"It goes so fast!"
The days have just been flying by. I swear just yesterday Norm and I were at Prost and I was telling him I might be pregnant...now our number 3 "surprise baby" is 6 months old. I've decided that the more kids you have, it's not that time goes faster but you just realize it more. With the first we were so happy and excited to see him reach each milestone. The second came and we were learning how to juggle a baby and still give the toddler the attention he needed. Then the third came and I'm just amazed at how fast it seems to be flying by and I want to tell her, no no it's ok you don't have to hold your head up yet, learn to crawl, etc etc etc. I know she is our last (yeah yeah I realize I said that after Zoe) but really, this time we're pretty sure and I'm okay with that...before Freija I admit I was secretly pretty sad that I was done having babies so while it was a shock that I was pregnant I was so, so, so happy. She is so full of joy and just the best little surprise ever.
I have also lately been learning that just because you've "done it before", that does not mean you know everything. HA, far from it. A very good friend recommended that I read Parenting with Love and Logic and man is it changing my life. The downside to this though is I'm having a hard time not feeling like a horrible parent, at least for my firstborn and most of the second born's life...Norm jokingly says, "well at least Freija will turn out normal". I guess the good thing is I'm reading and learning all these golden nuggets of truth while our kids are at least under 10...
There are so many opinions, so many books on parenting that it can be overwhelming. It's extremely difficult to un-learn the style of parenting I have been using and introduce new techniques into the day to day interaction I have with my kids but I'm taking it one book at a time and doing the best I possibly can. A good dose of humility is healthy because if I honestly thought I had it all together and was the worlds best mom, what would I need God for? And MAAAAAAAAAN do I need Him. The mornings that I wake up thinking "this is going to be a great day, I've got this" are usually the days I end up crying in the corner shoving chocolate into my face. The days that I remember to slow down and have patience with my kids and lavish love on them are the days I am in awe of how much more God does that with me...
Sure, having more than one kid is hard...it's hard to give each one the attention they need. It takes more special "date" planning, it takes sacrifice and at times caffeine...but the third has helped me see more clearly just how fast it goes. Strangers and family have told me this for years, "Oh it goes by so fast, enjoy them while you can!" Well the truth is, you can say that until you're blue in the face...it's not something we truly realize until it's too late. The kids have grown and moved out and you're left there thinking, wow where did the time go? I look into my baby girls face everyday and I thank Jesus for these crazy sleep deprived days because I know that very soon we will be in another phase, another season and they will be older. So when you tell a new parent "It goes so fast!", don't be surprised if they just stare blankly at you...they're more concerned with the fact that they haven't slept or showered or fed themselves...they'll figure it out soon enough and then they will vaguely remember the time someone said that to them and maybe even write a blog about it...
I have also lately been learning that just because you've "done it before", that does not mean you know everything. HA, far from it. A very good friend recommended that I read Parenting with Love and Logic and man is it changing my life. The downside to this though is I'm having a hard time not feeling like a horrible parent, at least for my firstborn and most of the second born's life...Norm jokingly says, "well at least Freija will turn out normal". I guess the good thing is I'm reading and learning all these golden nuggets of truth while our kids are at least under 10...
There are so many opinions, so many books on parenting that it can be overwhelming. It's extremely difficult to un-learn the style of parenting I have been using and introduce new techniques into the day to day interaction I have with my kids but I'm taking it one book at a time and doing the best I possibly can. A good dose of humility is healthy because if I honestly thought I had it all together and was the worlds best mom, what would I need God for? And MAAAAAAAAAN do I need Him. The mornings that I wake up thinking "this is going to be a great day, I've got this" are usually the days I end up crying in the corner shoving chocolate into my face. The days that I remember to slow down and have patience with my kids and lavish love on them are the days I am in awe of how much more God does that with me...
Sure, having more than one kid is hard...it's hard to give each one the attention they need. It takes more special "date" planning, it takes sacrifice and at times caffeine...but the third has helped me see more clearly just how fast it goes. Strangers and family have told me this for years, "Oh it goes by so fast, enjoy them while you can!" Well the truth is, you can say that until you're blue in the face...it's not something we truly realize until it's too late. The kids have grown and moved out and you're left there thinking, wow where did the time go? I look into my baby girls face everyday and I thank Jesus for these crazy sleep deprived days because I know that very soon we will be in another phase, another season and they will be older. So when you tell a new parent "It goes so fast!", don't be surprised if they just stare blankly at you...they're more concerned with the fact that they haven't slept or showered or fed themselves...they'll figure it out soon enough and then they will vaguely remember the time someone said that to them and maybe even write a blog about it...
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