One Month Down

We have survived our first month.

I used to laugh to myself when I heard new parents say this, wondering why they were so smug and pleased with themselves about surviving one single month with a child (or children) who were obviously going to be there a lot longer than that. My God, they hadn't even hit the hard parts yet (potty training, preschool, teen years, the sex talk, etc.) and already they were celebrating?!!??! One month isn't enough time to see how much therapy your kid is going to need down the road because you laughed at their decoupage ashtray! Your job hasn't even started yet, so why the hell are you patting yourself on the back??!

I was so naive. I now include you in my toast to the parents who do make it that first month with their sanity more or less intact.

Here is to learning how to survive and thrive on less sleep than you thought was humanly possible. The Saint and I no longer sleep; we take snaps (short sleep time + nap = snap). We are pleased to say that sleep deprivation has not gotten the best of us....except the other night when I thought the extra pillow in our bed was our third child and panicked when I realized I was sleeping on "him." Or the night I drove to Target and forgot how I got there, where I parked the car and what I went there for. Or the night I almost forgot to feed Cooper as we sat in the chair together staring blankly in the dark, the bottle limply dangly in my hand. Ok, sleep deprivation has not killed any of us.

Here is to mastering the art of the big blue poo sausage courtesy of the diaper genie. I can pack those plastic baggies so tight you can bounce a bottle off of them. I hope the folks digging through our trash the other night were impressed with my camouflaging skills and that they hit every single toxic diaper that was in there. Good luck getting the smell out of your truck if you accidentally loaded one up.

Here is to shifting priorities and understanding what is really important in life. There is nothing more zen than rocking a baby in total silence, just being there for this new little life. (Ok, I may have peeked at my iPad once or twice but not nearly as much as I used to.). Here is to finally understanding what it means to live in the now and enjoy the moment.

Here is to embracing the hardest job on earth and loving every second of it...

- The 2nd Mommy