Some Things I've Learned in the Past 6 Months

On November 2nd I will have been a mother for 6 months. Having a baby is even better than I ever hoped or imagined it would be, and harder! Haha. I love it, though! As a mom, one must learn to set aside their preconceived notions and ideas for motherhood (like I had mentioned in my last entry) and also lower the expectations for oneself. Because if you don't you (and yes, I mean YOU) will go crazy! (And by "you", I really mean ME). ;)

During the week I am, in essence, a mother to twins. One of the twins is just a little more advanced than the other. (That would be my sweet little Fisher Face who just turned 1 on Saturday!) I try to imagine what life would be like if I ACTUALLY had twins and I know it would be much more difficult! I only have Fisher about 45 or less hours a week....having the 2nd twin would be a 24/7 job. So, I'm thankful I really only have one child at this point in my life. I've discovered that I'm not good at being productive after a night of waking up 3-6 times. I would like to think that I am, but I'm not. (I mean, take right now for instance! I SHOULD be folding that laundry that's draped over the couch, but instead I'm blogging!). Some days, both babies nap at the same time which gives me a precious hour, give or take, of time "alone". My brain tells me to get some chores done, but my body tells me to slack off or take a nap. I tend to listen to my body more than my brain - which is sometimes a good thing. :)

So what have I learned lately? I've learned to accept the fact that the laundry, the dishes, the projects, the bills to pay, the mail to sort, the floor to vacuum, the bath tub to clean and the bed to make will ALWAYS be there and really won't ever change or "grow up". I will always have chores to do. My house will never be as clean as I would like it to be. My projects will always take 10 times longer to finish because I have 2 babies to care for. But guess what/who will change and "grow up" right before my eyes, every day?? My son. My sweet little baby boy, Julian! He's nearly 6 months old. He's more than doubled his birth weight (8lbs 2oz at birth and now 19lbs 5oz at 6 months) and has added more than 7 inches to his height. He is sitting up, rolling over both ways, reaching for his mommy, drinking from a sippy cup, eating big people food, blowing raspberries, scooting around on his belly, learning all the different sounds and levels of noise his voice makes and simply GROWING UP. 

My house may not be spotless - far from it, in fact - but I'm not missing out of watching my son grow and learn every minute of the day. I wouldn't change that for the world. I have to tell myself "it's okay" to ignore the chores in favor of sitting on the ground playing with Julian. Or, "it's okay" to not fix my hair or makeup in order to gain more time cuddling with my baby.

So I guess that's what I've learned - that apart from God and my husband, my son is the most important person in my life and nothing else matters! It's true and I ain't ashamed to admit that. :)

Oh, Motherhood!

I'm a mommy now. I've been a mommy for nearly 6 whole months! I'm pretty much living my dream - minus a decent paycheck, a house and a mini van. Yes, those are my only other desired right now - haha. Riiiight. Anyhow, that's beside the point. The point is that I am now a mother. Before I became a mom I had all these ideas on parenthood. Ideas that I assumed would become actual concrete actions. All I have to say to that is this: LOL! Literally, I am laughing out loud at myself and these so-called ideas.

Here are some of the ideas I had in mind and also, what actually happened:

* I was never going to sleep with my baby.
* I started co-sleeping when Julian was 4 months old after many, many, many nights of sitting up in bed and nursing (approx 3-6 times a night), attempting to stay awake and getting a gnarly crick in the neck during the process. Now that we co-sleep (somewhat trying to get him into his new and fancy little crib) I simply have to roll over, whip out the boob (pardon my language! *GASP*) and we both peacefully drift back off to sleep.

* I was going to let my baby "cry it out".....
*.....and then I actually birthed my precious, sweet, innocent little boy (who had just spent the past 39 weeks and 4 days cozy and warm in my uterus) aaaand "CIO" when OUT the window, far, far, faaaar away.

* I was going to wait until my child was 6 months old before I started him on solids.
* I started trying out little tastes here and there about a week shy of 4 months! Granted, I only give him organic, homemade food, of course!

* I wasn't going to rock or nurse my child to sleep.
* And then I realized that after 39 weeks and 4 days in my uterus, being rocked to sleep was something my son was quite accustomed to! Why stop the moment he pops into the big, bright world?? As far as nursing to sleep goes, it seemed only natural. I love nursing. I have to admit, it was extremely painful the first 3 months, but once the initial pain subsided I was golden! I nursed every 1- 1.5 hours the first 4 1/2 months of this kid's life! He just recently started going 2-3 hours between feedings. Anyhow, nursing has a calming effect. It calms the baby, thus putting him to sleep. It calms the mommy, thus reducing stress. I love nursing. Did I say that already?

That's really all I have time for, since it's 10:30pm and I really should go to sleep! (Especially since Julian has been sleeping since 7:15pm!) But let me first leave you with some of my favorite websites, books/authors that has influenced my crunchy way of thinking:

Websites:
www.kellymom.com
www.askdrsears.com
www.spinningbabies.com

Books:
Natural Childbirth: The Bradley Way (revised edition)by Susan McCutcheon-Rosegg
Husband-Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth by Dr. Robert Bradley
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp
The No-Cry Sleep Solution & The No-Cry Nap Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
The Birth Book by Dr. Sears
The Baby Book by Dr. Sears

Can I just say that I love Dr. Sears? He's the bomb diggity.

That is all. Goodnight....Moon.