Looking at my "babies" now, my heart aches thinking about how time has just zoomed by so fast, in a blur! Wasn't it just yesterday I was holding my brand new baby girl and looking into her precious face? And here she is, almost 8 years old.
Having gone through the "baby phase" 3 times, I feel I have changed and "morphed" into the mom I am now because of the situations I had to face. How I parented my first child was SO different than how I parented my 3rd. I wish SO many times that I could go back and re-live those newborn days (which were a HUGE struggle for me with my first 2 kids). I enjoyed my 3rd baby's newborn days soooo much more and sometimes it makes me sad to think that I missed out on so much with my first 2 because I was desperate to get it "right". Whatever that means!
If I could go back to my daughter's baby days, and even my first son's newborn stage, I would do things SO different. And most of these I learned after I had my 3rd baby and enjoyed him so much more (even though he was a fussy baby too).
If I could go back:
1) I would hold my babies so much more. I was so stressed out that I was ruining my baby's sleep habits because I was holding them too much, that I never enjoyed holding them much.
2) I would throw out all my books about parenting and babies. Yes, I gleaned a lot of information but that information made me go nuts and when things weren't going as the books said it should go, it would send me into a emotional tailspin which usually had me end up on my bed crying in a fetal position.
3) I wouldn't stress so much about their sleep (easier said than done when you are a sleep deprived mama!) But I was so worried about how they were sleeping and how much time they were awake and should they be sleeping this long, that my life revolved around their sleep and I felt tied down to that "routine" I created. Yes, I am ALL for routine, but when that routine governed every single moment of my life, it became an obsession.
4) I would take more time to stare at their little faces while they slept in my arms...these precious faces that grow up so quickly. Cherish those peaceful moments.
I don't know what stage you are in. Whether you are a mama like I am, who is looking back at how fast things went by as you see how big your children are getting. Or if you are a new mom who is severely sleep deprived and don't have a clue what you are doing. Just know...these precious little beings who make us cry more than we thought we would, yet brings us amazing joy at the same time, will grow up in a blink of an eye. Treasure each moment. And love and cuddle your baby without worrying about anything else. You don't want to have those regrets when you watch them go off to school for the first time, or when they go to their first sleepover. Know that you loved them and cherished each of those precious baby moments...and that "this too shall pass" when you are in the midst of colic or refluxing babies (like I had!).
It's funny that you wrote this. I was just thinking how much more I enjoyed Tessa's babyhood than my boys for the same reasons. But Tessa is my youngest and Sophie is your oldest. It's all good! They all manage to survive our silliness in the end. :)
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