To the New Moms This Branding Season

If roping with a baby is hard, that means you’re doing it right.

The sun is shining, the grass is growing, and baby calves are hitting the ground. After sitting out most of last year pregnant, you’re ready to get back in the saddle and limber up your roping arm.

But everything’s different now. Your baby is now on the outside and considerably more challenging to take care of. When he cries, you have to figure out if he needs milk, a clean diaper, another layer of clothing or a cuddle. She’s happy, and you want to stare at her face and memorize every slobbery smile and furrowed eyebrow.

But it’s branding season with long days of roping, visiting friends and eating cinnamon rolls in your chaps. How are you supposed to navigate this new normal? Can you rope, hustle on the ground, and take care of your baby all at the same time?  It feels like everyone is judging you and deciding whether you will receive a pass or fail grade in Ranch Mom 101.

Rest assured that no one is scrutinizing you. They’re too busy hoping no one noticed they missed three head loops in a row and making sure their horse holds the rope tight at the fire. If you’re branding calves with a crew who would rather “tsk tsk” a new mom than pay attention to the job at hand, you need to find yourself a higher caliber of cowboys to hang around.

Here are a few things I’ve learned during my years as a mom who likes to rope. I hope they help make your journey a little easier.

Put a Roping Glove in Your Diaper Bag

It’s OK if it’s wadded up and covered with cracker crumbs and applesauce on the very bottom, crushed beneath a packet of wipes and a dirty pacifier. It’s a reminder of the life you used to have and will one day return to. You’ll see it one day while changing a blowout diaper in the Walmart parking lot and think, “There’s more to me than this. Also, I should probably throw that thing in the wash when I get home. It’s starting to smell.”

Look Out Your Window

Do you see your mom or mother-in-law’s house? If so, good — well, maybe. I haven’t met them, so I’ll leave that judgment up to you. Either way, you will likely get ample saddle time with a grandma living close by.

If you don’t see a grandma close enough to throw a rock at, do not despair, but do realize this will impact your riding time. It’ll be OK, though. You’ll discover some things are better than riding horses, even if you don’t believe that right now.

Also, don’t throw rocks at grandmas.

Is Your Baby a Good Napper?

If the answer is yes, then you’ve got it made in the shade drinking a big ol’ glass of lemonade. Actually, place the napping baby in the shade (minus the glass of lemonade, because sugar is bad for babies), hop on your horse and rope until the little darling wakes up.

If the answer is no, then immediately take your baby to nearest dealership and trade her in for a different model. She’s probably some kind of defective prototype. If only it was that simple, right? The truth is, some babies just don’t nap very long unless they’re being held. There’s nothing a mama can do except snuggle her baby, sniff that sweet little head, and check the mail for a recall notice.

It’s OK to Put Your Baby Down

It’s OK to hand your baby to a friend, pick up a rope and ride off toward the herd. Just don’t ride into the herd. That’s usually frowned upon. Unless only a handful of unbranded calves remain, and you need to ride through the bunch and see what still needs to be worked. Or unless the boss tells you to. Or unless…wait, we’re getting sidetracked here.

Back to the baby. There’s often an older lady or teenage gal who is happy to give Mom a break and hold her infant for a bit. Dads can also be recruited for this job, especially if they’re provided with a backpack carrier in a neutral color with lots of straps.

It’s OK to Not Put Your Baby Down

You know the cows you see laying down and chewing their cud under a tree on the range surrounded by a bunch of calves, only one of which is theirs? Yeah, that was me. I was always the babysitter cow. I’ve also been compared (by my husband) to a brahma cow — the kind that will hook you if you get too close to her baby.

I rarely handed my babies off and therefore missed out on a lot of roping. My theory was that if someone wanted to hold a baby so bad, they could go make their own. This one was mine.