The Change in Me

There are so many things you know will change when you have a baby and yet so many things that are surprises of which you just begin to adapt.  For instance, I no longer wear the long necklaces I used to always wear because Silver is constantly trying to grab them and put them in her mouth.  My necklace I miss the most was made in Uganda by a woman/man/orphan that rolled magazine scraps by hand and I figure that really can't be very hygienic for her to chew on.  :)  (But it is a great cause and the necklaces are awesome - Beads of Hope Africa).  But, anyway, I'm thinking about getting one of these necklaces from http://www.smartmomjewelry.com/ because I miss wearing necklaces!!!  And I bet Silver would love it.

I'm also no longer wearing bracelets for the same aforementioned reason.  *Sigh.  And I'm constantly late.  Even when I'm sure I'm going to be on time, I'm late.  Sometimes five minutes, but usually closer to fifteen.  If it looks like I'm going to be on time, there will certainly be a last second spit up, diaper leakage, or something of that nature.  Minus the time we made it to church on time and left the diaper bag at home... :)

In addition to the time it takes to get out the door, you don't realize that a 15 minute grocery store trip takes 30 minutes by the time you've got the cart cover on, the kid out of the car, the toys in the cart with her, you slow down periodically to distract her, then you've got to pack all of her stuff up and get her back in the car before you unload the groceries...  Everything just takes a bit longer these days.  :)

Another change that I wasn't aware of is the sleepiness factor.  You expect to be tired during the first months, but you don't hear as much about how 8 months later, your baby might still not be sleeping through the night.  DISCLAIMER: if you're judging me right now b/c Silver isn't sleeping through the night, STOP.  I do not believe in the 'cry it out' method and Silver is still pretty much exclusively breast fed.  So, if you're miracle child was sleeping through the night at this point, then good for you.  But I bet he/she was bottle fed and did some crying those first couple of nights... So, to each their own.  :)  I know I'm not alone in this because the mamas in my Mom's Support Group went through the same thing with their little ones and they've got my back.  :)

You'd think at 8 months things would seem 'normal' and I would be in the groove of things.  And some days I am in the groove, knocking things out like you wouldn't believe.  Like I've been doing it my whole life even.  But other days, maybe the majority of some days, I still feel like a first time mom who is a total mess... And you know, I'm okay with that.