Hind Sight Is 20/20

Like millions of mothers before me, I too play the "what if" game from time to time. There is nothing we can do to change the past, but still we can't help but wonder if we gave our child enough attention or too much attention, if she got enough fruit and calcium, and if we have some how scared him or her for life. The truth is most of us are good mothers, and only time will show us that--and until then we have to concentrate on the now instead of yesterday.

Last night I was looking back over old pictures and I started to get misty. I was remembering fondly the days when Gracie had to be cradled everywhere. I was longing to relive her first foods, the day she rolled over, her cute dresses. I was snapped back in to reality this morning as my precious princess woke me up at 8am. Those days were special because they were fleeting. And, they weren't all days of smiles and cooing: there was teething, 3am feedings, 6am poop, no sleep, plenty of crying, watching your child trying to communicate and not being able to. Today Gracie can tell me what she wants (for the most part), we play tea party and dolls, she can color and swim and walk...and best of all I get hugs and kisses.

Each day with Gracie is like a new gift from God. I never know what to expect, but I know that I will show it off to anyone who will listen. Enjoy you today's with your children and grandchildren and don't dwell of what could have been....and remind me of that too when I get wistful about my early days of motherhood.

But in the interest of helping other new parents (which I really hope to do with this blog)...

Things I wish I Had Done Early On:

1. Write more things down. I know I was busy, but just a few minutes each night before bedtime to write down what she and I had done that day.

2. Spent less time keeping the house spotless and more time playing or sleeping. They say to you when your pregnant "sleep when the baby sleeps," but I found that was the only time to catch up on housework---IT CAN WAIT, SLEEP CAN NOT!!!!

3. Gotten out of the house more. Garren and I were so exhausted, and we were anxious about taking the baby and so much stuff out of the house that we practically became shut-ins. Babies can learn so much from seeing/exploring the world around them.

4. Sent more thank you notes. I know that this is hard to do, but so many people were so good to us, and often I never found the time to thank them for their kindness. I hope that I can do better with that and use the email to make necessary thanks to special people.

5. Found away for Gracie to see her Grandparents more. Living so far away from both sets of grandparents, I fear that Gracie has been robbed of forming a special connection with these people. I hope we can do better from now on.

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