Things People Told Me... #2

# 2 "Enjoy it now because they grow up so fast".

I heard this about 1,000 times in the first month Isabel was born. Friends, family members, and complete strangers said this to me whenever they saw me with her. And to be honest... I kind of hated it because I didn't believe it. I mean in the early days of being a new mom each day felt like it lasted about 200 hours--- so time did not seem to be going fast at all. Some days felt like an endless round of breastfeeding, diaper changing and rocking. I really did not know how I was going to make it through the first month. I was going stir-crazy! And then 8 weeks hit and she slept a bit more and ate a bit less and it got a little easier... and then 3 months hit and she slept even more and we started to get out of the house for a while and it got a little bit easier.. and then suddenly she was 6 months old and sitting up, eating solids and going to daycare and I caught myself thinking "Wow! This is crazy. I can't believe how fast the time goes. It seems like she was just a little baby. I need to enjoy it now because she is growing up so fast!"

So really- this one was true. It doesn't always feel true in the moment, but it doesn't make it any less true. Someone I work with once explained motherhood as "days that feel like years and years that feel like days". I totally get that and I try to remember that one more now. Really it is like that with our lives in general. How often do we wait in anticipation for the next thing and forget to enjoy the moment. (For me- almost always!) So this is a good motherhood lesson I have learned and will now probably annoy other new moms with when I say "Enjoy it now because....."