Baby worries
Being a mom is pretty awesome much of the time. Being able to calm my baby down just by nursing her, comforting my toddler son because he's crying and doesn't have the words to express how he's feeling or what he needs, and hearing my son say, "Bye bye, Mama, see you later, nanoo! (love you)" melts me to tiny bits. But seeing my kids struggle in even the smallest ways (most recently, it's seeing my son's eczema flare up to the point that he is in tears, and pinpointing the exact reason my tiny baby daughter's weight gain has leveled) makes my heart ache. Feeling helpless is the worst.
I finally get it now, though. I get what my mother told me all these years when I rolled my eyes and told her not to worry about me--"You'll see when you're a mother." These worries DO keep me up at night. They DO riddle my mind throughout the day. I literally have two tabs in my internet browser open right now with search results on "natural sunscreens for eczema" and "remedies for infant reflux." These worries will only grow over time, too. I know when my kids hit high school, I'll be worried about whether they're getting into trouble, or if they're aware of the risks of unprotected sex.
Logically, I know it's pointless to worry about all of this, and yet, I still do. And I always will. But gosh darn it, I'll also do everything I can to hold on to all of those special moments we have as a family, despite all of those worries. Like the first time my son peed in the potty and my husband's entire family was at home and we cheered and congratulated the poor boy, who was so very confused by what was going on. Or the time my baby girl, who was only a few weeks old at the time, let out literally the biggest poop I had ever seen come out of a baby--and I've seen a lot of baby poop (yes, many of our memories involve bodily fluids and such). My husband and I were on it, changing out her diaper and wiping her down each time we thought she was done...except it just kept going. And going. AND GOING. Finally, we just let her do her thing, which was literally for about ten minutes, and finally just threw everything in the wash and plopped the baby in the bath. Everything was covered in that mustardy yellow diarrhea-like poo. Three cheers for parenthood!
I hope that in the coming years, even in the midst of our worries and concerns, we'll all still bond as a family, laugh together, cry together, and actually enjoy spending time together. That's what it's all about, right?
I finally get it now, though. I get what my mother told me all these years when I rolled my eyes and told her not to worry about me--"You'll see when you're a mother." These worries DO keep me up at night. They DO riddle my mind throughout the day. I literally have two tabs in my internet browser open right now with search results on "natural sunscreens for eczema" and "remedies for infant reflux." These worries will only grow over time, too. I know when my kids hit high school, I'll be worried about whether they're getting into trouble, or if they're aware of the risks of unprotected sex.
Logically, I know it's pointless to worry about all of this, and yet, I still do. And I always will. But gosh darn it, I'll also do everything I can to hold on to all of those special moments we have as a family, despite all of those worries. Like the first time my son peed in the potty and my husband's entire family was at home and we cheered and congratulated the poor boy, who was so very confused by what was going on. Or the time my baby girl, who was only a few weeks old at the time, let out literally the biggest poop I had ever seen come out of a baby--and I've seen a lot of baby poop (yes, many of our memories involve bodily fluids and such). My husband and I were on it, changing out her diaper and wiping her down each time we thought she was done...except it just kept going. And going. AND GOING. Finally, we just let her do her thing, which was literally for about ten minutes, and finally just threw everything in the wash and plopped the baby in the bath. Everything was covered in that mustardy yellow diarrhea-like poo. Three cheers for parenthood!
I hope that in the coming years, even in the midst of our worries and concerns, we'll all still bond as a family, laugh together, cry together, and actually enjoy spending time together. That's what it's all about, right?
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