The First Time Mom

Oh my gosh start laughing with me before you even read what I did!

I was so honored and enthusiastic to actually be carrying a baby I got pretty zealous – especially since my mom had died a few years prior. Not having a mommie to talk to and share the excitement and wonder left me adrift. I filled the drift with lots of research.

Believe it or not, I actually created a CHART to compare different parenting book recommendations regarding the number of layette pieces needed. I carried that chart to the Carters outlet and bought the average of the recommended number of items. You know - undershirts, sleepwear, burp cloths, etc. The girlfriend shopping with me was chuckling at my earnest shopping desire to give my baby the “correct” number of items. (ACK!)

Once my baby girl was born, I was in heaven! I’d lost my mom – my best friend – and had desired to be a relational mom to a daughter in the next generation. Celebration! God had answered my prayers! I adored this sweet-cheeked easy going and alert baby. I also made everyone who came in contact with her wash their hands before touching her. They could not shorten her hyphened 10-letter first name, ever. Not only that, I put all her toys in the dishwasher nightly and when she was crawling, I made sure all her Duplos were put back in their original arrangement. We won't even talk about how I color-coded her outfits into Ziplocs when we traveled or wrote on the "Baby's First Year" calendar until she was 13. (You think I'm kidding...)

For her first birthday, I invited four other tots, stayed up night after night to sew them each a stuffed duck. Each duck wore a pink or blue bib embroidered with the guest’s name. Pretty overdone, huh?! The moms blinked and said the “party gifts” were nicer than the gifts they brought. (Correct.) I was just soooo happy to share my long-awaited baby girl’s first birthday I couldn’t contain myself.

Now I can pick out first time parents within seconds. I see the doting, glowing and innocence. Nothing wrong with that - it’s just that reality sets in when that sweet baby grows into a four-year-old who throws up on you at 3:00 a.m. and you spend the rest of the night hosing off the family and doing laundry.

So now I'm not so over-zealous, but guess what? I still delight in my heart with each stage and action in both my kids' lives. They are still my babies, and yep, I am still thrilled that I get to be their mommie.