life as you know it. It's not just two sets of often competing needs, two car seats, two sets of toileting to attend to. It's the enormity of the task of doing it well--and--this is the hard one--it probably won't turn out like you expect. Mistakes abound, and still, somehow, those resiliant little people thrive.

Edward won't remember, but I'll tuck this shot away and pull it out some summer day in 2026 for him to see.

M.C.