What happened? I had a baby!! (my first one, which probably makes a difference). My little girl was born in September and she is now almost six months old! Hard to believe how time flies.
So, to initiate myself back into the blog-o-sphere, I’ve decided to write a little bit about what I’ve learned about being a mom (things that moms who have come before me I'm sure have learned LONG ago…)
So here is my very own version of…
Murphy’s Laws about Babies and Being a New Mom:
1) When traveling anywhere with baby you can try to leave enough time to be early by 5 minutes or 30 minutes, and you will still be LATE.
2) Babies will only spit up after you put on a perfectly clean, new outfit – doesn’t matter if you or she is wearing the clean outfit.
3) Babies will be the most fussy when there’s something you absolutely MUST get done.
4) After waking up in the middle of the night, babies will finally fall asleep when you are just awake enough to not be able to fall back asleep… and the baby will wake up again the moment you finally do.
5) If desired, babies can be woken up effortlessly; ways to wake up your baby without even trying:
o Pour yourself a nice, hot cup of coffee or tea; prepare to your liking and baby will awake instantly
o Sit down with your favourite book you’ve been waiting all day to read
o Have your dog bark for absolutely, positively no apparent reason
o Pull out the entire vacuum out to prepare for vacuuming; similar results with preparing cleaning supplies
6) The length of naps of babies is directly inversely proportionate to the amount of things needed to be done: the more to do, the shorter the nap.
7) Never say: “Isn’t it great that my baby is (fill in the blank i.e. sleeping through the night, rolling over, sitting long in his exersauser, taking a good nap, laughing)?!” The baby will instantaneously stop whatever you are enjoying him doing.
8) Doesn’t matter what your baby does or how he or she does it, it is absolutely positively IMPOSSIBLE NOT to love them with everything you have. And there are NEVER exceptions to this law!
I can’t emphasize enough that last one. Despite all the negativity that you might sense from these “laws”, they really are all lighthearted, and, even when things are tough, I still can’t believe how much I love my daughter.
And that’s what I’ve noticed most about parenting. When I’m feeling overwhelmed or not sure what in the world to do, my prayers are answered by God putting the same phrase in my head – “JUST LOVE HER.”
It seems too simple, but it’s the truth -- truth that brings me such peace (ironically, the meaning of my daughter's name…). When I’m not sure what she needs or why she’s crying or what she’s feeling or what to do next or how to make sure she “turns out okay”, all that really matters is that I love her, which is impossible not to do anyway.
And I’m sure that phrase, “Just love her” will be one that echoes throughout my entire life of motherhood, which, we all know, will be the rest of my life.
