My Baby is 1! Mommy Bottom 10.
My little baby turned one yesterday. Part of me is sad and part excited. We are thinking that Creed is our last, but I won’t say for sure. My plans have not always aligned to God’s plans. I like the baby stage but, I don’t love it. I know some people just love, love the infant stage. There are things about it that are wonderful, but a lot of it is so hard.
A few months ago I wrote Mommy Top Ten, my favorite things about babies and little kids. Here is my Mommy Bottom Ten. These are the things I will not miss about having babies and little ones.
LACK OF SLEEP
I can survive without sleep but not function. When I do no sleep I lose brain cells! I can’t think straight. I forget things. I am not organized or motivated. The running of our home becomes more of survival than skillful management. My body goes on survival mode, and I start producing more cortisol. When this happens my adrenals start to malfunction. I go into adrenal fatigue. This last time with Creed it was bad. I was so weak. Even though my pregnancy was great and I was healthy. The recovery after he was born was very difficult.
2. HAVING TO GET BACK IN SHAPE AGAIN
I have had five babies and one miscarriage. My miscarriage was pretty intense. It took me almost a year to recover from it. My body has had to get back in shape six times. It is brutal! No matter how hard I tried to stay in shape during pregnancy, it is not the same. Before I had kids I was pretty good at working out regularly. I will always remember what my midwife said to me at one of my first appointments, “You have some of the strongest ab muscles I have ever felt.” Man, I have come a long way from then! After I had Thaddeus because I had spent so much time on bed rest I dealt with plantar fasciitis. There were days I spent soaking my feet in ice and hopping around the house because I couldn’t put pressure on my foot. I remember wearing tennis shoes to Easter Sunday (he was born November 1) with my Easter dress because my feet hurt so bad. The pain was too much to look nice. I couldn’t even carry Thaddeus in the wrap or Ergo for months because my shoulder and back muscles were so weak. It took me months to regain my strength back. Building up strength again, and getting back into shape is a huge challenge after babies!
3. WHEN THEY ARE SICK
Because it took us so long to get pregnant, by the time I had Micah I was pretty ready. There wasn’t much that scared me as a first time mom. But the one thing that terrifies me and still does is when they get sick. I have had such problems with my health and doctors that I get anxiety when they get sick. I so, so, so, do not want my kids to suffer from the health problems I have! My fear comes when the doctors start saying, “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never seen this”. We have had two situations with two of my boys when they were babies that were pretty scary. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I remember just rocking them and crying out to God to please lead us to answers. It is so hard to watch your babies suffer. It is by far one of the worst pains in the world! Thankfully, God, in His time lead us to answers. Both times alternative medicine found us some solutions! But the process was extremely scary!
4. PAIN AND INCONVENIENCE OF BREASTFEEDING
For as magical and bonding that breastfeeding can be, unless you stay at home all the time, it is terribly inconvenient and painful. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful that I was able to breastfeed my children for long periods, except for one of my boys. I am especially grateful because at one time I thought I would not have biological children and be able to. But breastfeeding comes with pain, things like mastitis, engorgement, and clogged ducts. I had all of my babies naturally and was able to endure that. But I would cry at the pain of breastfeeding issues. Again, alternative medicine came to the rescue. I wished that I had known more about oils when I had my first. By the time I had Creed I didn’t have hardly any problems because I used oils for it. I felt like a pro. (For mastitis I used lavender and melaleuca. I didn’t use any antibiotics. For engorgement I used peppermint and geranium. It worked wonders! For plugged ducts lavender. )
5. TEETHING
“What happened to my baby?’ Teething makes your sweet little baby turn into a monster. It’s not there fault. They don’t feel well. I have five kids and have never found anything that solves teething. For me, it just something you endure with them. The rings, the frozen food, necklaces, gel, oils, I tried them all. I can tell you, I count down the teeth as they get them, “Only eight more to go! Yeah!” I think I’d rather deal with a toddler fit than a teething baby!
6. WHEN YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY NEED
There is nothing worse than when you know your baby needs something, they are crying, and you can’t figure out what they need. It makes me feel awful! I am their mom. They trust me and they are trying to communicate. And I CAN’T figure it out. Again, during those moments I learned to pray! Pray that God would help me read them, hear them, and know what they needed. I do sure like when they can sign or talk!
7. CARRYING A SUITCASE EVERYWHERE YOU GO
The other day we went to the theater at the UNM campus for a show. I had five kids and no stroller. Being homeschooled one of the exciting parts of going to the theater is riding the bus from the huge lot by the stadiums to the campus. We park our car and then all get on. We could park in the parking garage on campus and pay money. But to the boys part of the experience is riding the bus. So trying to be a good mom, I did what they wanted. So I had to carry a purse, diaper bags, and our lunch. Actually, to make it easier this time I combined it all in one bag, just brought my wallet and phone and a couple of diapers for each and hoped nobody would need any of the other many things in my purse or bag!
Going on field trips or outings can be so much work with little ones. Even when I have the stroller they will want to be carried. So if I haven’t remembered to throw the Ergo in along with the picnic blanket, lunch, water bottles for six , diaper bags, and whatever else we need, I end up pushing the stroller while holding one of them! My older boys are such a help. But, sometimes I am so ready for the day when I can just walk out to the car and everyone carry their own things! I tell Tim sometimes, “I just want to go somewhere and walk.”
8. BUNDLING UP FOR A COLD DAY
One of the reasons I love New Mexico, it is not cold for long. Having little kids should make you hate winter! Getting little kids ready for the cold is an ordeal! The scene from the movie, A Christmas Story comes to mind. By five now I’ve learned not to put Creed in a coat unless we are going to be walking around outside for a long time. Little kids can’t fit into the car seat with coats on. Uggh! It is such a pain! So, I just double layer him with a thick sweater when we go somewhere and throw a vest in the car.
9. NO BATHROOM PRIVACY
I am sure every mom with little knows this one. You can’t go to the bathroom by yourself if you are a mom of littles! And they probably will come check on you in the shower also!
10. SIPPY CUPS
I hate sippy cups! I have tried so many kinds. I hate cleaning them. I hate how dirty they can get. I hate thinking of all the nasty germs that are stuck in those teeny tiny little lids, straws or plastic contraptions. I lose them all the time! We leave them places or find them under the couch. They spill. They leak in the diaper bag. All of it. I hate everything about sippy cups. I can’t wait until Creed is done with them!
As I said, Creed just turned one. I am happy and sad. Happy that I may not have to do these things again. But, sad because even though it is hard, inconvenient, and exhausting, having babies is one of the best gifts I have ever had!
Creedy was a surprise, but not in the way most people think. He was a surprise in that I asked God for another baby and God gave him to us so quickly. I feel like so many times God says, “WAIT”. This time He didn’t. He gave us our desire right away. Five kids was my dream. When I was told I would likely never have kids, I never thought I would reach five. Even in the ugly, not fun parts of having babies, I am thankful for it all. I have a Teddy Roosevelt quote above my desk that says,
“Nothing in this life is worth having or doing unless it means EFFORT, PAIN, or DIFFICULTY…I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
Mamas, may we do the ugly and difficult parts well.
May you live Abundant Days for His glory and your good,
Kristin Overman
