you might think.

Dear Mommy-to-Be:
You might be scared to death of giving birth.
But millions of women have done this before you.  Your body was built to accomplish this scary feat.  You might not know what to do, but your body already does.  And so does your baby. 
You might worry about your recovery and how much it will hurt afterwards. 
You’re right, it will hurt.  But not for long.  In a few weeks, you’ll be saying “was I ever even pregnant?”
You might think there’s no way you can get pregnant while you’re nursing, and not having your period.
That’s a lie.  
You might think you already know it all, but you don’t.
You might think you don’t have a clue how to care for a tiny helpless baby, but much of it will come naturally.
You might think you can do it all on your own and it might be hard to ask for help.
And you really might be able to do it on your own, but 90% of the people that offer to help really do want to.  So let them.
You might think that your baby will never smile.  But then one day she will and you’ll know she’s smiling because she loves you and then?  Then your heart will melt into a puddle at your feet. 
There will be nights when you wonder if you even deserve to have become a parent because it is too hard and you are too frustrated and this baby stays up way too long in the middle of the night.
But this (like everything with babies, good and bad) is just a phase and it will be a memory in the blink of an eye.
Your back might be tired from carrying the baby that has NOT LET YOU put him down for the last 12 hours.  You might want to put him in the crib the second he falls asleep.  But don’t. 
Sit there, with him in your arms, and look at that perfect, innocent face.  Stare at him.  Memorize the curve of his cheeks and the tip of his nose.  Listen to him breathing and fall into rhythm with the rise and fall of his chest.  Because before long, that tiny baby won’t want to be held much at all. 
You might panic when other babies are teething and crawling and cruising and eating solids and _______ (enter every other milestone known to woman) before your baby does.  But try not to place yourself under that unnecessary stress.  Your baby is an individual and he will do what he’s supposed to do on his own time.  He’s just perfect. 
You might find yourself saying over and over I can’t believe she’s ____ (insert age of child by days, weeks, months, then YEARS) old already!  Because even though it’s cliché, these little ones really do grow like weeds and time really does fly when you’re having fun.  Turns out, it even flies when you’re not having fun. 
So try to enjoy every moment as much as you can.  And when you find yourself in a particularly un-enjoyable moment, just remember “it’s just a phase it’s just a phase it’s just a phase it’s just a phase.”  Think about it this way.  You’ll remember the good times.  The bad moments are just moments.  They will fade and become blurry in your memory.  The smiles, the daily joys of parenthood, the wonderful memories – that’s what you’ll remember. 
Love,
~C~

I’m linking up with Mama G at Growing Up Geeky for the Toddle Along Tuesday blog hop.  Today’s topic?  Advice for mommies-to-be.  Click the link to see what other mamas have to say.

What would you add?

project 365 (jan 18-25)

Project 365, Days 18-25
18/365: Pure Joy.  I love three things about this picture.
1: Dexter’s first tooth.
2: Dexter’s second tooth.  (See it?)
3: The joy on his face.  Babies don’t fake it.
19/365: New discoveries.
20/365: String of hearts.
21/365: He’s still got it.  My hubby bounced our friends’ sweet 6 week old daughter, Abby, to sleep on his shoulder Saturday evening.  He always wanted a daughter.
22/365: Hometown Rivals. 
The New England Patriots are coming to town for the Superbowl in a little less than 2 weeks. 
My hubby:  Thrilled.
The rest of Indiana:  Pissed.
The boys:  Decked out in their jerseys, thanks to our friends in Massachusetts.
23/365: I’m waging war against my diminishing milk supply.  Here’s the ammo.
24/365: Cozy with mama on the couch.
25/365: Superbowl XLVI comes to town!
 This week, I can’t pick a favorite because I really like them all for different reasons.  Except for my least favorite.  Uh, hello…Day 23.  I hate taking pills, especially 3 at a time!  Blech.  And the tea, well it tastes like licorice.  Double Blech.  Sooo, tell me.  Which picture is your favorite?
~C~
See all of my Project 365 posts here.

go. patriots?

Living in Indiana, my husband gets a lot of dirty looks for being a Patriots fan.  Try as he might, he just can’t resist the magnetic draw he feels to those wild boys, Bill and Tom. Indianapolis Colts fans are so mad that their biggest rivals, the Patriots, are coming to town for the Superbowl this year that a facebook friend went as far as to say “that’s child abuse!” when R posted a picture of our boys in their Pats jerseys.



What do I think of it all?  It makes me laugh.  It’s kind of funny to be rooting for the villian.  I mean…it IS just a game…right?

   

foot



b



all!



Theo’s pretty proud of his jersey, even though he has no clue what any of it means.
and Daddy?  It’s pretty safe to say he’s pretty proud of his 2 awesome sons.


~C~