I was driving back to Wilkesboro from Lexington today and stopped in the McDonald's drive through. I can't eat chicken nuggets anymore without thinking about the day I went in to labor. We had been sent home from the hospital ("your contractions are almost close enough to keep you, but not yet!") and stopped at our McDonald's for dinner. Angry contractions began in the car and I ate less than three whole chicken nuggets before real labor started. Eating my chicken nuggets without labor pains, reminiscing about labor (yikes), and looking at a sleeping almost-one-year-old Abby in the back seat made me reflect on the past year.
Our first day home from the hospital was less than fun. Milo sniffed Abby when we got home. Introductions were made and the two became acclimated to each other immediately (our sleepy little newborn had no choice!) and Milo laid down and went back to sleep, likely forgetting that I had been mysteriously absent from our home for a couple days. That's pretty much where the fun stopped. My body was healing and doing crazy new mom things and it was stressful and I probably cried more than Abby did.
Things looked up immensely after that. We fell in to some sort of new pseudo-schedule, which pretty much meant we had no schedule at all. Abby would wake up and say, "I'd like to nurse for approximately 5 consecutive hours today and will scream if you don't allow that to happen," so that's what we would do. I'd think, someone get this kid a pizza! But we survived.
The picture evidence of those first few months made it appear as though Abby slept constantly and pretty much just laid in different places. This is what Abby looks like on a blanket! And on my lap! And on her Boppy pillow! This is how Abby looks on her play mat! A part of me thought that she'd always just lay around (insert biggest LOL ever here) and not want to play with me.
To look back at those days in comparison to now is just plain ridiculous. Abby crawls all over the place, eats (read: tries to eat) everything in sight, pulls up, stands on her own, and most likely would start walking if she realized that she could. She babbles all day and is a champ at not growing any teeth. Are baby dental implants a thing?
Abby and Milo have remained best friends from day one. She has learned how to pet (slap) him and that petting doesn't involve pulling fistfuls of hair out. He is such a trooper and so fantastic with her, though. His patience runs out eventually and he stands up, walks away, and lays down somewhere else. Perhaps the best part of Milo is that he leaves trails of hair behind him, which is clearly Abby's toy of choice next to his water bowl. Eagle Eye Abs will never leave a speck of dirt or stray Milo hair untouched...no worries there!
We can tell that Abby has a bright future ahead of her. We are fairly certain that she'll be musical. Her current musical abilities include, but are not limited to, drumming, singing (think metal rock screamo singing), and dancing. Every now and then she waves her arms in a manner that closely resembles an interpretive dancer. The drama is incredible and I'm sure she's telling a story in there somewhere. ;) As we are packing our house to move to a new rental in a month or so, we also see that she would easily be hired by a moving company. She can empty a drawer or box in about 10.2 seconds. Just don't rely on her to put things in a box. We're still working on that one.
I've learned many lessons in my first year as a mom. Every kid is different, which is important to remind yourself when Mrs. Braggy Pants tells you that at a year old, her kid was grilling steaks and decoding cave drawings while singing opera. The most important lesson I've learned is that Mom and Dad know best. People are quick to tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing to help your kid learn/grow/sleep. It kills me when people say, "you shouldn't have to (fill in the blank) to help Abby sleep. I didn't have to do that when my kid was a baby." Sleep is valuable and honestly hard to come by. If you need to sing Jingle Bells three times while doing a headstand, by all means, go for it. Or else offer to let Mrs. Braggy Pants keep your baby for the night if she is the Magical Baby Sleep Whisperer. That works too.
This brings us to Abby's first birthday, happening in just over a week. Our family has changed and we have all changed individually and I love what we have going for us. I can't wait to see what Abby's next year of life brings - the adventures, the new skills learned, the teeth to be grown (please dear Jesus), and the laughter that she will bring. We love you, sweet Abby cakes...happy almost first birthday!
