(If you're for some reason reading this post and wondering what the heck I'm talking about - there was originally a pic here of me and my beautiful newborn nephew. At the request of his parents, I've removed the pic. But if you know me and wanna see the pic, shoot me an email :). And just trust that he's the cutest thing EVER.)
I'm sorry, but could this kid BE any cuter???!!! No, no he could not. For anyone reading this who doesn't already know (although I don't know who that would be), this beautiful specimen of perfection is my new nephew, Eli Benjamin. Sweetest. Baby. Ever. And no, I'm not biased.
Meeting him last week really got the biological clock ticking. I mean, I just celebrated the Big 3-0 so I'm not getting any younger. But while my previous concern about having kids was whether I could handle it or not, now it is whether I could handle moving past the newborn phase. Seriously. Holding Eli is my new very favorite thing in the world. I've held newborns before, but there was just something about having him sleep on my chest the way he did - I don't know. And even the few times that he did cry, I wasn't bothered at all! That shocked me about myself, but I think it may have been because he was truly upset about something (hungry, wet) and not just screaming cuz he needed a nap. Cuz when he needed a nap, he just fell asleep! Brilliant! (I'm looking at you, toddlers! Take note!) So how do you still tolerate your kids when they get older and start to scream for no reason and talk back and you are left to think back to how sweet they were when they were a week old? How does that not just devastate you? I mean, I'm not deluded enough to think that my kids are going to be as angellic as I was as a child (right, Mom?). And if they have even a fraction of the opinionated, stubborn personality of their mother and father, Z and I are doomed.
So until I've reconciled this within myself, I'm opening myself up to anyone who may not care for the newborn stage. I find it hard to imagine, but apparently there are those who find it exhausting and look forward to their kids being able to do things for themselves. So they can drop the kid off with me and I'll take care of them like they're my own. Then, as soon as they start thinking and doing for themselves, back to biological mom and dad they can go. Easy, right?
I'm only partially kidding, by the way.
But seriously, what is cuter than this???:
(Sorry, the pic was removed - but take my word for it)
NOTHING! That's what!
4 comments:
Ok Devin, let me give you my two cents as a three time mommy.
The newborn stage is wonderful -- they are insanely precious and tiny and snuggly. They smell fatastic, and they are fascinating to watch, even (especially) when the are asleep.
But.
Then comes the part where they are up and down all night long. They prevent you from having more than 3 hours of sleep at a time for months unless you are REALLY lucky. They squirt you with poop and pee (both genders -- and no, I'm not kidding) and give you virtually no feedback for the first two months they are alive. You wouldn't think that matters, but when you are that exhausted, it does.
The nice part about them getting just a little bit older is that they start smiling. They start having personalities that make then seem like real people instead of dolls. They start sleeping better and when they sleep, you sleep, and it makes a WORLD of difference in how you feel.
I won't say I don't sometimes miss the newborn stage because when I see pictures like the ones you posted, I do. But then I stay the night at my sister's house (she had a 2 month old the time) and I hear her up and down all night and I think, "Nope. Don't miss that."
One more thing: your nephew sounds like a happy and content baby. I had two of those. But my first baby had colic. From the time she was 2 weeks old until she was 8 weeks old, she screamed -- SCREAMED -- bloody murder from 11:00 pm until almost 6:00 am EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. Nothing was wrong -- she was fed, diapered, burped, rocked, walked -- you name it, we tried it. She was just miserable. For that reason, I was thrilled when she was no longer a newborn.
And trust me when I say, you think you love your nephew now? Wait until he smiles at you or runs up to you when you come through the door. You have no idea:)
And could I have made more spelling and grammatical errors in my comment? Good grief. I think just writing about newborns made kick into sleep deprivation mode...
yup. that's how they get 'cha
Thanks, Nicole. I definitely needed that perspective.
Post a Comment