A friend of mine had a blog named "Learning (insert her sons name here)", but she changed it to "Learning Life." I think it's perfect. So far in this parenting adventure I'm learning so much more than just what animal sound Makena can say this week. I'm learning some really huge life lessons as well.
I think one of my favorite things about being a mom is the learning that happens every single day. I learn so many things that I never realized I would need to know. Simple tips to make daily tasks simpler: Put socks on Makena before putting her pants on because it makes it easier to get her feet through the holes when her toes don't stick. And bigger things like how I have to work constantly to be her advocate. I take my job as Makena's mother very seriously. I don't make decisions without being as sure as I can. I love the feeling of reaching a point where I feel confident that I've made the right choice. Whether it's about a safety issue or what to feed her for lunch!
I'm learning a lot about myself in this process. The journey of parenting changes daily with everything life brings. I feel like I've signed up for this lifelong course in self-discovery. Sure I was learning about life before I had a baby, but I think you can't quite explain the personal growth until you've been there. I'm sure the same is said for people who survive through a traumatic ordeal together. There's something special about shared experiences. I think just being in the mom club has catapulted me into a new level of life that I didn't really know existed. And in a way every day is a chance to start over and fix the mistakes of yesterday. I'm truly loving this ride. Bumps and all.
And there are definitely bumps. There are many things I swore I'd never do when I had kids someday, from pacifiers to TV in the car. (Or TV period, but alas, what can I say, we are a TV family.)
People say having a baby changes everything. But I feel like for me it's more accurate to say "Having a baby changed everything about how I view the world." Time is a huge part of that. I just don't have the sort of time I used to have. Makena is napping now, and I'm choosing to sit at the computer and type this. I could do some laundry. Or sweep the kitchen floor. Or make phone calls. But I can't explain why those things would take SO much more effort. I'll attempt to...
Makena doesn't nap or sleep very soundly. She's asleep right now, but I have to have the video monitor on and glance at it every few minutes, because she tends to wake every 30 minutes to an hour. I have to keep an eye on the time, to gauge when I think she might stir, in order to figure out if she's slept long enough or if I should go nurse her to sleep again. I can sit at the computer and easily do those things. I cannot take a shower in that time. I've tried, twice. Both times it ended with me rushing out and laying down dripping wet to nurse her back to sleep. I sometimes bring a load of laundry downstairs, but I can't take the monitor with me (guess we should have gotten a hand held unit after all, lol) and I rush and worry about her being alone for those few minutes. Plus, what if there's an earthquake?! But I've already posted about my crazy anxiety...
And, right on clockwork, she's waking up. She's only been sleeping for 32 minutes, so off I go to soothe her back to sleep!
I think one of my favorite things about being a mom is the learning that happens every single day. I learn so many things that I never realized I would need to know. Simple tips to make daily tasks simpler: Put socks on Makena before putting her pants on because it makes it easier to get her feet through the holes when her toes don't stick. And bigger things like how I have to work constantly to be her advocate. I take my job as Makena's mother very seriously. I don't make decisions without being as sure as I can. I love the feeling of reaching a point where I feel confident that I've made the right choice. Whether it's about a safety issue or what to feed her for lunch!
I'm learning a lot about myself in this process. The journey of parenting changes daily with everything life brings. I feel like I've signed up for this lifelong course in self-discovery. Sure I was learning about life before I had a baby, but I think you can't quite explain the personal growth until you've been there. I'm sure the same is said for people who survive through a traumatic ordeal together. There's something special about shared experiences. I think just being in the mom club has catapulted me into a new level of life that I didn't really know existed. And in a way every day is a chance to start over and fix the mistakes of yesterday. I'm truly loving this ride. Bumps and all.
And there are definitely bumps. There are many things I swore I'd never do when I had kids someday, from pacifiers to TV in the car. (Or TV period, but alas, what can I say, we are a TV family.)
People say having a baby changes everything. But I feel like for me it's more accurate to say "Having a baby changed everything about how I view the world." Time is a huge part of that. I just don't have the sort of time I used to have. Makena is napping now, and I'm choosing to sit at the computer and type this. I could do some laundry. Or sweep the kitchen floor. Or make phone calls. But I can't explain why those things would take SO much more effort. I'll attempt to...
Makena doesn't nap or sleep very soundly. She's asleep right now, but I have to have the video monitor on and glance at it every few minutes, because she tends to wake every 30 minutes to an hour. I have to keep an eye on the time, to gauge when I think she might stir, in order to figure out if she's slept long enough or if I should go nurse her to sleep again. I can sit at the computer and easily do those things. I cannot take a shower in that time. I've tried, twice. Both times it ended with me rushing out and laying down dripping wet to nurse her back to sleep. I sometimes bring a load of laundry downstairs, but I can't take the monitor with me (guess we should have gotten a hand held unit after all, lol) and I rush and worry about her being alone for those few minutes. Plus, what if there's an earthquake?! But I've already posted about my crazy anxiety...
And, right on clockwork, she's waking up. She's only been sleeping for 32 minutes, so off I go to soothe her back to sleep!
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