2009 brought many things to our family, including four babies on my husband's side. Just this past Sunday, we got a serious baby fix when almost all of these babies were together and we literally had the opportunity to pass them around and cuddle with them. As I'm approaching the third birthday of my youngest, I find myself reminiscing about parenthood...what I thought it was going to be like....versus what it actually is.
I had a lot of notions when I was pregnant with my first. My ideas of starting a family went beyond the perfect crib, cute clothing, and most safe car seat. I truly believed that at night when I laid her down in her cradle, she would sleep soundly until it was time to nurse her again. I reasoned that nursing would be easy- after all, women have been doing it for centuries and what could be easier than feeding an infant warm milk from your own body? I figured, with support from my husband, our perfect child would instantly mold her routine into ours...that which we were accustomed to.
Then I gave birth and realized how wrong I'd been. Honestly, I knew parenthood would be an adjustment, as I'd heard for years, "parenting is the hardest job there is." Yet, what came after Madison's birth was such a shock that nine years later, I still haven't completely recovered. Of all of those plans and routines and rules I'd envisioned, I missed the one most important component...the baby. Until I had Madison, I didn't know what it was to be tired and at the same time awake enough to feed a child in the middle of the night after only two hours of sleep. I didn't understand what fussiness, or tummy aches, or teething pain could do to a baby- and how loud their cry would sound at 3:00am. I didn't know the fear of a first high fever, or the anxiety of leaving her with a babysitter, or the insurmountable love I would feel whenever she smiled at me.
Slowly the insecurities and exhaustion washed away, and we welcomed Peyton and Allison. I learned first hand that no two children are alike. Everything which worked for Madison didn't work for Peyton or Ally. My three children are no more alike than different fingerprints. With each of them, we were relearning how to cope, to struggle, to love them in the ways they needed us to. In fact, we are still learning how to be parents, every single day.
Until I became a mom, I didn't understand the sadness I would feel when my son lost his first school election, or the fear that would shoot through my system the first time Madison fell off of the high balance beam. I didn't realize the anxiety I would feel while standing in an emergency room with Allison coughing so hard, I thought her lungs might burst. Before having kids, I didn't realize that the more you read to them, the better readers they will become. I didn't know that it is entirely possible to be thrown up on by three different people in one night, or that I would look forward to hearing "hi Mommy," whenever I came home from the grocery store. I didn't know how frustrated I'd be seeing newly washed clothing thrown back into the laundry basket or how wonderful it is to get multiple hugs and kisses throughout the day.
Every day I learn something new as a parent. What worked yesterday in getting my toddler to eat her vegetables will certainly not work tomorrow. Likewise, no one will go to bed when I ask them to, or clean up their rooms without being told, and they will never request the same movie on Family Movie Night because that would make life too easy. And when it comes right down to it, parenthood is never easy, no matter how much we wish for it to be.
I had a lot of notions when I was pregnant with my first. My ideas of starting a family went beyond the perfect crib, cute clothing, and most safe car seat. I truly believed that at night when I laid her down in her cradle, she would sleep soundly until it was time to nurse her again. I reasoned that nursing would be easy- after all, women have been doing it for centuries and what could be easier than feeding an infant warm milk from your own body? I figured, with support from my husband, our perfect child would instantly mold her routine into ours...that which we were accustomed to.
Then I gave birth and realized how wrong I'd been. Honestly, I knew parenthood would be an adjustment, as I'd heard for years, "parenting is the hardest job there is." Yet, what came after Madison's birth was such a shock that nine years later, I still haven't completely recovered. Of all of those plans and routines and rules I'd envisioned, I missed the one most important component...the baby. Until I had Madison, I didn't know what it was to be tired and at the same time awake enough to feed a child in the middle of the night after only two hours of sleep. I didn't understand what fussiness, or tummy aches, or teething pain could do to a baby- and how loud their cry would sound at 3:00am. I didn't know the fear of a first high fever, or the anxiety of leaving her with a babysitter, or the insurmountable love I would feel whenever she smiled at me.
Slowly the insecurities and exhaustion washed away, and we welcomed Peyton and Allison. I learned first hand that no two children are alike. Everything which worked for Madison didn't work for Peyton or Ally. My three children are no more alike than different fingerprints. With each of them, we were relearning how to cope, to struggle, to love them in the ways they needed us to. In fact, we are still learning how to be parents, every single day.
Until I became a mom, I didn't understand the sadness I would feel when my son lost his first school election, or the fear that would shoot through my system the first time Madison fell off of the high balance beam. I didn't realize the anxiety I would feel while standing in an emergency room with Allison coughing so hard, I thought her lungs might burst. Before having kids, I didn't realize that the more you read to them, the better readers they will become. I didn't know that it is entirely possible to be thrown up on by three different people in one night, or that I would look forward to hearing "hi Mommy," whenever I came home from the grocery store. I didn't know how frustrated I'd be seeing newly washed clothing thrown back into the laundry basket or how wonderful it is to get multiple hugs and kisses throughout the day.
Every day I learn something new as a parent. What worked yesterday in getting my toddler to eat her vegetables will certainly not work tomorrow. Likewise, no one will go to bed when I ask them to, or clean up their rooms without being told, and they will never request the same movie on Family Movie Night because that would make life too easy. And when it comes right down to it, parenthood is never easy, no matter how much we wish for it to be.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment