* You see pieces of yourself in your child, but mostly, they are just them. They are not necessarily a combination of you and your partner--they are a unique human being.
* Every minute counts when you have an infant. Since having Aidric I find myself measuring time not by hours or minutes, but by the amount of time I have until he'll probably want to be fed again. I find myself choosing things like eating breakfast or getting a shower in over more sleep.
* Nursing and being pregnant force you to make healthier choices you wouldn't always make because your health and longevity effect someone else in a more direct way than ever. It's easier to pick the oatmeal over the doughnut than it used to be.
* I still like doughnuts.
* My body wasn't nearly as destroyed as I expected it to be after childbirth. I'm carrying around an extra ten pounds. My hips and ribs are wider. My bust is larger. My belly is softer. But you know what? It's really not that bad. I look like myself, about half of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit, and my husband thinks I'm beautiful, so who cares? I'll get where I want to be eventually.
* Speaking of destroying your body, did you know that the level of trauma on your body during childbirth is like being in 3 car accidents? Fun fact.
* I now know for sure when I became a mother--it was when I said my stepfamily vows to Dannika.Any sort of bias I may have had towards my biological child was nipped in the bud when I promised myself two months before the wedding that I would love her, that her father and I would show her what a healthy relationship/marriage looks like, and that I would always be respectful to her biological mother. Since Aidric was born it has been of utmost importance to me to make one-on-one time for Dannika every day whether it be reading a book together, praying for her at bedtime, or planting flowers with her out in the yard. She is my child, just as Aidric is, and I want the very best for her in life.
* Nursing clothes are ridiculously expensive for what they are. If I had any sort of background in business or fashion design I would create the Target or Kohls or nursing attire and completely OWN the market.
* Speaking of nursing, breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I have ever done. This includes moving to a different school district as a pre-teenager, getting an A in math class (those who know me can appreciate this one), teaching 7th grade English at an impoverished school, and moving past a heart wrenching break up. I always knew that breastfeeding was difficult, but I didn't really understand why until recently. Simply put you get to do something that physically hurts and exposes yourself inappropriately once every 2 hours for approximately 20 minutes and while you do it, you can't do much else. Repeat every 2 hours around the clock, but feel free to take a longer break at bedtime. You know, say, 4 hours. Continue for the next several months.
Oye.
And yet, I still do it because it's good for my baby and giving my baby formula makes me feel guilty.
* Other things that make me feel guilty: Not picking up A.J. when he wants to be held, giving him a bath, not giving him a bath, making him do "tummy time", not making him do "tummy time", not talking to him enough, not singing to him enough, not sheltering him enough, sheltering him too much, and so on. . .
* Aidric's favorite setting on his "Sleep Sheep" is called whale. Essentially, my son finds the sound of an alien mating call soothing. To each his own.
* I am not scared to go walking around my neighborhood by myself or with my dogs. Walking around the neighborhood with my baby racks my nerves.
* I'm getting very good at doing things with one hand. I'm typing this entry mostly with my right hand, because Aidric is sleeping in my left.
* Stay-at-Home Mom= Professional Worrier
* It isn't "the miracle of childbirth". It's the miracle of a child.
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