This Kid is My Kid, That Kid is Your Kid ...

Guh. See? Moments like this. Too wonderful to interfere.

I'm not a neurotic mom, in and of myself. But I am totally a neurotic mom socially. Now that my kid is wonderfully squirrelly, ever-exploring (and climbing or gumming), and close to 18 pounds, I feel as if he's - and I mean this in the best sense - a bit of a handful. You have to be focused when you're with him. You gotta hold on! 

For a while, I would be nervous whenever someone was holding him. Not for his sake - oh no, he's a tough guy - but for theirs! Thought after thought would be rattling through my mind. Do their arms hurt? Is he tiring them out? Is now the appropriate time to get them off the hook? Am I taking advantage of them by letting them continue to hold him??  

It's funny that I state this as past tense. Because it is in fact NOT past tense. My mind still runs wild like a crazy person whenever he's being entertained by someone else. 

But now I also have a sense of how loved he is. And it's just so wonderful. Not only is my kid stinking cute and so utterly handsome and friendly, but people do actually just love to know him. There are people who have known him as long as I have, who've been there through the pregnancy and the early stages of mom'ness. 

I had a (much needed, soooo refreshing) ladies' night last week, and my girl friends were telling me how much they look forward to spending time with him. They. Just. Love. My kid. And the funny thing is, I never really realized that. I always imagined people were doing me favors. Giving me a hand here and there with the care of my child. 

So now I'm torn, and my inner struggle is even worse. I laugh at myself a lot on the inside too. Trust me. Now, I wonder if people's arms are sore or if they're tired. But I also wonder if I'm just a crazy and they are actually really enjoying Steven. So now I can't figure out whether I should take him back and free them up - or if that would mean to deprive them of the joy he's bringing them - or if I should let them be and allow them to play and have fun - or if that means I'm being neglectful (which I doubt) or taking advantage of someone while they're struggling to keep my kid from jumping out of their arms or sweetly biting them in the shoulder or experimenting with his voice in church or ...

See how nuts I've become? I really have little discernment in this arena. I really don't understand well how people view other peoples children. I'm sure it depends on various factors, but in general, I have no idea what's appropriate.

So I guess I turn to you, blogosphere. How do you like to interact with other people infants? Do you view it as lending a helping hand, and - honestly - do you look forward to the time your contribution is fulfilled? Or do you have to resist the temptation to kidnap the child and love them forever? Does it depend on how well you know the kid? How social they are? If they're family?