It's about 2am feedings, and 4am snuggles. It's about sweet potatoes on the floor and exploding diapers up the back. It's about being peed on walking to the bathtub, and being spit up on after just changing your shirt. It's about the struggle to clip her fingernails, and the fight to get her to sleep. It's about eating that first bite of dinner, and then feeding her instead. It's about Friday night emergency room visits because of a diaper rash. Yes. A diaper rash.
It's about working a daily shower into your schedule and wondering when your next run will be. It's about learning the value of a 2 hour nap. It's about tasks that used to take 10 minutes now taking an hour and running errands on an unpredictable schedule. It's about walks downtown instead of hikes in the mountains and it's about Friday nights in, and happy hour rain checks. It's about lugging 12 lbs of gear around for a 12 lb baby and wondering how you're going to push a stroller and grocery shop at the same time. It's about dirty dishes that don't get washed as quickly, laundry that has to wait, and vacuums that don't run as often.
It's about caring so much more, and at the same time, caring so much less.
It's about a million firsts - the first time she held her head up, rolled over, reached for a toy, and sat by herself.
It's about that first smile in the morning, and the squeals of delight when you snort at her. It's about yelling as she tugs on your hair, just to make her laugh. It's about those beautiful blue eyes looking at you for love and comfort. It's about rescuing her from the vacuum, and holding her when she's lonely. It's about a million kisses and "i love you"s. It's about the first time you cried harder than she did, because you didn't know what was wrong. It's about watching her sleep in your arms, and not wishing to be anywhere else.
It's about discovering the true meaning of love and patience. It's about worrying and mistakes and learning and being thankful - thankful that the coffee spilled on the carpet, and not on the baby. Thankful that the thud in the bedroom was the fan falling out of the window, and not the baby falling off the bed. Thankful that you were the one who got the stomach flu. Thankful you fished out half of the cardboard gum box that was now in her mouth.
It's about learning about her, but also learning about yourself. It's about realizing what really matters.
