I am honored that Tara thought of me for a guest post ( I absolutely love her blog by the way…and have been following her for quite some time), and if we’re being completely honest…a little nervous and felt the pressure J This is my first guest post! I have been blogging for about 1.5 years, first capturing the journey of pregnancy for this first time. And now my little blog documents all the moments of my sweet baby boy’s life…it’s pretty much his baby book.
I have said it before….and I will say again, I will never win the mother of the year award. I’m not perfect. I don’t try to be. Wouldn’t want to be anyway (I can imagine it’s pretty boring being perfect. All. The. Time. I mean seriously….what do those people talk about). I let my little man fall off the couch…for Pete’s sake!.
I’ve only been a mama for 8 months. 8 very short months. that seem to just be flying by. I knew….well….a whole lot of nothing about being a mom before having Aydan. I mean, I’ve changed diapers before, feed a little one, and rocked a baby to sleep. But that’s normal stuff that I think probably comes naturally to a lot of people. I didn’t know how to raise a child. I didn’t know the difference between cries. I didn’t know the milestones they were supposed to reach at each age. But I don’t remember ever panicking or being nervous before having him (ask someone else and they might tell you differently…but hey…this is my story…). I read some books, listened to some friends, asked some questions and just figured…there’s not a whole lot I can do about not knowing anything at this point.
It’s amazing how much changes in just 8 months. In the beginning babies are fragile and delicate. You act fragile and delicate. You worry about everything. You worry about nothing (he slept through the night…is something wrong?). 8 months in….and….well…here’s some examples:
- I remember the first couple of times driving with Aydan in the car. Talk about slow! And not changing lanes. Ever! Even my Husband, who’s gotten “at least 6 speeding tickets” (he had to really think about this one when asked…) drove 5 under the speed limit on the way home from the hospital. And now, we both drive like responsible, normal, driving adults…….
- Changing a diaper used to take 10 minutes….treating their tiny little legs like delicate rose petals that are likely to fall off with a single touch. I remember watching the nurses and thinking “are they nuts? Aren’t they hurting him?” Diapers can now be changed in 10.5 seconds (with a boy, you learn REAL quick not to leave the ummmm…goods…..uncovered for very long.
- While I was out on maternity leave, I would often meet my best friend who also had a baby and was on maternity leave for lunch. We would make plans to meet somewhere at noon. Every lunch date resulted in one of us calling the other around 11:30, saying we were going to be late….it was taking us forever to get out of the house. What is that? Man……I would have to start at 8am to be somewhere by noon! It would take me 2.5 hours to just take a shower, make-up and hair…while holding, entertaining and checking on little man. Then once mama was ready, he had to be feed, or I had to pump….oh, ready in the car seat….and Bam! Explosion in the diaper that results in diaper and outfit change. These days….I’m lucky if I remember the diaper bag. Just grab and go is my motto most of the time.
- We didn’t help the environment using a billizion pacifier wipes in the first few months. Anytime the pacifier fell to the ground in public…and in our house…a wipe was whipped out. I find these days that a brush on the jeans and a quick rinse in my mouth gets rid of the germs just fine.
So, I guess my whole point is….no one, no book, no blog can tell you how to be a mom. Read them for information. For advice. For fun. But being a mom is about listening to your heart. Following your instincts. Learning from mistakes. And just loving your little one and enjoying those simple moments.
Go on over visit Dana on her blog!
