If you’re a parent (or know one at all) I’m sure you’ve heard the line, “The days are long but the years are short.” It’s one of those idioms that new parents get to hear when the baby hasn’t slept for 4 days, cries all the time, throws a tantrum, or has a tooth poke through.
The days are long. Sometimes.
But then those years? And sometimes even months? Are so so short.
I’ve been doing a lot of reminiscing lately, a lot of poring through my old photos on my phone from a year ago. This time last year we were in Dallas, shopping for a few things to put in our not-yet-born baby’s room. I was very pregnant and exhausted, wondering how in the heck I could still have weeks left to go. This time last year was hard on a lot of levels, but so sweet in others.
Ten months ago though? I never could have imagined the sweetness that filled our lives when A was born.
It hasn’t been easy all the time. I’ve struggled a lot with letting go of things, of being OK with mess and clutter and weird schedules and no sleep. But then I look at this precious 10-month-old boy and can’t remember much of the yuck.
A has grown a lot literally just in the past week. At his 9-month appointment he hadn’t really mastered some of the milestones that W had at that point. (Just another lesson in the fact that no one is exactly alike and you can’t compare kids to one another). He was doing fine, but we were just told by the doctor to really try and push him to do things like eating chunkier foods, start pushing up on his hands and knees, babble, clap.
Just this past week? He has literally started doing all of those things, all within about a day. It’s crazy and fun and I don’t know how many times I’ve declared that I don’t feel ready to have a little dude cruising around already.
Saturday morning I walked into his room after his nap to find him sitting straight up in his crib, babbling “dadadadada” with a huge grin on his face. Saturday afternoon I walked into his room after his nap to find him STANDING UP IN HIS CRIB, babbling “dadadadada” with a huge grin on his face. His goofiness is amazing.
I always wondered what it would be like to have a big, loud, Italian family, and let me tell you: with these two boys? We don’t really need a ton of people around to fulfill that. They are both very big, they are both very loud, and they are both Italian. It’s going to be crazy(er) very soon, and I’m kind of super excited. But I’ll be taking out stock in Ibuprofen for sure…
A is sleeping well through the night most nights, and is such a happy dude. Except when he’s not. And when he’s not happy you better believe he’s OK with letting you know that. For the longest time we laughed about how stone-faced he can be, but that phase is slowly fading and he’s got a huge scrunchy-nosed grin for anyone he sees in the grocery store, at church, or wherever we go.
In the beginning of his life I wondered if we would ever get to the point where I didn’t have to hold him and support every inch of his body every moment of every day. But now I look back at the sweet nights when I would wake to nurse him, and I miss it. I’m happy we’re where we are now, but those days really did go too fast.
He’s loving most solid foods now and we’re at the point where, if we time it right, we can actually go eat at a restaurant together and not dissolve into a sobbing, screaming pack of people just trying to get the check and get out of there. There’s a pleasantness to us being able to eat together, finally! I also have been able to push him in the grocery cart (this has been for a while now) and in the double stroller without the carrier, and it’s so nice. So much more interaction!
The fact that I’m no longer nursing has been sad, but also has helped me to get back to where I feel more like myself again. The postpartum hormones are long-lasting, and I guess I didn’t realize that there’s another cocktail of them when you stock breastfeeding…but there is. And I’m not going to say I’m totally over the hump, but I’m definitely feeling more balanced and less weepy these days. I’ve been doing the ol’ workouts and trying to eat well most of the time, which is certainly beneficial in a lot of areas, and have seen some progress in reaching health goals lately. Yay team.
It seems so crazy that in a few short weeks I’ll have a 4-year-old, and then a few short weeks later a 1-year-old. Those years have flown, but only because we’ve been blessed with two incredible boys that make things fun even when they’re not.
A, you are such a joy. I can’t wait to see you grow, to see you and your brother become friends, to see the man you turn into. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with you taking your time though. You are funny, sweet, snuggly, always-moving, never-stopping, curious, and quite the ham. Your father, brother and I love you so dearly sweet boy!
Our pastor just last week gave a great sermon on parenting (here’s a link, if you’d like: https://www.foothillsbaptist.org/tag/parenting/) But our church took it a step further and actually gave jars to each parent, one for each kid, with beads inside. Each bead representing one month until your child turns 18 yrs old (aka… an adult!). We now have three jars (one for each of our girls) on our shelf at home with far too few beads left. The days can be long, but the years (and months!) are far too short!!!
What a doll baby he is! Seriously so cute. Love these updates and so happy that you’re trusting that momma gut rather than giving in to worry and stress. Milestones are so hard not to stress about, but it’s crazy how they all do things in their own time.