It has been so fun being with Nadia this month. I love seeing more and more of her personality. Nadia is such a social baby– she lights up when I come home from work and starts smiling and cooing. Sometimes she really gets chatty in her little baby voice and I just wonder what she’s thinking about. At times her vocalizations sound similar enough to how I expect she would respond (e.g. “okay” or “yeah”) and it makes me laugh.
There’s been so many other little things that slowly have changed since we took her home– she now enjoys bath time (phew!), can listen for longer periods when we read stories, and has gotten much stronger. She rarely is on her tummy (because she almost always spits up in this position), but she can fully support her head when we hold her upright. She amazes me every day– truly it seems like she learns something new everyday.
This month we also celebrated Christmas for the first time as a family of three. One of my favorite moments was taking a walk and noticing there were little snowflakes in the air. It felt like a storybook.
Things Nadia especially enjoys now:
-Singing– she loves when I sing to her, and sometimes she will join with her little vocalizations. I love singing to her in the mornings when I get ready for work, we’ve been on a Beatles kick lately.
-Epic long afternoon nursing sessions– Nadia has no issue (anymore) taking bottles while I’m away, but my goodness once I’m home it’s another story. It seems like nursing now takes twice as long because Nadia wants to take long breaks to smile and sleep. While sometimes it feels like I’m being held hostage, I try to enjoy the snuggles (and bring a book).
-Dad– Daniel started his family leave about a week before Christmas. For the first two days we tried sharing the parenting tasks equally throughout the day, but Nadia wasn’t having it. She refused bottles and would cry when Daniel tried to comfort her. It really hurt Daniel’s feelings. Thankfully, Nadia has decided she in fact does love her dad. I’m glad they have gotten their time together since I have been at work. I think it’s good for both of them.
-Her hands- Recently Nadia found her hands and she thinks they are the greatest! She loves starring at her fist and then slamming it into her mouth. Sometimes we put on her teether glove, but she doesn’t seem to like that as much.
Things Mom is enjoying:
Does it make me a bad person to say I’ve enjoyed being back at work? Don’t get me wrong, becoming a mother has been the best journey, but I missed being able to talk to other adults, accomplish things, and LEAVE THE HOUSE! Life as a stay at home parent can be wonderful, but it is also a mostly thankless job. You’re working towards the prize of a secure relationship with your baby that you won’t fully realize for another twenty years. Meanwhile at work, it’s been so satisfying catching up with my coworkers and patients and knocking out to-do lists left and right!
The afternoons– My coworkers laugh at how punctual I am about leaving work in the afternoons. But what new mom doesn’t rush home to their baby? Coming home and snuggling with Nadia or taking a walk is the best. I usually get home around 4 and she’s often going to bed by 7:30. It may not be long, but we make those hours count.
Marathon meal prepping and laundry on the weekends– well, this one is a love/ hate. I usually cook a couple big meals so I don’t have to cook again until the second half of the week. Same with laundry– it just makes the weeknights go better. Although, honestly the weekends as a working mom feel busier than the work days!
Lastly, oreos! Being dairy-free means I can’t have a lot of sweets, but thankfully oreos are surprisingly vegan! After I put Nadia to bed, there’s a 90% chance it’s oreo time 🙂
This month marks the end of the “fourth trimester” and Nadia is no longer considered a newborn. I honestly feel like I’ve grown as much as Nadia these past few months. I had ideas about how I might like to parent, but there’s just no way to know until you’re there. I must say I like the mother I’m becoming and feel good about the way we are choosing to raise Nadia. When Nadia was just a teeny-tiny human, and we were still at the hospital the person administering Nadia’s hearing test asked me “Is she always like this? What calms her down because she needs to be still for the test.” I remember thinking “Lady, are you crazy? I just met this kid and I have absolutely no idea how to calm her down.” Thankfully, Nadia eventually settled down (and isn’t deaf), and I now know how to comfort my baby.