Thoughts on Being a Mommy ...

Just a few of my recent thoughts on being a new mommy. Eric and I are having the time of our lives with our Ava-cakes!

*Stop analyzing her nighttime sleep habits, and just enjoy where she is with her nightly sleep schedule. She will eventually sleep through the night consistently when she's ready ... I've learned to stop losing sleep over why she's not sleeping and just go with the flow.

*On the other hand, let a sleeping baby lie! Sometimes I get antsy when she takes longer naps than usual. I've learned to enjoy those rare occasions when she feels like taking a 3 hour nap instead of obsessively checking on her ... and again, analyzing what is making her take such a long nap. If you hadn't noticed ... I'm an analyzer through and through. ;)

*Stop worrying about every little sniffle and sneeze she gets. It's good for her immune system to fight off a bug or two.

*I am far too concerned with the appearance, quantity, and quality of her poop! Enough said.

*I will never be able to satisfy every member of both of our families with the amount of time they get to spend with Ava. Of course everyone wants to love on her as much as possible! We have family spread across Ohio, so we'll do what we can to get her everywhere as much as possible and that's all we can do! I've vowed to stop stressing over this.

*I will rock my baby to sleep until she's physically too big to fit in my arms and rock her anymore. I don't know if you've ever read the childrens book "I'll Love You Forever", but this will be me ... rocking my six year old back and forth while singing, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." This is my absolute favorite part of being a mommy. After she falls asleep I keep rocking her a few more minutes just looking at her sleeping sweet baby face and fathoming how much she has grown since I first laid eyes on her. I always take note of her soft fluffy baby hair and how it flows as I rock her...and how the weight of her chubby cheeks causes her plump little lips to slightly pucker.

*Ava's presence in my life leads me to be increasingly more spiritual with every passing day. I look at her and believe that the gift of a child is the ultimate reminder of how miraculous our Lord is. We share a bond as a family that I've never experienced before...and I'm loving every second of it.

*I no longer can get ready and be out the door in 1 hr flat. It takes me at least 3 hours to get myself and Ava ready for an outing...and hope that I'm on time. How will I ever add another child to the mix!? Oh my ...

*Speaking of time... my time is much more precious to me these days. I've always been a planner--now my planning and organization skills have heightened to make sure I get everything in that needs done for the day... which is a lot, and is still a work in progress.

*Dog hair... it covers my floors, no matter how often I vacuum and Ava happens to pass for a Swiffer broom every time she plays on the floor, blanket or not. It has taken me awhile, but the clean freak in me is accepting the fact that keeping dog hair off her is a pointless struggle--she will get herself into bigger messes in her life, I'm sure. The best is when she's been chewing on her fingers and the cat creeps past her nice and slow, giving Ava all the time in the world to rub her wet hands through the cat's seriously shedding fur coat. Eww.

*My personal hygiene used to be much more involved ... I intensely enjoy the days that I get time to pluck my eyebrows... shave my legs... put makeup on... shoot, taking a shower is even a luxury these days! oh my gosh, and these feet are really falling behind ... these toes need a polishing like the desert needs rain!!

*My social life has certainly changed! Or shall I say, the ways in which I hang out with my friends has changed. It is much easier and more enjoyable to meet for lunch or dinner than to spend the day at someone's house. The less packing up and hauling around that I have to do with Ava's bottles, baby food, toys, diapers, wipes, clothes, etc. , the better the experience for both of us! I really want to start a girls' night out where once a month we all get together and go out for dinner and a movie or something. Just for my sanity's sake. ;)

*I'm all about mommy-advice!! Getting together with other new moms is not only insightful, but also stress-relieving for me. It is something about gathering with those who know exactly the joys and tribulations of being a new mommy and the balancing act that it requires that brings me back to center. I love a refreshing mommy get together! :)

*Bringing a child into the world has given me the natural desire to provide her with the best that I can offer.... no matter the criticism I may receive.

*I've learned that every moment of our lives with an infant is not all sugared plums and butterflies...there are rougher days than others--babies are allowed to be crabby--and so are mommies and daddies. There are sleepless nights...there are frustrations... inconveniences ... disagreements ... BUT, there are also happy baby giggles ... joyful baby squeals ... silly baby faces ... sweet baby kisses ... chubby baby thighs (my personal favorite) ... and the most heart melting after-nap-sleepy-eyed biggest baby smiles that I would not trade for the world!

*My life as a mommy is more rewarding than I ever imagined it could be. This is my little slice of heaven on earth .... 0:)