Thursday, October 23, 2014

3 Months In (Motherhood Randomness)

...well almost.

Someone has figured out that their hands work. 
I can't believe my little peanut is almost 3 months old.  Time flies, and I now understand why parents say kids grow up so quickly. They do.  In a matter of 3 months, Little Miss TJ looks like a totally different baby.  I burst into tears looking at her pictures from the hospital because she's growing so quickly.  She's literally doubled in weight, and she's cooing and laughing and giving the warmest and gummiest smiles in the world.  I still marvel in the fact that my husband and I made her.  After a long journey to conceive (which I finally feel ready to share), she's really, really here.

Over the last few months, I've thought of tons of things to blog about, and I'll write about some of them, but today all I can offer to the blogosphere is some random musings about this new adventure in motherhood.

~ I've never known this level of exhaustion. Ever. If I could think of a word beyond exhausted, I'd use it, but I'm too tired to think of one.

~ Despite being exhausted, it's amazing how one big, toothless smile can set you back on course.

~ Things newborn babies do not understand: "Give me a minute..." "Hold on..." "It's almost ready..."

~ Mommy ears are amazing.  I can hear her smack her lips while she's in another room.

~ I'm amazed that my body can produce sustenance to grow another human being.  Breastfeeding is the most fulfilling, annoying, inconvenient, and intimate thing I've ever done. Shuttling your pump and all its parts to back and forth to work is no joke, but seeing the look of satisfaction on your baby's face makes it all worth it.

~ I'm a hardcore breast feeder, but I'm not a member of the anti-formula brigade.  Let mommies live!!!

~ Motherhood makes me want to simultaneously love and box my husband.

~ I have been humbled by motherhood. I just can't do it all. I have to apologize to people. I have to ask for extensions. I have to reach out for help.

~ Everyone is excited when your little one enters the world.  The calls/emails/visits are nonstop.  New mommies need people when the newness wears off. Call your girlfriend who has a 4 month old just to check in. See if you can wash a pile of laundry or just watch the little one so she can do her hair in peace.

~ Speaking of doing hair, my hair LOVED being pregnant.  I went from a big chop to a full puff! Now if I could just find the time to style it.  It, literally, took me a whole day to twist my hair.  It used to take about an hour.

~ Babies are far smarter and resilient that we acknowledge.

~ I have a newfound love and respect for my mother that I don't think I'd have if I hadn't become a mother.

~ With that being said, I have to remind my mother that I'm Little Miss TJ's mother.

~ I have a newfound love for babies that I didn't have before I had one because I now know how special someone else finds that baby.

~ My baby is the smartest, prettiest, most amusing baby in the whole wide world. And so are all the other babies whose mommies think so, too.

~ Dads, grandparents and aunties are probably the only people in the world who want to hear you go on about how special your baby is.  "Omigosh, she just blinked!!!!" <--- Only Dad, grandparents, and aunts will appreciate this blow-by-blow, second-to-second analysis of your baby.

~ Motherhood has left me wondering if women can have it "all" (whatever that means). I am starting to believe that some area of your life has to be slighted in order for the other areas to thrive.  We'll see how this unfolds.

~ Maternity and paternity leave have to become universally instituted in this country, and 6 weeks isn't enough.  I felt like just when I was getting the swing of things, it was time to jump right back into work (though I never really stopped working).

~ I am humbled by the opportunity to be Little Miss TJ's mommy.  I'm learning so much about myself through this process.  She's an awesome little teacher. Everyday I ask her, "So what are you going to teach me today?" There's so much to learn.

Until next time . . . I'll be over here mothering, writing, teaching, pumping, kissing, and nursing. Oh yeah, and thriving!