Lessons in Mommyhood ~ Were growing into it

Now that I have made my first blog post, let me formally introduce myself.  My name is Crystal and I am married to an awesome and supportive guy named Jonathan.  We have one lab Shepard mix (our first child) and one 5 1/2 month old son named Mason.  He's pretty adorable.  I'm partial, I know, but the kid really did come out of the womb handsome.  I always say that God knew I needed a beautiful baby...

I certainly didn't start this mommy journey feeling equipped.  Even though I had always dreamed of having kids, I had never considered myself someone who loved babies in general. Growing up, I was the youngest of two and our family was fairly small.  We had a few cousins who had babies when I was old enough to perhaps hold one, but they lived far enough from us that I didn't see them that often.  I didn't have many opportunities to hold babies and when I was around them I was too timid and afraid that I would do something wrong that I would never offer to hold a friends baby, let alone change their diaper.  In college, I had a part time job babysitting in the toddler room for a M.O.P.S group nearby.  That's when I learned that I loved toddlers.  What a fun stage!  I often thought it was too bad  that babies didn't just come out at that stage.  Unfortunately, my timidness with other people's babies carried on into adulthood and even as close as a few years ago when our friends started having babies.  The good thing is that watching our friends care for their newborns and now toddlers did begin to build my confidence and taught my husband and I a lot about what we wanted as parents once we were blessed with a bundle of our very own.  Our parenting style will most certainly be a mix of our own style, what we have learned from our friends, from reading, and the values that have been instilled in us from our families.  If you put it all together with the child that God has given us and we have a perfect recipe for anybodies guess.  Huh?  Well, we don't know either.  I guess we will figure it out!

So far in my short 5 1/2 months of being a mommy, I have learned:

1. Just when you think you have it down, everything changes!
2. Nursing a baby was not as easy as I thought it would be
3. Postpartum depression at some point is almost a given
4. The quality of my day is dependent upon whether or not my son takes good naps
5. The harder the baby fights the nap, the more tired they are
6. True rest is reserved for those without small children
7. Cloth diapers are easy and worth the extra work (not to mention how much they save)
8. Nothing I had read prior to this journey could have prepared me for this
9. A supportive husband is an essential
10. Baths really do help babies sleep better
11. Starting solid foods is less fun than you think
12. Sound machines and monitors on all the time don't phase you one bit.

We're still learning and growing right along with him.