Before I was a mom...

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

I'm not sure who acutally wrote this, but it was a mom , for sure...

catching up

For the three of you that read this blog, my sincere apologies for not updating more often! It's busy these days with a super active 8 month old!! And seriously, 8 months!! Unbelievable! It seems that along with 8 months comes some serious independence. First, we decided that he can hold his own bottle. With no prompting from mommy, he just grabbed on to the bottle and that was that. And then, on Monday, he finally figured out 1st gear, and can move forward on his knees! Unfortunately, mommy and daddy were not here to witness it, but rather, grandma was. But he was more than willing to show off for us! And so now begins moving all things out of crawling height! The other interesting thing he has started doing is exploring his crib at night and nap time. It used to be that we would lay him down, and he would be pretty much in the same position that we left him in. Now, he's ALL over the crib! Vertical, horizontal, on his belly, on his side... every which way but the way we left him! He is incredibly adorable though when he's in the crazy positions. We've been having regular play dates, encounters, whatever, with Miss Eleanor and Greta. It's more that the mommies are chatting and pushing strollers while our little ones sleep or check out the world. That's all there is.... check out www.flicker.com/photos/karenbostwick for more cuteness that is Jason!

Teething

The title says it all. That is the world we have entered. We were so excited to finally feel his first tooth poke through his gums on the bottom a couple weeks ago. He was mildly, and I stress mildly, upset by the whole process, really not giving us any problems at all. Then, this weekend happened. Apparently, there is a tooth on the top that is fighting its way through the gumline. And by fighting, I mean making my poor little one miserable. Saturday was a cry fest. The only time he didn't cry was at Babies R Us, and I think that's b/c he knew that we were shopping for him! Seriously though, tears all day. In fact, I think he may have cried so much, that he unclogged the tear duct that has been blocked since birth!! I know it's part of life, and a rite of passage in a sense, but it just seems so cruel. He's such a good baby with little fussiness, so I know that this was a very tough weekend for him.

Now for Babies R Us. First of all, the store is wonderful and terrible at the same time. Anyone that has walked through the doors of this store knows what I'm talking about. Such great things for babies, so easy to break the bank. Our main purpose of this trip was to buy the big boy car seat for Scott's car (the one for mommy's car is on the way here!). Why must there be so many choices. Not just different brands, but different models withing the brands! Thankfully I had done some research, so it helped narrow down the choices (Evenflo Titan, if anyone is dying to know!) So, we get the car seat and the other non-necessary items that we just had to have and head over to the check-out. Now, I've heard stories about people giving out free, unwanted advice at grocery and other stores. I've never gotten it before, until of course, Saturday. If you have read the first paragraph of this blog, I explained the frustration that has been teething in our house. One thing I did not mention was that the binky seems to soothe him more than usual, I guess he is able to bite on it or something. Teething rings and such do not work for him. Anyway, we're in line at the check out and the person ringing us up says to my son in the sing-songy voice that all adults use when talking to a 7 month old "You're a big boy, you don't need that thing in your mouth"! Really? Would you like to come home and take care of my baby who is teething and crying over every little thing that happens. And by crying, I mean sobbing, snotty, tearful crying. I mean crying while eating (usually his favorite thing in the whole world to do) which then turns into pureed chicken and green beans being raspberried all over him, his high chair and me. And for some reason, I felt the need to defend his binky-ness to this complete stranger!!

Apparently I was much more angrier about this than I realized! I'm over it now, and my son is sleeping peacefully, and for the first time this weekend, is not sleeping in a Tylenol haze.

PS... thanks to Mandi for taking such great pictures of Jason! Visit Serendipity Studios at www.photobymandi.com