BB Lessons

First off, mea culpa for our blog hiatus; time flies when you are having fun, and raising a child. But alas, we have returned and boy oh boy do we have pictures and stories galore.


Secondly, as everyone knows, my previous blog post was oh so wrong. My foolish attempts to predict BB's birthday and calculate percents were futile. BB was induced 10 (painstakingly slow) days after his due date.

Third, time for a new post......hooray! Bean turned 3 months old yesterday. In the past 3 months I have learned more than I have in my previous 29 years. Here is a short summary of some of my newfound knowledge:


1) Labor is stressful! Painful, yes. Long, yes. But the stress was by far the worst.

2) Your heart can grow. Not just swell, but actually grow (much like the Grinch, but without all the Grinchiness). The end of labor, which resulted in the face to face introduction to the new center of our universe, marks the happiest moment of my life.

3) Babies don't understand the difference between day and night. Luckily, ours learned the difference around the 1 month mark and we have been thanking our lucky stars ever since.

4) Newborns like to eat. For breastfeeding moms, like myself, this translates to roughly 10-12 hours of feeding every day for the first month (read: glued to a glider/couch). Don't get me wrong, I love breastfeeding, but I did not anticipate just how all-consuming it would be.

5) It was possible for me to fall more in love with Jeff. We had a fantastic relationship already, then arrives the Bean, our relationship adjusts for our new roommate, and Jeff settles in as a Super Dad. Witnessing him fathering Bean has been one of my greatest parenting joys thus far.

6) Hammy can actually be calm and gentle. In case any of you have not heard, he is the best big brother we dog-parents could have hoped for. Though he tends to get annoyed when the baby cries, his usual manner is one of curiosity, concern, and even warmth. He even sneaks kisses every now and again. Perhaps he understands that BB is the reason Mom and Dad have been giving him extra long walks.

7) Parenting takes a number of skills that are not necessarily innate. Thank goodness Grandma Annie was here for BB's 1st week of life; otherwise he might still be wearing his diaper backwards.

8) Motherhood is pure bliss. Yes, the 1st month was rough; BB was a newborn and I had a lot to learn, but since then, it has been pure bliss. Falling asleep every night with BB on my mind and waking up to his big gummy grin every morning (which he shares all day) has truly made this the best time of my life.

9) We made one happy baby. BB loves to smile. During a sonogram my midwife commented that he had a happy heartbeat, and she was right! BB is a cheerful, easy going, social baby. Along with a coooo, I first saw him smile at 6 days old (exceptionally early for those of you not up on your infant milestones). Since then, we have enjoyed smiles all day long.

10) We would still call him BB or some variation of Bean even after giving him an official name.

11) Babies don't just naturally eat from bottles. Some babies, ours included, believe that the bottle is the enemy. Teaching the Bean to eat from a bottle, which he must do when I return to work in a few short weeks, has been our 1st great (and messy) parenting challenge.

12) I can do most things with one hand. With the Bean, one of my arms is almost always occupied. In addition, I have learned to do common tasks much quicker than I previously thought possible. I can now eat, shower and pick up the house faster than it took you to read this blog post.

13) Having a baby is the greatest privilege I could ever hope for. I am in amazement watching Bean grow. Every day he is a new and more mature baby. He looks at the world with wonder in his eyes and we have the honor to share all that is wonderful with him.

14) Life changes when you have a baby. And I'm not talking about the obvious: hauling around a ton of extra stuff whenever you leave the house; being unable to stay out past dark; spontaneity at a minimum. Motherhood has changed my perspective on just about everything. I now live life more simply, more mindfully, and, above all, more playfully. I find myself sing-songing all that I do, making silly faces all day long, and letting those minor stressors and annoyances slide right off my back.

15) Babies should come with batteries. Every baby gadget, contraption and noise making thing-a-ma-jig cluttering our house requires batteries and requires them often!

16) Baby noises are the cat's meow (no pun intended). Like I mentioned above, BB first cooed at 6 days, and he hasn't stopped his crooning since. His soft cooooos soon became squeals, which then turned to joyful screams, which now have evolved into giggles. See below for evidence.


 
I don't know why they say "you have a baby." The baby has you. - Gallagher