Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Dmitri has Two Mommies

Before we let our minds get away from us, this is not "The Feminist Housewife comes out of the closet" or "The Feminist Housewife's Husband is getting a sex-change"....Although, I am sure those would make for some interesting conversations.

Rather, it's the story of Dmitri and his two mommies. Because you see, Dmitri refuses to have a daddy. He knows who "Daddy" is (although he can't seem to figure out WHY I continue to call him that). No, Dmitri is adamant. David and I are both named "Mama." Or, more like MOMMa. I'm not exactly sure why Dmitri has decided this. I keep thinking it's just a little phase and he'll probably switch back to "Daddy." But this has been going on for a while, several months now.

Neither David nor I are the least bit worried about it. But it is incredibly comical when Dmitri screams "MOMMa" at the top of his lungs and runs to David in the middle of a restaurant...We receive some quizzical looks. I would like to read into it a little more. Maybe it's because Dmitri views us as equal parents, or as the same person, or that he does not distinguish on the basis of gender, but rather on love.

Or maybe he is just a toddler who asserting his own opinion on names. Or, he's just confused. No matter what the reason, as a feminist parent, I cannot help but get a little smirk on my face every time he says "MOMMa".

17 comments:

Cate said...

Hahahaha! That is hilarious. My toddler does a similar thing, but with "dada." She CAN say mama, but doesn't say it unless she's really upset or feeling really playful. And her favorite word is still "woof" (as in, "what do doggies say?")

the cape on the corner said...

ok, picturing him yelling mama and running to daddy is hysterical! i love how you described it-doesn't distinguish based on gender. it makes my own feminist heart skip a beat!

Unknown said...

Ha! This made me laugh this morning...
I hope that his little toddler mind is refusing to succumb to gender biases in society. :-) Amazing!

the girl in the red shoes said...

Too funny! Yet cute at the same time!

Anonymous said...

Haha! I think that's pretty cute. I would not worry about it at all.

Womandriver2@gmail.com said...

My son is 22 months and will still call his daddy momma from time to time. He does call him daddy most of the time but there are days when he is momma... all day long.
Or, if he hears me call him, (I yell Hooonnnneeey)... that is then his name for the next hour or two. He did this at a Chinese Restaurant a few weeks ago. His daddy went to refill his plate and Aiden yelled Hooneeeyyy across the place. People giggled all around us.

Curly-T said...

That is awesome. My daughter went through a phase where she would only call her daddy by his first name. That always got some interesting looks.....

Rebecca@This Present Life said...

That's pretty funny! And I'm glad your husband has a good sense of humor about it :) This will be a funny story to tell Dimitri when he's getting married (isn't that what we save all of those "embarrassing stories" for???).

Adriana said...

Too funny and cute! I think it may just be that he sees you both in the same way, two loving parents named momma! I'm going through the same thing with JD, he insists that all teddy bears are babies and no matter how many times we tell him we can't change his mind!

Mama Gone Green said...

Cute! Finn went through a phase (that lasted several months) where he would only call me Taryn and his dad Todd. It was cute and funny at first, but I eventually had to explain to him that I would only respond to him when he called me mom. I know he was just exploring with the first name concept, but I really missed being called "mama"..

Unknown said...

children are the funniest! things they say and do are just amazing.

kathleen xx

Sheena Louise Roetman said...

I don't think it's anything to worry about -- if anything it's probably a good thing because it may mean that David is contributing just as much to Dmitri's upbringing and care as you are!

On the flipside, one of the children I used to sit for would call his parents by their first names only. At first it was just kind of sweet and quirky, but it became worrisome throughout the years when it never stopped and he became... shall we say... a nightmare. Let's just say he doesn't recognize authority well, and has no respect for adults whatsoever. :/

Megan said...

my dear friend's son calls both her and his daddy "mama" and think it's wonderful. he loves them both as a mommy. there is plenty of time for differentiation based on genders, roles, names... but right now he loves you both has his parental unit! (although if my Pie started calling me daddy, i don't know how I'd feel about it!)

Anonymous said...

Too Cute! I've actually had friends with kiddos who did the very same thing... I think it's kinda normal believe it or not! Ha!

Kara said...

haha, this is hilarious!! I love how little kids are just so...honest...about the way they see the world. If Mommy is his caretaker, he's got two Mommies! Too cute!!

I'd love to have a birthing plan before we go in...I'm hoping I'll get all that figured out in my last trimester...right now I'm happy when I remember to put actual clothes on before getting in the car. TWICE I've driven out of my driveway to turn around and drive back home because I still had my pjs on...and tennis shoes. Oiy, this pregnancy brain thing is no joke!!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Sharstin said...

so funny! toddlers are the best! happy weekend~

Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking said...

This is so funny. How cute! He sounds like such a sweetie.