Six Months into the Mommy Experience - Post #1

Charlotte turned 6 months old on April 20th. Crazy how that time has flown by! I've learned a TON during these months...about being a mother, a wife, a friend, and about myself as a daughter of the King.

• Try to enjoy every single moment, even the ugly ones - this is true anytime in our lives but it seems that having a child has made it more real for me...it's like I can SEE the passing of time as my daughter grows older & bigger. When Charlotte was a newborn I was so absorbed in learning to feed her, physical & emotional exhaustion, and being a new mom that I really missed out on enjoying her being so little. I kept wanting her to be older...to be able to nurse easier; to keep a pacifier in her mouth for longer OR put it back in herself; to not need me so much. Now that she is older, I already miss those days of her being so small...and I want her to need me. Keeping a gratitude list has helped me tremendously in maintaining a joyful perspective. I don't want to continue to look back and wish that I had enjoyed Charlotte more....I want to enjoy her NOW, in the good and bad moments. Right now Charlotte has some days where teeth coming in really bother her. At first I'm frustrated because I want her to play on her own so I can do things around the apartment, but I've realized that I'm actually being given an opportunity to sit and cuddle with my daughter. I'm being given an excuse to REST!! And snuggle my sweet baby girl! So I'm learning to find blessings even in, or maybe especially in, the ugly.
• Just about the time you get the hang of one thing, something new pops up - so at this point, I feel like I've mastered some things that I once found challenging....nursing, diaper changing, soothing a fussy baby, bathing a tiny baby, sleeping and not hearing every little noise that Charlotte makes. :) But babies don't stay small forever, nor do they stay babies forever. Nursing may be easy and enjoyable for us now, but she can't drink milk forever (umm, yes, this has spiritual implications too). We have to introduce her to solid foods and eating from "adult" utensils. So now Brendan and I are learning how to feed a baby solid foods, to bath a squirmy, wiggly baby, and change clothes and diapers on a baby who wants to roll over all the time. Our baby is growing and so are we.
• My husband needs a break and time to relax from his job - this may seem obvious and, no, I didn't just learn this, but I learned it in the context of having a child at home. Recently, I realized that just about every evening and weekend since Charlotte was born I had wanted a break from my mothering duties and had looked to Brendan to give me that break. Never once had I thought that its really not that hard for me to keep doing what I'm doing so that he can relax from his job. I know this goes both ways, but God used this time in my life to reveal some sin in the form of selfishness that I needed to seek forgiveness for and turn away from. And, wives, have you ever found that the more you serve your husband the more he wants to serve you? I am not advocating that we should give so that we can get, but in my experience I've found that being blessed by being served makes me want to serve in return. And in my marriage I've found this to be true in both Brendan and myself.

Okay, so I've realized that I've learned more in the past 6 months than can fit in one blog post. :) So I'll say this is the first post in an unknown numbered series to continue over the coming days.