Update: I just found this draft that I had forgotten to publish on my blog! Thought I’d share it anyways! It looks like it’s from about two months ago! Better late than never:)
Having spent the last six months as a first time Mommy, I have had a lot of new experience and many different types of them.
Some embarrassing…some fun…some humbling….some exciting….some exhausting…some overwhelming…some rewarding…some sobering…some life-changing….some that brought out my true colors….some that Daniel and I bonded over….some that we argued over….but more often than not, they were moments that our hearts fell in love with Thomas and each other all over again.
Daniel and I are very different people today than we were six months ago, to say the very least. Here’s a glimpse of some of the things I find myself doing/feeling that I never imagined I would be doing/feeling at this point in my life:
For example, I keep finding myself googling what time the grocery store, the health food store, and many other stores open because our days often start at 7:00a.m. and so early morning errands sound like a great activity to make the time pass! And when I’m at the grocery store, I no longer look for the closest available parking spot, but rather the one closest to the place where you return your shopping cart so I don’t have to carry my very heavy six month old quite as far in the sizzling summer heat. And while we’re on the grocery store, I have to mention that my heart goes out to the sweet Publix produce men who are working whole-heartedly at keeping the fresh produce stocked when I come up to them and bombard them with questions like, “So how exactly do I tell if this avocado is ripe??” or, “Excuse me, Sir. Could you please tell me what fruits are about to go out of season?? See, I’m trying to make some baby food, and if this stuff goes out of season before I can find it and get it put up then how in the world am I supposed to get my hands on some then?” Or maybe the most annoying question that I’ve asked them before is, “Do you have organic apples…When will you get them in??…Well, what if this was your last shipment, like you think it may have been, then when will they be back???….Do you know of any other place I could find organic apples?….By the way, where do these apples come from??….Is there any way that if you do get some in that you could like call me or something??….So, here is my shout-out to the Publix Produce men….I really appreciate y’alls willingness to answer my questions and patience as I go in circles with y’all!
Another person/place that is really patient with me is my pediatrician’s office. I recently called up there so many times in a span of a couple of days that I finally just quit identifying myself and would say, “Hey Latrell. It’s me again. Thomas finally pooped!! Yayyyy!” And speaking of poop, I also recently surprise myself (and grossed my dinner guests out…Sorry James, Leigh, and Cass!) when Daniel yelled from the bedroom that Thomas had a stinky, funny looking color diaper, and I jumped up from eating my dinner and said, “Ouuu, hold on!! Don’t throw it away yet!! I want to see it!!”
On a little bit of a sadder note, I went shopping the other day at this cute little boutique that carries super cute and trendy clothes and did not find a single thing that I could or would even attempt to pull off. I kept looking at the clothes and thinking to myself, “Geez, I could never wear that….Oh wow, that would draw so much attention to my post-baby belly flab….Oh my, is this in style?! Man, I must be really be out of style if this is in style….what is this, a shirt? A skirt?…Huh?!?….” To further describe my change in opinion on clothing items, I now think that finding a bra with good support is worth more than my right hand. Ahem, I think all you nursing mothers know exactly what I’m talking about….
And while we’re on the nursing note, I considered giving this topic an entire post of its very own, and then decided that this is one of the topics that my husband would probably say, “Amanda, you don’t have to tell everybody everything all the time.” Sweet Daniel. He tries his hardest to stop me before I embarrass myself. Too bad he’s not here now while I’m typing this post….Back to nursing. Oh, the places and predicaments you will find yourself in while nursing! I could tell you every truck stop and/or restaurant between here and South Georgia that is “nursing-friendly,” meaning their parking lot has a good secluded corner you can use. I also can tell you where we do not stop under any circumstances….and that is places with loud bathrooms!! There is nothing more complicated and frustrating that when I’m traveling by myself with Thomas and have to stop to use the restroom. Thomas hates how loud public toilets flush. They terrify him, to say the LEAST. So, I have learned to use the restroom while holding Thomas in my lap and singing and smiling to him every time I hear a toilet flush in hopes of distracting him enough that he forgets how scared he feels. It’s exhausting. And complicated. It really is.
Thomas still will not stay with anyone but me or Daniel. We have not been on a date since we tried to go on this fishing date, which seems like an eternity ago. When I hosted a couples wedding shower for Jenny last weekend, I went alone while Daniel stayed back with Thomas. When I need a hair cut, I wait and go after Daniel gets home from work so he can keep Thomas. When I have to go to the dentist and get x-rays, Daniel has to come home from work so I can run up there. I have had to take Thomas to several doctors appointments with me, and they ended up being every bit as disastrous as I had imagined they would be. So I think that it goes without saying that I really appreciate that Thomas will at least stay with Daniel! For my yearly gyn appointment, Thomas stayed home with Daniel. Usually, I am very impatient when it comes to waiting on doctors. I mean, really, why are they always running so behind?? But ever since I had Thomas, I find myself enjoying the wait. The waiting room is quiet. I know Thomas is in good hands. I can zone out and relax. Not to mention these waiting rooms are always full of good magazines like People. I love celebrity trash. It’s my guilty pleasure. Leave your judgment at the door, please.
One of the biggest changes in our lives since Thomas was born is our schedule. I feel like people with young children are on a different planet from the rest of the world from about 5:00-8:00p.m. We go into survival mode. Get dinner going for me and Daniel. Put Thomas’s pacie in so he’ll temporarily quit fussing. Get out his baby food cubes and start heating them up on the stove top. Put Thomas’s pacie back in. Give Daniel a “Where are you and how soon will you be home!?” phone call. Smile at Thomas and clap your hands to entertain him. Give D a kiss when he walks in. Inform him that Thomas missed his afternoon nap and is very cranky. Roll your eyes when Thomas starts screaming, again. Say to Daniel, “See, I told you he was cranky”. Apologize to Daniel for being grumpy. Blame it on being hungry and sleepy. Clean up the dishes from warming Thomas’s food so they can be used again in the morning while Daniel feeds himhis dinner. Decide who is the hungriest and who gets to hold Thomas while the other one eats first. Or, on a good night where Thomas did get a late nap, lay him down on the floor in the den while we both get to eat at the same time. A luxury, I tell ya! Clean up the dishes while the boys play. Go for a ride on the golf cart to pass the time and entertain Thomas until closer to bed time. Bathe Thomas. Maybe bathe myself while D but Thomas into his pajamas. Ahhh, bed time! Nurse Thomas so he’ll get a really full belly and hopefully sleep until seven or so the next morning. All that to say, if you have a child or children, you know exactly what I am talking about. If you don’t, then you probably can not imagine eating dinner at 5:30p.m. Before having Thomas, we would have never eaten dinner that early. Never say never:)
There are a few other ways that I’m reminded that I am a really different person after becoming Thomas’s Mother. I do not text and drive anymore, and I think it’s really dangerous and reckless when other people do it….the sexiest thing I own is my one-piece or maybe my tankini….the most entertaining thing that I watch is a two minute video clip of Thomas lying on the floor doing absolutely nothing, I love it and can watch it multiple times…my idea of going to church is now sitting in the nursery with the nursery workers and getting to know them. I only dream of being able to attend a service and sit all of the way through it.
Lastly, my twenty-fifth birthday is coming up. I am almost a quarter of a century old! Somehow, “25” sounds a lot older than “24” to me. When thinking of what I “want” for my birthday, the words '”grocery store gift card,” “a nanny,” and “a glass of wine” come to mind….and the combination of all three in the same day would just be too much for this housewife to handle. I don’t think I would have asked for these things on my twenty-fourth birthday:)
