The Days Are Long. The Years Are Shorter Than You Can Imagine.
Some of my friends have had their babies, and some more are due soon and it’s such a wonderful sight to behold. There were so many things I didn’t know I could enjoy when I was pregnant, even more moments I didn’t know had the capacity to yearn for until I had Theo and now the little things I wish I was more conscious of when I had them now that I’m observing my friends being wonderful mothers to their own children.
PORTABILITY
While holding a friend’s 4 month old yesterday (and taking deep, deep breaths because babies smell so amazing) I realized how little we took advantage of that stage in Theo’s life. While they’re not mobile, while they’re still pretty much squishy little lumps it’s the best time to take them out and DO things as a couple. They’re still fairly easy to soothe at that age and save for the occasional public blow-out (nothing an extra set or two of clothes can’t fix) and maybe nursing in public, they’re so portable that we totally could have had more meals out.
So when your baby has had their shots (I am pro-vaccine, FYI) and it’s less stressful for them to be in crowded spaces, just BRING THEM WITH YOU. They’re still easy to hold with one arm while you eat with the other, they’re still so tiny that their cries aren’t bad and they can be calmed down with some rocking or walking. They will sleep ANYWHERE. Also you will put a smile on most people’s faces because who doesn’t love a cute little baby????
NAP SNUGGLES
If I had known how little a bearing holding him while he napped would have on sleep training I would have done it so much more. Babies are trainable and they are way smarter than we realize. On hindsight we probably could have had him sleep with us or hold him through his naps for much longer and it wouldn’t have affected a thing but that wasn’t very clear until we started sleep training fairly late in the game at nine months.
Take this with a grain of salt though, because my child may be very different from yours. My point here is that I wish I savored those moments of just him and me as he slept on my chest more instead of worrying about him self-soothing or (worse still) worried about my emails.
PHOTOS & VIDEO
**So many selfies**
I’m making a point to be less shy about asking The Husband to take pictures of us when Theo was tinier because I don’t notice how much he’s changed or grown until I look at older pictures of him and frankly, there can’t ever be enough pictures of your child on your devices.
But we have enough, it’s not like there aren’t any, but there can always be more. And more video too, of him talking, babbling, singing... my excuse is that I try not to use my phone too much in front of him but I suppose taking pictures of him is still interacting with him, and is way different than just mindlessly scrolling on social media in his presence (which I’m also trying to do much less of).
Theo is the only child I will be able to have. I don’t have “next time” so for as tired as I may get, I need to enjoy all this with every fibre of my being. I guess even if we could have more children, giving 100% to every moment is something I should abide anyway!
What’s something you wish you’d done with your baby? Or that you wish you could do more of? Would love to hear that I’m not the only one going through this!!
