What I've Learned from my Six Month Old

T is six months old today. This morning, I looked at the photos from the day he was born. They are nicely framed on my foyer wall. When did I EVER have time to frame and hang photos?

I'm amazed at how fast life moves when there's an infant in the house. It really does feel like yesterday that I pulled him out of my womb. (I'm still very proud of that). T and I have both evolved and are both very curious to know what happens next. He teaches me something new every day. I wanted to take some time to reflect on what I've learned in the first six months of my son's life.

Eat, Move, Rest

Our mommy lives are always going to be VERY busy. We need to keep up with little people that have unlimited energy. Actually, we work hard to keep our babies healthy so they do have energy for physical and brain power. It just makes sense that we do the same thing. Here's what I do to for my energy level.

Don't be a Perfect Mommy

I spent the first three months of T's life trying to be the perfect mommy. I ended being disappointed in myself every time T cried. Being the perfect mommy is exhausting, frustrating, and self-destructive. Babies are forgiving. If you take too long getting a bottle or you eat dinner before they do, they'll forgive you. They don't care if the laundry is done. They don't care if the dishes are done. They just care that you are there for them.

Cry

I practice this once a week. I'm an emotional person. A good cry always makes me feel better. Being a parent is the toughest job on the planet. You don't get a paycheck, you don't get a lunch break, and you don't get weekends off. Holding your emotions in is only going to make things worse. So if the kids have been screaming all day, the kitchen looks like a bomb went off, and your youngest just fell asleep at midnight, have a good cry.

Reconnect

I'm still working on this one. I'm not a very romantic person. I know how to be sexy for M but not romantic. Since baby, our relationship takes second place. I still want M to feel special just as I like M to do the same for me. I've started writing him little love notes every day. Whether it's a silly joke or an invitation to meet in the laundry room for a make out session, I want him to look forward to the little 'blue' notes.

Like most parents say, your love life changes drastically. You can't be spontaneous and you can't limit encounters to the evening. Sometimes baby's nap time becomes play time for the grown ups. Or sometimes you set the alarm for 3 am and get frisky.

Intimacy is very important to M and I. Intimacy doesn't mean just sex. Patting your hubby on the bum as he passes you or giving him a sexy kiss when he comes home from work is intimacy. Cuddling on the couch is intimacy. Communicating is intimacy.

Pray

I'm not a religious or spiritual person. I've struggled with believing in a god my entire life. When T came along, I had to ask someone or something to protect him. I'm still not sure what or who it is that I pray to, but I have a feeling they are listening. Sometimes I pray for a good night sleep. Sometimes I pray for T's teeth to come in. Mostly I pray for T's health and well-being.

If I didn't pray, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Take photos

I get it, no new mommy has time to edit, develop, and sort through photos. And who the hell has time for scrapbooking??? So just take them. Take LOTS of them. Download them on to your computer once a week. Back up the saved photos once a week. Then when the little one gets older you'll have the photos to edit, develop, sort through, and organize. You might even have time to scrapbook or frame and hang them.

Find Your-new-Self

My old life is a distant memory. I've evolved more in T's six months than I have my whole life. But I'm still learning about the new me. I mostly do this via my blog. I get to write down my feelings and rant about the shitty stuff. I also learn about me through T. All I have to do is look in to T's eyes when I'm rocking him to sleep to know that I am this kid's everything. How incredibly lovely is it to be someone's everything?

Be Silly

I get to act like a kid again. T loves it when I dance and sing off key. He loves it when I'm happy. Some days I have to fake happy but as soon as I start acting silly, I don't have to fake it anymore.

Being silly means doing something completely ridiculous. Something you would be embarrassed if your friends saw you doing it. Like the hokey-pokey. My kid goes CRAZY for the hokey-pokey. I will do anything to make my kid laugh. For T, this usually means me being silly.