Parenthood

Before becoming a mother I had my own little weekend routine: wake up, take care of my dogs, take care of my errands, nap, and then figure out what to do with the rest of my day/night. Even on regular workdays it was pretty much the same sans nap but overall "I" was the Queen of my schedule. My husband and I talked about having kids and at that time we agreed that we'd have 2. We were both already into our 30's so we knew we really couldn't waste much time. He already had a son from his previous relationship so in total we'd end up being a family of 5. Not too big, not too small. After all most cars are a 5 seater and since my husband doesn't like roller coasters we'd still have an even number for most of the rides. So the planning began and we were lucky since it only took 4mos before we found out that in another 9mos. we'd get to know how our combined gene pools would look like. Overall my pregnancy was great. I didn't suffer from morning sickness and any back pain I had prior was completely MIA. My labor was 23 1/2 hrs. long but I had great nurses (I highly recommend Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach) and thanks to the epidural I didn't feel a thing! Our son was born a little earlier than anticipated but from the moment he looked up at me with his little ticked off expression I knew that we'd have a relationship like no other I would ever know in my lifetime. Well my son ended up looking almost exactly like me and I joke at times that I "cloned" him. My son is smart, funny, energetic, loving, curious, and at time very dramatic (I think he gets THAT from his father). Each day I notice something new about him and he's growing so quickly that I wish I could just freeze time and keep him my little Munchie Bunchie for just a bit longer. At times he does things that show just how much he's maturing, like when he cleans up after himself without being reminded to, or when tries to dress himself. Of course there are those "other" times too, but we won't get into dark side. My favorite time of the day is when he wakes up, crawls into my bed, and we just lay there and he tries to tell me stories. His speech isn't that clear yet so I like to think he's telling me about his dreams. I just know he talks a lot about Thomas the Train, horses, and Lightening McQueen!  My son will be 3 next month and in his short time in my life he's taught me what it is to love someone so much it hurts, what true joy really is, and that I know I would have been missing out on one of the greatest relationships of my life if he weren't in it. I know I couldn't have created him alone so THANK YOU husband for your contribution. Our child really is the gift that keeps on giving.