Today is my son's first birthday. Yes, my son was born on 12/26...he was due on the 20th. This past week, I've been flooded with memories of this time last year and the whole year I've been blessed to be called "mama." As the emotions have run away with me a time or two today, I find myself reflecting on how fast this year has gone.
The first month of his life was a nightmare. One of my goals before he was born was to breastfeed at least until he turned 6 months old...we made it a month. His first month was filled with doctor appointments, feedings,crying (from both him and me), and lots of anxiety on what was going wrong. If I could do it again, I would probably live at a lactation specialist's office. We just could not get his weight to stay at an increase the whole month because he couldn't get the sucking technique right, so his 1 month picture makes him look sickly.
After giving up breastfeeding and switching him to formula (one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make), he was pretty home free. I had the normal moments of motherhood crazy hormones where he was screaming all day and wouldn't sleep unless he was in my arms which of course made me want to scream myself at times. I'll say it though because I know not every parent has this but he has been sleeping all through the night and been taking naps in his bed since he was 3 months old. All thanks to reading BabyWise and following through for weeks, this boy is a pro sleeper. It made going back to work (a week after he turned 2 months) so much easier knowing that the whole house was getting a full nights sleep again.
The summer was a time for a lot of firsts. First time he got really sick (and got me sick too), first feeling of ocean water and sand, first long roadtrip/family vacation, first tooth, first taste of real food, and first day mommy started working from home. Oliver first got sick when he was 6 months old with HFM, and then of course I got it too. I will say though, he took it a lot better than I did, he was jumping around in his bouncy seat with sores on his toes while I was struggling to walk. He's tougher than his mom, that's for sure.
We also gave him his first taste of oatmeal and mashed bananas while we were on our family vacation at the beach. His first bowl was like I was feeding him chocolate laced with more chocolate. He grabbed the spoon out of my hand because I was feeding him too slow. From then on out, he never went back. My son can eat, and he's not picky about anything. I'm embarrassed to say that he's eaten a cracker from his hand that his dog licked first. What can you do?
Fast forward a few months to Halloween. I was dead set on a family costume since my husband and I have done a couple costume every year we've been together. What's the best three person Halloween? why Toy story, of course! By this time, he had just started crawling and was still the happy boy that he had always been. He also had easily transitioned from eating mashed food to eating off of mom and dad's plate, which was even better and more exciting. To say my son likes to eat is an understatement, he literally kicks/waves his feet/hands and snorts every time he is around food.
And now, I've come to today. The most bittersweet day of the past year. I have a toddler now. How can a year go by so fast?! I have gone from crying to laughing to crying again many times today. I'll go ahead and admit it now that no one will be able to console me when he goes to college or gets married one day.
Oliver is truly such a joy to me every single day from the time he wakes up in the morning to the time we say goodnight. He is such a happy boy all the time, it's impossible not to smile back. I always knew that I wanted to be a mother, even when I was a very little girl; but I never knew how fulfilling being a mom could be. My heart really feels like it's walking (well...crawling) around in the outside world. Celebrating a birthday right after Christmas has been difficult, but hopefully I can keep making moments like this happen for him so he always feels special. Who's up for a ball pit in their living room?!
And now, I've come to today. The most bittersweet day of the past year. I have a toddler now. How can a year go by so fast?! I have gone from crying to laughing to crying again many times today. I'll go ahead and admit it now that no one will be able to console me when he goes to college or gets married one day.
Oliver is truly such a joy to me every single day from the time he wakes up in the morning to the time we say goodnight. He is such a happy boy all the time, it's impossible not to smile back. I always knew that I wanted to be a mother, even when I was a very little girl; but I never knew how fulfilling being a mom could be. My heart really feels like it's walking (well...crawling) around in the outside world. Celebrating a birthday right after Christmas has been difficult, but hopefully I can keep making moments like this happen for him so he always feels special. Who's up for a ball pit in their living room?!
No comments:
Post a Comment