This morning I’m typing this blog post from my phone, in my recliner, with a little six week old boy across my chest. I have put him down twice this morning. Once to go to the bathroom and once to make myself breakfast. Those two moments ended with massive crying spells. You know, the ones where babies (or kids) turn red, have a quivering lip, and little tiny legs stiffened out…
That’s my morning.
Cold coffee, no breakfast (yet) other than some cookies (and not just any cookies, but lactation cookies), I’m reminded that these moments will not last forever. The fussy spells and the quick naps will pass. And this little baby boy will grow up so fast that before I know it he will be starting school.
Starting over as a mom has made me realize that each of my children have been different and the same. Does that make sense? They have all relied on me to provide, comfort, and care. Even at six weeks, Oliver reminds me of his brother and sister.
All of my kids liked to be cuddled. Oliver loves to be swaddled. He also loves to be in a diaper with a blanket around him. I sometimes forget he spent most of his early days in a diaper, swaddled while in NICU. He likes to be on his tummy, resting on your chest–just like his brother and sister.
And while I am a little stressed, worried about his fussiness, wondering if his tummy is upset, I know these moments will not last forever. He will grow and change (he’s changing every day), and these little moments will be memories.
While my oldest, Kirsten, is not gone from the house just yet, soon she will be going to college. Soon she will be on her own. And then there’s Caden, the middle child, who will be going to high school in the blink of an eye. These two big kids, older siblings, have taught me so much and I know that I have a lot to learn with Oliver.
All of these moments and times in between matter. The changes that come with infants, the changes that come with a high schooler and middle schooler, moments that will not last forever, but will make a mom (or dad) stop and realize that the moments do indeed make a life.
