10.28.2008

adjusting is learning...

being a new mommy again has been an adjustment. it hasn't been a negative experience. in fact it has been a very good one overall. yes, there have been hard times and times where i feel like i am losing my mind. being a mom of a newborn is the easy part for me. i am tired but who isn't when you are a parent of a child of any age. i love the newborn stage - taking care of a baby is easy and comes natural to me and i can't think of anything i enjoy more! balancing that responsibility and the needs/demands of the three older kids is where it gets a little tricky. but we just take it one day at a time. and i am learning a lot being a new mommy again. here are a few things...

1. i have really enjoyed this down time. i have basically cleared my schedule and have made no commitments since jaelyn was born. i have kept the days and the evenings very wide open. something that i didn't do with baby #2 and #3 - which i regret. i jumped back into doing things very quickly then. occasionally we will have a visitor or two or we may go on an outing here and there - but i have said NO to a lot of things. in some ways it is hard for me to miss out but i have enjoyed having quiet days and quiet nights. i am not quite ready to get back into the busyness of life - it will always be there when i am ready to commit again!!

2. i have my own "mommy style" it took having four babies to realize that and to be confident in that fact. each of us parent our children differently - we do what works for us and our family. i remember feeling so clueless and fearful with my first child. and then with the next two babies - i knew what to do but wasn't as confident. this time around i know and am confident in how i "mommy" my baby!

3. i love holding jaelyn and i have made that a priority. i let everything else take second to that. i have made the choice to hold her and love on her while she is tiny - because i know how fast this time will go by. i will choose to hold her over vacuuming or folding laundry - those things always are there for me to do - she won't always be so little!!! obviously, i don't let the needs of the rest of my family go unmet!! i am learning how to balance them all and still have plenty of time to love on jaelyn.

4. i love to "wear" jaelyn in a baby sling!! i love it. i haven't done it much around the house but i have done it while we have been out. my friend, gina, made me a sling as a gift!! it is one of my very favorite pieces of baby gear! i didn't use a sling with my other babies - i did use a baby bjorn and liked that - but i LOVE the sling!!!! we get lots of attention when i am wearing her - no one can believe there is a tiny baby in it!!!

i am sure there will be lots more that i learn as a mommy of four, this is just the beginning of our new adventure!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

be looking for a package in the mail...it's finally been sent!! love you! MISS YOU!!