I once heard someone say "9 months in, 9 months out" in reference to a new baby. I really like this saying and since Harper is nearly 9 months old, I thought I would write a little about my thoughts. Since I have become a mother, I have changed drastically from what I expected I would be. I think that as a society of mothers (and fathers) we rush everything! When a baby is born, the world is a big scary place. If I moved to a different country, would it not take time to adjust? I think so! I would be a mess. I think new moms or pregnant women, including myself, have so many false expectations about bringing home baby. It is the most wonderful experience BUT it IS HARD! New mommies wont talk about the fact they cried all the time because they dont want the dreaded "post partum depression" label. Well, let me tell you, I cried ALOT. I think we have this picture of bring home the baby, being a little sore, the baby latching on to the breast, classical music playing in the background as you bond with your baby. That is not the case. Like I said, it is the most exciting time of your life, but you have never been that tired, breastfeeding hurts, you are sore like you didnt expect, hormones make you crazy, etc. Every mom is different but these are things i have noticed. I think if women pregnant with their first babies were a little more informed about these things, there would be far less post partum depression or anxiety and more mothers would breastfeed. Drs immediately jump to formula if the mother even looks a little stressful. Breastfeeding is NOT easy in the beginnning like I thought it would be. Anyways, I think that as a society, we need to give our babies more time to adjust to the outside world. We are not giving birth to a toddler (thank God) that can just walk around and tell us what they need and somewhat care for themselves. I was going crazy with Harper not sleeping until I started reading online and MOST babies do not sleep all night for a LONG time. I thought I was the only sleep deprived working mom out there. I am rambling but my point is that I am making it a point not to rush Harper and jsut respond to her needs as they come. If she sleeps in my bed, so what? If she doesnt sleep, through the night, so what? (obviously I am writing this after a good nights sleep) Someday, she will be grown up and not want to hang out with me. Will she be a crippled adult because she didnt sleep all night until she was 1? or 2? I doubt it.
So anyways, sweet baby Harper. She is absolutely the joy of our lives. She crawls like crazy now. She is getting faster and faster and enjoys exploring and getting stuck under the papasan chair or in between the table and the couch or a laundry basket. She smiles almost constantly. She babbles and is beginning to waive bye bye. She pulls up to everything including my legs when I am getting ready in the mornings. SHe has discovered the dog water and is very interested in the dogs. To our surprise, Simon is actually the best with her. We are shocked! I thought Simon would be the one to snap at her. Rosco and Zeus just ignore her.
She does sleep with us some (dont judge :) ), which started out from sheer desperation after being up all night long and still going to work the next day. She is a big time cuddler. Every once in a while, she will wake up for a few minutes and jump around and play. Its cute for about 5 minutes, then not so much. She almost wakes up and whimpers and reaches out for me and tries to find my hair. Like Scott said, "oh, that is so cute" but again, not over and over again. We have had a few good nights of sleep. I am just trying to tough it out as long as I can. I think it is going to be (and has been) a very slow transition to her sleeping all night and in her own bed every single night.
When I come in for lunch, Harper smiles and jumps up and down. Its the cutest thing I have ever seen. We havent had too much separation anxiety yet and I am dreading that. I still hate leaving her but it seems to be better as long as I have a positive attitude.
Everything is going great! :) She is reaching so many milestones everyday and has been on the outside for almost 9 months. Time to put her to work!
