I carried Evelyn in my womb for 41 weeks and 3 days. Today she is exactly 41 weeks and 3 days old. That means that our sweet Evelyn has now been with us outside of the womb as long as she grew in my womb. It's hard to believe.
It's amazing to think that she was once a single, tiny cell and in only 41 weeks and 3 days she grew into a 7 pound 14 ounce beautiful baby. It's amazing that in another 41 weeks and 3 days she has grown into a 19 pound 6 ounce active baby. It's amazing to think about how much she has grown, learned, and changed since the moment she was born.
I've thought about this time frame a lot in the past few weeks. One day, I was feeling a little flustered about the fact that Evelyn wasn't sleeping well. It hit me that she hadn't even reached this milestone of being outside the womb as long as she was inside the womb. Why then did I have such high expectations for her? I don't understand when "experts" expect babies to be sleeping through the night or putting themselves to sleep by a few months old. Why do we expect babies to start eating the same food adults when they're barely half a year old? Why do we get concerned when babies are so partial to their mothers and worry that they are going to be a "Mama's girl" or "Mama's boy?" Let them be little.
My baby girl only knew what my heartbeat sounded like, she only knew the nutrition from my body, she only knew the scent of me for 41 weeks and 3 days. Now, outside of my womb, it's no mystery that she loves to sleep on my chest, nurse all day long, and will reach for me the moment I walk in the room.
I am not concerned that Evelyn doesn't sleep through the night. I'm not concerned that she cries when someone takes her from my arms. I'm not concerned that she would prefer to nurse over eating table food. I'm not concerned that her best sleep is when being held. She's still a new baby. She's still learning her environment. This time of nursing 3 or 4 times a night is such a tiny snippet of her life. I'm going to embrace it and cherish these moments. I'm going to let her be a baby.
4 comments:
It's amazing what God can do in 41weeks and 3 days! When you are waiting to meet your sweet baby,41weeks seems to go so slow. After the baby is born, 41 weeks flies by.
We are all blessed to have Evelyn in our lives! Evelyn is blessed to have such a caring, patient and loving Mom! You, Lydia, are doing a terrific job nurturing a wonderful gift. I am so proud of you!!
Love you all! Mom
Amen! I've been thinking about similar things, especially holding/rocking Adele to sleep….the time when I'll be able to hold her in my arms will pass so quickly, I want to savor it.
Amazing to think about isn't it. I got all sappy last night, when I realized that I often feel like Britt is too clingy, but in another year at 6 he probably won't want to cuddle with me all the time any more.
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