SURVIVIN': (eBook)

THRIVIN’ AND SURVIVIN’

Congratulations! Welcome to parenthood! What a beautiful time in our lives! That moment that we became not only a parent but a MOMMY! It is so surreal and so amazing to experience! The wonderful memories we all share as parents about the day we became responsible for someone other than ourselves! It was such a great and special day for me becoming a mommy, and I am sure you all felt the same way when you had your first baby. The feeling doesn’t really leave when babies two, three, four, and so on, are delivered via stork, but that first-time feeling is so special, that nothing can really replace the day you became a parent. Regardless of it was your first time or fifth time, it was the best feeling ever to know that we have someone who will love us unconditionally and will never fault us when we are having a bad day!

How it felt to hold my little baby for the first time was so incredible! It felt like a million clouds had swept me away to an alternate universe that only me and my little bundle would enjoy together. No one could bring me down to earth because I was in heaven just watching her sleep, eat, poop, cry, smile, move, or just simply breathe. The hundreds of candid shots taken on day one are some of the best memories that you will have to reflect on this joyous time in your life. The endless visits to the hospital and/or to your home by family and friends, make you feel so loved and cared for by those who know you best—is such a great feeling to have.

Living in Miami, Florida, appearance can weigh on you and cause unwarranted stress. I didn’t care about having bad hair days, or days with no make-up. I was more concerned about picking out the cutest onesie and matching socks and hat so that I could start playing dress-up with the baby. It reminded me of playing with my very own baby dolls back in the day. Those ten little toes and ten little fingers, the deep dimples, the rosy cheeks and beautiful light brown or green eyes below that luscious curly head of hair, are some of our many reasons for endless kisses, stares and snuggles. The smells of “new baby” are everywhere! We are in baby heaven and mommy bliss! Nothing can take us off this cloud, and we were not even worried about coming down. Just being with our baby is all we need at that moment! Heaven on earth is the best description.

The sleepless nights and long days are beautiful! The countless laundry baskets and diaper pails are unforgettable! Let’s not forget the projectile vomit and diarrhea keeps us in awe of why we love being a parent! Yeah, those first twelve months are a breeze! Nobody talks back to you and nobody understands how to roll their eyes yet! It’s a beautiful beginning. To top off such an incredible year of parenthood and baby love, we celebrate with a grand, over the top, First Birthday Party. Everyone is invited to the big soiree, which includes the entire neighborhood, every mommy and daddy at the mommy-n-me or daddy-n-me play groups, every family member who can make it along with your friends and co-workers. They are all there with you to celebrate this special moment. The first birthday is always so much fun for everyone, except the baby. They don’t care about the balloons, bouncy house, food, games or the people invited. They are there for food, sleep and deposits. They are usually tired and cranky at least two hours in. They are crying because they are being continuously passed around to everyone who is not mommy, daddy, nana or gramps, or being picked up, which is really interrupting either a well-needed nap or some serious cake eating.

When all of the partying is over and the troops have all retreated to their respective homes, you take that time to reflect on Year one, all while putting that precious baby to bed for the night. Tomorrow is the start of year two, and you just know that it will be as great as year one has been, smooth sailing on all fronts (disclaimer: if this is your first baby, that is what you think; if this is not the first baby, you are not easily fooled). Your baby will just continue to follow directions, they will continue to take naps anytime you put them down for one, they will be everything that you have dreamed about or read about in one of those “new moms’ self-help books. Day 365 is over and Day one of Round two is upon us.

Year two starts off just as year one ended, smoothly, and all is well in your world. No major changes have been noticed, no shake-ups in moods or movements. Nothing seems to be different quite yet. If we fast forward into Year two about three to six months, things start to get a little different. You seem to have a shorter patience than normal, nothing to ring the alarm about, but something to keep an eye on. You notice that you have started exhibiting behaviors that do not reflect any behaviors from Year one. For example, you start cursing under your breath when someone calls your phone during nap time or comes over unannounced and rings that damn doorbell. You seem to keep more dishes in the sink than usual, and the diaper genie is really more annoying than you thought, and you can’t understand why you asked for it on the registry. You seem to keep your hair up more and your shoes may go from four-inch stilettos to running shoes while at home or anywhere other than your office or workplace. Your purse is starting to look more like a diaper bag filled with cups, binkies, wipes and toys, than it is filled with your favorite lipstick, powder and even your wallet. You only carry your license and credit card with you when you head out, and your Starbucks app has a major decrease in points earned.

Some of us went back to work after six weeks, some of us went back at six months and some of us had the luxury of going back after a year. No matter when we go back to work, we have a plan that consists of kicking ass and taking names later, unless it involves our baby. Working and Momin’ isn’t easy, but we don’t stress because we know “It’s handled!” Around the fifteen to eighteen-month mark, you are still trying to be that put-together working mom who can do it all. You have scheduled playdates (for an eighteen-month-old). You have told yourself a million times over, you can do this, and everything is fine. If you are still on baby one, you are a force to be reckoned with. If this is baby two or more, you are on a totally different route. You notice that the twenty-four hours that are allotted in a day don’t seem to be working out for you every day; but some days, maybe most days, you are killing it. You are SURVIVIN’, and everyone who is everyone notices.

After a few discussions with other mommies at the park or other mommies at work, you find yourself looking into half-day—or shall I be real and say 2½ hour—preschools. You have been brainwashed to think and believe that putting your precious baby into “preschool” will not only give your baby a head start in the education department, but it is so good for their social and emotional development. Insert disclaimer: If this is baby one, we understand how you were pulled in; but if this is baby two or more, YOU KNOW BETTER!

Let’s take a quick moment and talk about this “preschool.” We all know we didn’t sign our kids up just to enhance their social skills, we signed their asses up because either everyone else was doing it and we didn’t want to be left out, or we found out that for those 2½ hours we can have a small amount of peace and quiet. Well that only applies if you have one kid, but if you have multiple kids, whoever can go is going, and it at least makes those 2½ hours a lot calmer. Yes, it’s only 2 ½ hours, which to any parent who needs a break seems like forever, but in reality, we sometimes only need a few moments to breathe and think again. This very expensive-ass playdate, which is what I have chosen to call it after I have been bamboozled three kids later, is a small piece of sanity that I will not ever knock any parent from experiencing if it can be afforded. I encourage it. It kept me sane. It kept me from being on the five o’clock news. It kept me alive! If for those three reasons alone doesn’t encourage any mommy to look into this scam, then I don’t know if I can help you any longer.

Year two is winding down and things are even more different than expected. Your kid starts to tell you “NO!” It’s cute at first, until you start to see your in-laws laugh when they say it, so the bouncy toddler says it again! That stage when your beautiful baby boy gets into the flour and throws it all over your kitchen. When your darling baby girl gets into your make-up and decides to “color mama” on your white walls with mascara! When your set of multiples think it’s soooo fun to take off their diapers and run through the house naked and unafraid of the dark brown S%!T staining your white carpet! Those are the moments that we say are priceless and unforgettable, but at the same time we believe the devil is trying to lay his eyes upon our children and prey! We have to keep telling ourselves that these children are our little angels sent from Heaven to guide us and provide us with everlasting love and affection. In reality. we realize—or shall I say we start to believe—that these children are out to get us, that they formed a secret society after birth in the nursery. We start to question at this stage, if this is our first child, am I ready for baby number two? Or do I dare say, am I ready for baby number three or four? And if multiples run in your family, like they do in mine, do you even try again with the unknowing fear that the first set of twins could turn into the...