I blinked, and this newborn baby…
turned into this {bright-eyed-almost-sitting-up-by-himself-smiling-from-ear-to-ear} baby.
Time. It sure does fly. And you can’t slow it down or stop it. But you can choose to relish the present…treasuring each moment of the season of life through which you are swiftly moving…accepting both the good and the bad as from the hand of God. This is one of my life goals. This is one of my goals as a mom.
I recently read a great blog post about how our society has {sadly} come to view children as burdens rather than blessings. The author mentioned that, by focusing on the challenges and annoyances that inevitably come with little ones, we have “lost out on the magic of what it means to care for someone.”
Magic. That word really struck me. And the more I thought about it, the more I understood what the author meant. There is something inexplicably magical about caring for another person, especially when that person is your child. Obviously, the first 6 months of parenthood for me have meant complete and total care of another. And don’t get me wrong. By magical, I don’t mean that it’s all been roses. It’s a hard job and a big adjustment. There’s a lot of spit-up and poop. There are so many questions and times when you feel clueless and wonder, “Am I doing this right?” There are days when you feel lonely and overwhelmed–days when you feel like you just can’t make it out of the house because you’re drowning in a pile of dirty laundry and you don’t have time for a shower. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t experienced these things over the last 6 months.
But there have been so many magical moments too–moments when I think, Oh Lord, I don’t deserve such a precious gift. When I watch Luke’s entire face light up the first time he sees me in the morning from his crib…magic. When I tickle him or sing to him and he laughs hysterically, as if I’m the funniest person in the world…magic. When I lean in to talk to him and he cups his little hands around my cheeks and looks into my eyes…magic. In those moments when I realize that he knows me and loves me too, even though he can’t say it yet…magic.
This is a season in Luke’s life when he needs me for everything. He needs me to get him out of bed in the morning, to feed him and bathe him. These are just mundane, everyday things, yes. These things require a lot of my time and energy, yes. But I don’t want to miss the magic in them because I know it won’t always be this way. One day soon he won’t need me for these things, and magical moments of motherhood will look very different.
Our Little Man has already changed and developed so much in just 6 months. He’s almost sitting up on his own {strong enough but still having some balance issues}. He’s eating solids 3 times a day {we’ve tried cereal, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, green beans, bananas, avocados, and applesauce….and he seems to like it all so far}. Our little 7lb newborn is now 15 lbs {25-50%} and 26 3/4 inches long {50%). He’s filled out a lot since we started introducing solids. I guess Mama’s milk just wasn’t cutting it anymore as he approached the 1/2 year mark. I think solids have helped with nap time too. L goes down for his morning nap pretty easily and sleeps for 1.5-2 hours. The afternoon nap is a little more tricky…he fights it more. He’s still sleeping like a champ at night and usually has a meltdown if we keep him up much past his 8:00 bedtime. L has SO much energy and personality. He absolutely loves to bounce in his Jumperoo and “scream talk,” as I call it. He talks like this all the time when we’re in public and makes quite a scene :). We’re pretty sure that other people in restaurants don’t find it as hilarious as we do. He is such a happy baby most of the time, and he brings us so much joy.
People say when you hold your newborn baby for the first time it’s “love at first sight.” I suppose this is true. Of course I loved Luke from the first moment I saw him…or really from the first moment I knew of his existence. But that love is different now. As in any relationship, love for your child grows with time. The more time I spend with Luke, the more I get to know him. The more I know him, the more I love him. Sometimes I wonder how we ever lived without him. I am so thankful for the last 6 months, and I pray for many, many more.
Gospel-Shaped Womanhood 