In order to get up this morning, I had to wiggle my way out of the crack in between the borrowed two twin beds we stuck side by side in hopes to recreate the Cal King we had left behind. My husband nudged me a few times to make sure I was getting up in time for a coffee date in the kitchen before he left for work. It was a long night of loud screaming cries every two hours.
With Joss, however, I've been the relaxed mom when it comes to her sleeping. Joss has learned to sleep soundly in her crib, but she's also grown a liking to sleeping up against my side in bed with us {oh, I hear the mommy gasps already}. If there is one thing I've taken in so deeply since our departure from the Ranch, is that time with these children God has granted us is so precious and so limited. I'm sure I haven't even grasped it as close to other mommies whose little one is spending long weeks and months and maybe even lifetimes in a hospital bed, but I've grasped it enough to get up in the middle of the night, cuddle my little one and bring her into bed where she loves to nestle right into my right rib side, and although its uncomfortable, its one of my most favorite things.
Needless to say, last night was one of those nights I brought her in bed with us. But it didn't seem to change things much. She continued to wake every two hours crying and screaming. Nothing but a soothing bottle of milk would do the trick {I know, another gasp}. So this morning was a painful morning to pry myself out of the 'crack' and into my desk chair with a cup of coffee to hopefully send me straight to Consciousness.
Eventually I'll get there.
I'm learning to roll with the punches. Get out of the house a little and venture off so Joss can explore and absorb this temporary home since her time here is limited as is mine and yours. I let her crawl a little further away, lick the tile floor if she really wants to, chew on my house slipper if that's what makes her teething gums feel better, yell a little louder and SING at the top of her lungs in the car.
And for me, I'll journal a little longer, blog surf a little less, chase after her even if my knees hurt, tag along on those daddy/daughter walks, take more pictures, cuddle in bed more often, give more kisses, and panic a whole lot less.
You capture such beauty in your pictures !! She is adorable !!! I told myself I would never let my kids sleep in bed with my husband and I !!! Ha, that seemed to go right out the door, I loved snuggling up with my kids and looking at them while they slept next to me :)
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful moments captured. Savor every moment. They grow up so fast. I look at my kids and wonder...where did the time go!!
ReplyDeleteI don't have children yet, but I understand...sometimes you just have to roll with it and it looks like you're dong a great job.
ReplyDeleteOh, good job mommy! It's so important to enjoy our children, even if it does mean breaking the "rules" sometimes. Why does there need to be such pressure? They're only young and tiny once. Do what you want!! :)
ReplyDeleteI am grateful for this post! Thank you! Sometimes, I feel like a "bad mom" or I'm being judged by some of the things I do. But, we all make our own decisions, and sometimes being a Mom means we roll with the punches. Maybe we break the rules, but oh well! It's so refreshing to have posts like this. I think we all just need to spend quality time with our babies, whenever, and where ever we find it.
ReplyDeleteTo me, a bad mom is only one who abuses, abandons, or neglects their child.
ReplyDeleteBed sharing is something that I've been struggling with in regards to "good mommy" tactics... but I'm learning to just roll with it!
Thanks for the photo comments, pictures can't ever go wrong with my little one in them ;)
Rolling with the punches also means getting rid of three dozen hard-boiled, colored Easter Eggs in a creative way, like playing "Pitch-it-in-the-trash-can-from-the-hallway" among other things.
ReplyDeleteMy firstborn, who slept in my bed until until her baby sister came (then they BOTH slept in bed with Daddy and me), turned out to be an awesome mommy.