Crawling by Elisha Cooper (a memoir of a father's first year)

Oakland, Baby Brigade at the Parkway theatre and a vision of traveling to exotic places like colorful Bunol, Spain totally stuck in my mind as I read the paperback Crawling by author Elisha Cooper. Oakland was significant for me in the book because I worked and lived in the bay area for 10 years so I felt like I could touch, taste and smell the spots Elisha frequented with Zoe (it made it more real).  Baby Brigade, a reserved time at the theatre where parents get to bring their screaming babies to see a recent new movie reminded me of what we call Mommy Matinees at McMenamins Kennedy Theatre here in Portland (where we moved 3.5 years ago).  Boy, do I remember being nervous not knowing what to expect with Isabella being 6 months old and taking her to see Miami Vice in a theatre with other people (yes, not a movie that was on my hot list to see and luckily the shooting & car chases disguised Isabella's screaching) but it turned out fine because there were other parents in the same boat as us!  The mention of Elisha's vision of traveling to Bunol and taking Zoe to the tomato throwing event just made me giggle because I would always imagine our new little family traveling internationally but just couldn't muster up the courage to deal with a crying baby on a 10 hour plane trip.  Although we didn't make it across the seas we made it to California numerous times by air but flying with a baby was not easy!  My husband and I swore we wouldn't let life with a baby keep us holed up at home and isolated...we vowed to still do most of the same things we did even with our new tiny bundle.  Now, Isabella is 17 months and we've managed to travel and do just about everything we had hoped to...a trip to Cabo San Lucas is next in February (a nice LONG, 5 hour plane ride where we hope our neighboring passengers bring a pair of ear plugs just incase Isabella decides to sing loudly)!

I could relate to Elisha's story and although a bit raw at times definitely true to life.  I found myself shaking my head and saying yes, that's how I felt or I'm sure my husband felt the same way.  Infact, my husband (Randy) would tell me sometimes how he hated when people (especially women) looked at him when he was alone with Isabella at the store and she started crying - they would look at him like he was a pathetic "male" person who had NO clue what he was doing with his baby daughter.  He so disliked those women and wished they had an inkling of how their facial expressions could sour his whole day.  This is a point Elisha captures vividly in his memoir as a new father and I know other new dads would give him a high five for!

I also appreciated the fact that Elisha's account of what a new mom goes through felt genuine.  He states "Mother's have issues - a balance of care and work and expectations more complex and difficult than anything men have...".  I believe (not just because I'm a new mom too) that this statement captures a topic that many women could go on and on about because motherhood is the toughest job any woman could ever take on in her life!  I know if you're a mom you feel me here.  There are days where you LOVE being a mom and then days where you just want to crawl underneath a rock and vanish off the face of the earth so you can have just a few minutes of beautiful silence.

So, if you're looking for a holiday gift or a treat to give to a new mom or dad I would definitely recommend Crawling  by Elisha Cooper.  I think many new parents will find themselves like me nodding, smiling and digging into their memory box of how life with a new little baby changed their lives forever.

Thanks to Elisha for capturing a genuine, honest and funny memoir that I bonded with through almost every chapter.

Elisha has written children's books and includes his art work check it out here.