My
baby boy is turning the big number 1 tomorrow. Don’t even ask me where
time has gone… Because I honestly don’t know! I feel as if I was just
pregnant last week.. Sitting in Kannon’s room with Adam, talking about
how we couldn’t wait for him to be born. & then it seems like it was
just yesterday that I delivered him. In fact, I still remember holding
him for the first time so vividly that it’s almost unreal. Oh the many
tears that were shed in that hospital room! I think I spent those first
few days just staring at him & crying because I couldn’t believe
this perfect miracle was really mine. I literally can’t believe that
it’s been an entire year since he was born… I’ll admit it, I have shed
quite a few more tears this past week thinking about how fast time has
flown by.. It’s hard to realize that your “baby” isn’t really a baby
anymore.. BUT that’s life! If you didn’t have those “hard”
moments, you would never grow or become stronger! So since time has
flown by & I’ve now had quite a few of those “hard” moments, I
figured I would share with you all some of the things that I’ve learned
over the past year. I know that there are a million things out there
like this but I never get sick of them because on those challenging days
of motherhood, it’s always nice to know that you’re not alone! &
let me tell you, motherhood will be the most challenging thing you ever
do. Caring for another human being can be difficult (especially when
they can’t speak yet). But guess what!? They aren’t lying when they tell you
that IT IS ALL WORTH IT!!! I would do the challenging days a billion
times over just to have Kannon! So, here it goes. Sorry it’s so long!…(Please don’t judge
me ;))
*DON’T STRESS OVER THE MESS– & by this, I mean ‘try’
not to stress over the disaster your house//life//appearance may become.
Really I should say “will become” because let’s be honest, it’s going
to happen. Every mother on this planet can vouch for that. Yeah, I can
just hear you saying “no, I’m gonna be different. I’ll stay organized
& clean up. I’ll put clean clothes & makeup on. How hard can it
be!?” Well sweetheart, let me tell you… It gets hard. Incredibly hard
on some days! As they say though.. This too shall pass! (So far, our
apartment is still slightly unorganized & usually more messy than it
is clean. I’m sure one day I’ll get our place in order though! I’ll be
sure to let you all know when ;))
*SLEEP LIKE A BABY– Oh those
restless nights with your newborn. I know, you all have heard it
countless times. I heard it too. From just about everyone I had a
conversation with while I was pregnant. They warn you about the newborn
stage & how often you are awake during the night to feed your
precious little babe. What people forgot to warn me about was the long
nights I had ahead of me way past the newborn stage! Kannon was a great
sleeper from day one, as long as he wasn’t hungry, he was happy to just
sleep away. Until he turned 7 months… Then he started hitting
developmental milestones like crazy & he just decided to wake all
through the night. His little brain was just too excited from all of the
cool things he was learning that there was//is no time for sleep! Thank
goodness we co sleep so I’m not getting up & out of bed 10 times
throughout the night. & yes, that’s present tense because even at a
year old, he still has those nights where he’s
teething//growing//sick//learning new things & wakes up quite a few
times & needs some snuggles to go back to sleep. PS. Those snuggles
are the best thing ever & I (& I’m sure you) would not trade them for
anything in the world. They make you instantly forget about all of the
challenging times. Literally.
*YOU MUST SLEEP TRAIN YOUR BABY!(OR NOT.. ;))–
Ohh just one more of those things that you hear about from everyone
& their mom before you have a baby. I had it all planned out… Yep,
I remember like it was yesterday. We were going to start sleep training
him after about 8 weeks old. It was the perfect plan! Kannon was going
to be sleeping through the night because I had it all planned out. After
all, Babywise had worked miracles for all of my friends right? Wrong!
It took us trying quite a few methods before figuring out that Kannon
was just not into the whole “sleep training” thing. He liked to make his
own schedule & sleep when he wanted to sleep for as long as he
wanted to sleep. Once we figured that out, life was much easier. (Sleep
training really can work wonders, it just wasn’t the right thing for our
little one, he has a mind of his own :)) He started sleeping through the night between 7&8 weeks
& guess what!? I didn’t use any of the sleep training methods I
planned to use. Guess what else? We said Kannon would be sleeping in his
own room at 3 months old & *gasp* ended up becoming a co sleeping
family instead! I know, how could I be so irresponsible!? I had a plan,
dangit! Just another life lesson… Don’t try to plan your baby’s life
around your schedule. From the day that little one graces the earth with
his or hers presence, your life will forever revolve around them. &
after some adjusting, you will forget all about the life you had before
them because even thinking of life without them will make you cry (as
will just about everything else :))
*DON’T LET ANYONE GET YOU DOWN!– This is probably the hardest thing about being a mom (in my
opinion). The second you give birth, every other mother (& even some
men) think it’s their right to tell you the “right” way to do things.
(I’m sure I have even had my moments.) But it’s not!!! YOU are in charge
(with your spouse of course) to choose how you raise your family! What
works for one family may not work for yours. It honestly is all trial
& error (& there will be a lot of that) until you find what
works for YOUR family. For example, we have had soo many people tell us
that co sleeping is terrible. That we’re damaging Kannon somehow &
that we are going to create serious issues for him. (Even though many
other countries around the world co sleep & never use cribs ;)) It
is perfectly fine that they don’t want to co sleep with their kids. I am
not telling any of you that it’s the right thing for you to do. We sure
didn’t plan on co sleeping as I stated above but it just WORKS for our
family! We all get a better nights sleep when we are together but that’s
just what works for OUR family! So please, as hard as it is at times,
dont let others get you down. They have no idea what is best for your
family OR your baby. Only you as parents can know that. & to be
honest, THAT is what’s so wonderful about it all! 🙂
Being a mom
is the greatest blessing. I know I’ve said it before but I will say it
again & again because I truly believe it. I couldn’t ask for a
better calling in life. I love Kannon more than I could have ever
imagined. I had no idea what love truly was until I had him (Adam will
fully agree with me)! So on those hard days, when nothing seems to be
going right & you look like a hot mess with tears streaming down
your cheeks, remember that you are not alone!! We ALL have those days!
& they are what make us grow & become stronger! Sooo here’s to a
messy house, wearing pajamas way more than you would like to admit,
those days when you just need to have a good cry & most
importantly… To all of those special moments you share with your
little one(s) that make EVERYTHING WORTH IT!!!
HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY KANNON!!!
You are the most wonderful little boy! Your smile, your laugh, your little personality makes every day the best day yet! I love you so much sweetheart! More than you will ever know!!!