Family Friday: Our First 8 Weeks with Miles
As someone who never really babysat children growing up let alone changed a diaper, having a baby of my own that I would need to care for terrified me more than giving birth. Luckily for me, that process was WAY easier than I originally anticipated, a story I will be sharing later this month.
For those of you scared of how you'll be as a first time mom in the same shoes: don't be, because it turns out that "natural mom instinct" is real and listening to it will be your best friend; and so will Pinterest & Google. I thought I would get lucky since my husband was raised in a family of 6 kids to my family of 1 kid, but him needing to go back to work a week later part-time meant that I had to get my s together and step up. Every bit of knowledge I knew I lacked I researched. Everything else I tried making up along the way and it ended up being the right thing (or at least the right thing for the time).
Unfortunately for us, Miles turned out to be a colicky baby, but it's getting better. We think. We hope. Colic is not something I would wish on my worst of enemies. As someone with anxiety who easily gets headaches, dealing with the excessive crying has been a challenge. Luckily for us, his colic isn't even as bad as it could be. And right at the end, he hit a sleep regression and growth spurt at the same time. Poor little guy just can't seem to win. As I write this, he seems to be on the up-end of it all.
I feel, though, that I got very lucky starting out with the baby I was given. His neck is far stronger than it should be, which has made learning to hold and carry a baby easier. His strong neck has also meant more successful tummy time activities and alternative sleeping positions for him. In fact, we are able to relax a tiny bit when he sleeps on his stomach because he's advanced enough to lift his head and turn it as he sleeps, something I guess not all babies are able to do. And most recently, he's been able to roll himself over if on the bed or propped up well enough on the floor!
As we approach the 2 month mark and hit different milestones like finding voices with our eyes, bringing our fists to our mouths, or learning to say new sounds, I can't help but wonder how soon he'll learn other new things and what I'll need to do to teach him them. For years I voiced about not wanting children, and now I find myself excited to mom it up everyday. It's funny the path you find yourself on in life sometimes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have (another) diaper to change!
