The One Thing I Wouldn’t Change/Starting the Day with a Smile

The tritest thing I've heard is that babies change everything. It's probably one of the #1 things people say because, well, it's true. They do. And I knew it would be true, but I didn't know to what extent. I knew it would expand my capacity for love. I'd naturally become a little more selfless, compassionate and patient. These things I expected. I did not expect, however, that I would have to become a morning person. Especially because for the first few weeks, she just slept all day. Then, when she did increase her wake time, it was in the afternoon. It was several weeks in before she started the 6am wake-up routine. Sometimes it's as early as 5 when she cries for breakfast and I begrudgingly drag myself to the crib and just pray she'll sleep-eat and I'll get a couple more hours. But there is no doubt about my day beginning when I look in that crib and see that gorgeous smile that just screams "Good morning Mommy!!" It's [almost] enough to make me completely forget how exhausted I am. It really is a remarkable smile - it might be the best one she gives all day. I think God gives her the smile as His way of cushioning the blow to my circadian rhythm.

Stuck in a Moment I Can't Get Out Of/Don't Wake Baby!

As of writing this in May, Baby Girl hasn't quite reached the stage yet where she is okay napping on her own. She needs to be cuddled the whole time or she'll wake up. She's gradually getting better and better and I've been able to risk setting her down for the sake of doing something else relaxing (see "Not Sleeping"). However, on the days (which are very often) when she goes down with a fight, there is not a single thing I will do to risk waking that child back up. I will go hungry, thirsty, bored. I will risk ruining my bladder by holding it before I'll risk ruining nap time. I will not move a muscle. There have been times when my water bottle is within sight but not reach and I just have to stare at it until either Sleeping Beauty wakes naturally or my husband comes home. It might seem drastic, but anytime I think "nah, she'll be fine" she instantly wakes up and throws a fit. My whole day is now shot because I reached for the remote.
This is where my iPhone comes in. With one small device in my hand, I can email, check facebook, take and post photos, play word games, read CNN, listen to music (often lullabies to keep baby asleep), read parenting advice (see "Conflicting Advice"), text Andrew to tell him how thirsty I am and can he plleeeeeasse hurry up, or get on IMDB to figure out who that guest star is on BH 90210 (It was a teenage Jessica Alba today!).

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You/Life is a Classroom

The day I returned from maternity leave, a student asked me how I enjoyed my "break" and I just laughed. I worked harder during those 12 weeks than I ever have before. My #1 job: stop the tears. To stop the tears, I have to figure out what's causing them. To do that, I need to get to know Crazy Baby's cues, patterns, needs, etc. That requires intense round-the-clock studying. I can now tell (with 75% certainty) what she needs by what type of cry she has - which was impossible for me to determine the first few weeks. I know the secret combo of swaddling-shushing-swaying she needs to fall asleep without a single cry, which also took a very long time to perfect and still doesn't work nearly enough of the time (like right now... seriously, just fall asleep already!!). I didn't know any of this when I took her home, and I still didn't know it when my first 6 weeks were up. My lessons were not complete. They're still not, but I feel like I've learned enough to teach others so they can watch her while I'm at work. I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life getting to know her and I'm also confident that there is nobody on this planet who knows her better than her own mother.

Babies Everywhere!/Jealously Doesn't Look Good on Me

Seriously, it seems like everybody around my age had a baby in the past year, or is about to have one. I swear, there are going to be a bunch of toddlers running around at my high-school reunion next year. Every other post on my Facebook news feed is about some newborn sleeping through the night at 3 weeks, or moms losing all the baby weight before even coming home from the hospital. Suddenly, I find myself wanting to defriend every new mother I know because I hate the temptation to compare my daughter's every movement to their perfect child, or even worse, to swell with pride at their imperfections. But I don't, and I won't, because once the jealousy subsides, I'm going to need their advice. Where can I find a great deal on diapers? How do you like your carseat? And for the love of God, how can I get her to sleep through the night!?

I Love All My Children the Same/Kitties Need Love Too

Among the least helpful statements (see "Poop Stinks") made pre-baby was how much I'll ignore my cat. On the day I went to the hospital to deliver my Bundle of Joy, I posted a picture of my cat. Instead of people saying how cute she is, etc etc they commented on how that'll be the last picture I'll ever take of her. Wow, how optimistic and loving that sentiment is. Thank you for sharing. I actually still love my kitty very much. I missed her while I was in the hospital and couldn't wait for her to meet her new "sister". Do I love her on the same level as an actual human being who came out of me and shares my DNA? No, of course not. Do I love her as much as I ever have and try to shower her with the same amount of love and affection as I did before? You betcha. I still take pictures of her. Maybe not as many as my daughter, but Lane is kind of done growing so I don't need to "track" her development like my baby’s and well, nobody is demanding pictures of her.

My Husband is a Rockstar/How Do Single Mothers Do It??

The first couple weeks, I wasn’t much good to anybody, especially my newborn. My husband immediately took over every duty he could (while still laughing at the word “duty”). Even when I became human again, he still went out of his way to do every single thing he could. He cooks, he cleans, he wakes up in the middle of the night to change dirty diapers. He sings songs and makes faces. He is so patient and loving. He's hard-working and self-sacrificial. He has the best daddy’s voice and he can work magic when he paces the room while lulling her to sleep.
One thought ran over and over in my head since Daddy’s Girl joined our family - I cannot make it on my own, especially when I'm "Stuck". Sometimes I just need somebody, anybody else to help (cause I just really have to peeeeeee). But as I go back to work, I'm grateful that I don't have just anybody. I have Andrew. The best father in the world (especially in her eyes). I am now way more grateful for him than ever.

What, Do I Smell or Something?/Don’t Be a Stranger

When I got married, my single friends stopped hanging out with me. I was offended at first, but then I realized they thought they were just being polite – not wanting to disturb the newlyweds. I tried to make it clear that I needed interaction outside of my husband but it was hard to break that mindset for many friends, especially those who knew me before I was married. Since moving to Texas where people only know me by my married name, we were able to establish an open door policy. Our friends easily make themselves at home in our apartment.
However, now that there’s a baby, our door has been mostly closed. Even after announcing the pregnancy, our social lives diminished (only partially due to the fact that I was so exhausted!). Many things have changed (see “Babies Change Everything”), but my desire for adult interaction hasn’t. If anything, it has increased. I still enjoy game night, going to the movies or just a good old fashioned chat session. Even if I need to take care of baby simultaneously, I can still play a mean game of Scrabble. So please, don’t be a stranger. As cute as My Little Talker’s babbles are, she hasn’t quite learned to quote Billy Madison yet.