Mommyhood

This past week I've been thinking a lot about mommy-hood and Gracie and just all the great things having her has brought to my life. All prompted by our good friends who will be having a baby any day now, I started to reflect on some of our families coolest moments so far. First of all, the first few days after Gracie was born were the absolute scariest yet best days of my life. I simply cannot put to words how I felt holding her, finally getting to see her beautiful face, and learning (with lots of help from nurses!) how to tend to all her tiny needs. That time also allowed my hubby to completely shine in action. Since I had a C-section I couldn't get out of bed for the first 24 hours and even after that it wasn't easy to do , so Josh did just about everything he could. He changed her, held her, helped me whenever I needed anything, and then when Gracie lost a lot of weight he stayed with her in the nursey even though he hadn't slept a wink in days. I can honestly say I love the man more than when I married him!!


My next favorite moment, or more like feeling or thing since Grace has been born might sound silly. I had a really really tough time feeding Grace after she was born and so after three weeks she was %100 bottle fed, which was fine, I always made a point to have either Josh and I feed her, and we cuddled and would make it good bonding time anyway. However, when Grace started eating solid foods I decided to attempt to make most of her baby purees. This consisted of many hours of cooking veggies and soups and different things, puting them in my food processor and then freezing them in ice cube trays. It took a long time and always made a mess, but I can't explain how cool it felt to really make something for her to eat. Like that I was creating her food for her. Like I said that may sound kind of like not a big deal, but I really feel like I got to experience a little bit of what it would be like to feed her myself when she was first born. Anyways, it was cool.

Another thing I was thinking about was teething. Which in most cases is a seriously not-cool thing, at least in our house. Except for the excitement of getting a new tooth, it means fevers, drooling and lots of crying at night. This doesn't happen quite as dramatically as it did the first 5 or so teeth, but a few nights ago I was up with her in the middle of the night. And at first I always get really frusterated because I'm so tired and just want her to go back to sleep, but then I think about how one day I'm never going to get to hold her like that again! And it's just around the corner! She's already a busy bee who doesn't have much time to cuddle and one day she will be all grown up and it will be over! I know that is a somewhat sad thought, but it just really put things into perspective for me about a lot of things. Caring for a baby and then a toddler can be exhausting but once its over its over, and all those sweet moments will be memories! (I know I sound melodramatic and the next age will bring good stuff too..sorry!)

Ok last one, for now. Her birthday. I've always loved birthdays. My parents and grandparents did a great job (and still do) at making us kids feel so special on our birthdays. However I never expected Grace's birthday to mean soo soo soo much more to me. I mean I did know I'd probably be way more excited about her birthday then mine, and excited to throw her a party and all. But as a mom, that day is like so meaningful because you are reflecting on the day she was brought into the world. It was an anniversary for one of the best days of my life, and I was just really surprised at how emotional I got, and how special a birthday really is when you realize it is celebrating her creation! You just don't think that way about yourself!

Well I better cut this long post short, my little creation just woke up and is singing her abc's in bed! (another favorite moment!)
So to end, to our friends Ty and Molly who inspired me to reflect, cheers to whats to come its going to be amazing!!!
-Leslie