When does a new mom stop being a “new mom”? I mean, if it’s your first kid, no matter how old the kid gets, it’s still new to you, right?
My son turned 1 in November, and I finally finished breastfeeding after accomplishing my lofty one-year goal. I was surprisingly slightly heartbroken by the weaning process and ultimate quit date, but by a month after the last time I breast fed, I was over it, and proud of what we’d accomplished. The whole experience was yet another surprise of being a mommy.
"New" mom, Noelle with her son.
Here are a few other surprises I’ve had lately:
The other day I shut my 14 month old in the bathroom with me while I jumped in the shower for a quick cleansing… as usual, he crawled over to my bathroom drawers (no, he is not walking yet, don’t judge!), stood up and opened the drawers, and began methodically removing items, inspecting them, and dropping them on the floor. Occasionally, a small screw-top eye cream gets a little lick. A headband gets a taste. A hand-held mirror gets a bite. Then, The Baby (as we still call him, though he is probably technically now a toddler) disappears from view. I step out of the shower, and words I never thought I’d say come out of my mouth: “Byron, can you please just play with your toys, and NOT the toilet brush? YUCK!” I hurry, rinse off, and attempt to resume decent parenting.
Yesterday I went to lunch with a friend, a mom of a 4 month old. She looks amazingly put together and pretty calm, considering it is one of her first public outings in the winter with a former preemie. She seems clear-headed and articulate. Her mind does not seem to wander as I felt mine did for the first, um… at least 4 months. Maybe 9 months. Maybe one year. I order the fish and chips with a side of zucchini and squash, hoping to share my meal with Byron. He has previously devoured the delicious beer-battered (don’t judge!) fish from this Irish pub. He sometimes loves cooked vegetables. But on this day, all he will eat are the fries. And I’m fine with it. He’s drinking whole milk, and he’s not having a melt-down even though we are rapidly approaching nap time. The surprise here is that I am feeding him French fries for lunch, and I don’t feel too bad about it. It’s one meal on one day, after all.
Oh, and how about Facebook? Before I had a baby, I was slightly horrified that people I knew and loved were posting pictures of their children on the INTERNET!!! Where weirdo stalkers and child molesters could take advantage…? I have always lagged behind in technological advances, FYI. I just got my first smart phone for Mother’s Day in 2012. I still occasionally buy and regularly listen to CDs as my main form of musical entertainment. I do not own any sort of MP3, iTune device or other… (don’t even know what to name here). But, once I had this kid, I saw how stinking cute he was and what an amazing genius he is, and I had to share it with the whole wide world, on the internet, on Facebook, regularly!!! Our kids are growing up in such a weird time. I wonder if they will even have yearbooks? What would be the point, when they are connected and wired, famous and infamous from birth?
There have been a million other surprises I’ve had as a “new” mom… what have yours been?
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