The (not so) Joys of Motherhood

Most mothers agree that being a mom is the best job EVER! Nothing beats nurturing, loving, cuddling, teaching, and all the others things we do with our children. Yet there are undeniable hardships that come with motherhood. I figured to keep my blog a bit more 'real life', I would write about some of the challenges of being a mom. Perhaps you can relate!

Mothering my baby Saige:

Spitting up: Saige is a big time spitter -upper. I know most babies spit up, but the frequency of hers is kinda insane. Anyone who has held her for more than 10 minutes can attest. She eats about 6 times each day. She spits up 3-4 times after every meal (no exaggeration here). So even estimating low, she spits up about 18 times a day. She has been alive for 138 days. So basically she has spit up around 2,484 times since birth, which was just 4.5 months ago. Ha! She honestly wears a bib almost every minute that she is not sleeping. Switching out a bib is easier than changing an entire outfit.

Impeccable timing: Im sure EVERY mom can relate to this one. I put Saige down for a nap, and feel a sense of relief when I close the door: time to myself! I hustle to get some chores done (dishes, paying bills, laundry, whatever) then sit down to read, sew, watch an episode of Prison Break and the MINUTE I put the blanket on my lap or hit play or open the book, what do I hear from the baby monitor? "WaaaaAAAAAaaaa! WAAAAAAAA!". You have GOT to be kidding me. Its only been 45 minutes (or less)! I eventually laugh at the timing of it all, but I wish I could set a timer for naps "Ok, Saige, you WILL sleep for 1.5 hours this afternoon". That would be fabulous!

Time away from home: I must say, I love nursing Saige. Its so much fun for so many reasons. The tricky part of nursing, as you may know, is you don't have much time between feedings if you want to run an errand without a baby. So the other evening when I needed run to a few stores without my princess, I got all ready to go before I fed her, then I nursed her, and as soon as I was done I handed her off to Brad and in my mind said "Readyyyyyyyyy, GO!" and sprinted to the car and in and out of the places I needed to go, trying not to speed on the road. Sometimes when I am out like this, I will get a call from Brad half-way thru my shopping and the first thing I hear on the line is "WAAAAAAAA!!! WAAAAAAA!!" followed by a frazzled father asking when I will get home. It cracks me up.

Someone recently told me she loved it when her baby would cry because it meant "Mom, I NEED you!" and she was reminded of her special duty as a nurturer. Keeping that perspective has really helped me during the last few months. Its wonderful that the sweet moments outweigh the challenges of motherhood. The joy brought into our lives with the birth of Saige is truly amazing and the hard times are making me a more patient and selfless person.