4 Mamahood

I've been at this mommy thing for two months now.

See? 2 months.

I haven't got most of it even close to figured out, but here are a few things I've learned:

I can do things I'd never thought I'd be able to do. Now, I don't mean things like loving more than I thought was possible or literally only sleeping 2 hours within a 24 hour period, which both are things I have done, I mean peeing on a toilet with a kid in a brace and having to bend over and tear your toilet paper off with your teeth. I did that. Yesterday. And then Christian and I looked at each other and laughed. You go Glen Coco!

You do weird sleep deprived things. Last night I leaned over in my sleep to look at the monitor and I see a bug chillin' on top of Christian on the screen. All I remember saying was "get off my baby you sicko." Yeah. Sleep deprivation and instincts can make you threaten a 1/4 inch bug that's not even close to your child.

Expect curve balls. Like, everyday. It's been 10 weeks since we brought Christian home from the hospital and it's been a little wild. I can't even begin to list all the doctor visits we've made. We spent some time in the hospital when he got RSV, oh, and then, after that we came home to a flooded house and had to tear up the hardwood and then eventually put it back in. I think another word for curveballs is "life" and I'm lucky enough to be married to a guy who seriously rolls with the punches and remains calm and positive through it all. Brag over.

Never say never. No, I'm not referring to Justin Bieber, I'm talking about all these methods mama's have and who's right and who's wrong. I actually learned this lesson when I taught elementary school so luckily the words "I will never ________." have not yet escaped my mouth as a mom. For example, I can't say I won't let my kids watch tv and one of the reasons I can't say that is because Christian and I watched Baby Einstein last week for 5 minutes until his eyes started bulging out of his head and arms went wild from over-stimuation. Sorry baby. The video case clearly stated 3+ months. Too soon.

Always have a plan, and when that plan fails, be fine with it. I read so many books when I was pregnant and I'm so glad I did. A lot of them agreed on some ideas and then on other things would totally contradict each other. I've used bits and pieces from them all and I always have a plan A and B and C and.... Sometimes, we have to scratch that plan though and just start over. We've learned to be very organized but also very flexible.

You will let yourself go, a little. Eek! The biggest pre-mom nightmare of all time! Yeah somedays I'm smiling and playing with Christian and don't even notice until noon I have yesterday's mascara half way down my face. Umm, how can he even love me or smile back?? Terrifying! I don't eat breakfast until 2pm. I've gone on a walk in black pajama pants because I rationalized in my head they could easily be mistaken for yoga pants and my yoga pants were in some pile of some unfolded laundry somewhere. I've had pee down my shirt and spit up in my hair and when I finally get a chance to clean up at 8pm, I find myself belting out nursery rhymes in the shower. But at the end of the day, I played with my baby. I saw all his new tricks. I comforted him when he was upset and I met all his needs. It might not always be picture perfect, but everyone is happy and healthy!

I AM THE MAMA. No matter what anyone says or what advice I get, I have really learned to trust myself and my instincts. People might make comments but I know what's best for my little boy. I know to hold him sideways if he's sad. I know that if he's starting to squirm that means he doesn't want to eat anymore. I know that he hates the sun in his eyes so I have to remember his little sunglasses on our walks. I know when he's sad because he's tired or when he's sad because he's hungry. I am the mama.

I have a lot more to learn and poor baby Christian is my guinea pig. However, I'm loving my new adventure with my tiny little man and it's always a party at our place!