As we approach the “Big One,” I have been going through pictures and reflecting on all that our Pea-Pod has already been through. It’s been a year full of learning for these first-time parents accompanied by a year of adventure for our first-time baby. We have encountered our share of bumps along the road, from eczema to anemia, and learned more than we ever wanted to know about dry baby skin and iron-deficiency. (The answers to those issues were Eucerin’s Aquafor and oodles of rice cereal.) With a little time and a lot of perspective, we made it this far. We never hesitated to ask her Pediatrician and other parents for advice. When things came up like “all the other baby’s are crawling at 10 months: will my kid be destined to be carried around forever??” friends were quick to remind us to appreciate the time that we weren’t (note the past tense!) chasing her all around cleaning up after her mischeif. We soaked in the book “What to Expect the First Year…” (seriously – if that book were sold in liquid form, I would have a glass of it daily), and we gave ourselves lots and lots of grace.
Before I was a parent, I had an opinion about raising kids. When we would be at sporting events, I would remark, “that baby is too small to be out!” and now that our own future hockey fan has been to two games, I understand that babies are not so fragile. I have also learned that parents have to get out and enjoy adult life. I thought that letting her cry it out in the middle of the night would be a matter-of-fact experience which would last for a couple of nights and she would sleep like an angel from 7-7 after that. Now I am still hearing my 2:00 am wake-up call and still fighting the desire to go pick her up and cuddle her back to sleep. Oh, and sleeping in until 6, much less 7? Not even on weekends! I understood before I became a mom that houses would be cluttered, but I figured that baby’s nap time and after she went to bed would be when all of the toys would get picked up and the dishes would get washed. Now, I understand that the only way that will happen is when the house cleaning fairy frees up some time and makes a special visit. Oh, and speaking of clean, I have come to understand that I cannot change her clothes all of the times throughout the day that they get dirtied up, and if it can’t be tossed into the laundry with all of the other colors and cleaned in warm water, then don’t get it.
I have become a master of using one hand for everything. I can open doors, pick up heavy objects, and even type a whole blog with minimal errors! I have learned that Momnesia is a real thing, and have even accidentally worn my house slippers all the way to the store, still happy with myself overall because at least I remembered to bring The Kid.
I guess the biggest lesson I have learned through Year One has been to just take everything, like my daughter, one step at a time, and laugh as we go. This first year has not just gone by fast – it has evaporated. We have made it through this year with smiles on our faces, smudged with mystery goo though they be, and I know that this is just the first loop in the learning adventure called growing up.
Image Souce: Cosmin Danila Photography, cosminfoto.blogspot.com
About heidi
