I have to admit it: I am a birthday brat. I love it so much and my career is proof…life is just too short to not celebrate birthdays and no matter who you are, if you are in my life I make a big deal about your special day! My husband and I share the same B-Day, so May 8th has become almost as big as all the other major holidays in our household. But this year, May 8th isn’t the holiday I’m most looking forward to this week. I can barely contain my excitement for Mother’s Day. As a kid, I enjoyed showering my mom with homemade gifts and a barely edible breakfast in bed, but now as a mom…I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for this day!
I have totally become in love with being a mom. It, of course, is not always easy or very glamorous, but becoming the parents to an adorable 7-month-old has become the best thing my husband and I have ever done. I knew I would love her but, as cliché as it sounds, I just didn’t understand how much. I sometimes look at my husband and think about how, who knew when we met at 15 and 17, we would create such a miracle. Our daughter, Elle, certainly has kept us on our toes and by no means did we have a perfect entrance into parenthood. A fun little condition called Acid Reflux is just now backing off, and as all new parents know, there is nothing that can prep you for the all-consuming emotional whirlwind of becoming a parent. But the love that explodes into your life the first moment you meet your baby carried us through learning to become a mommy and a daddy.
I have plucked the gems of advice that existing super-moms shower new moms with. Seven months in, I have put some of these gems to good use. The weekly date night is soooo great for Ian and I, and we don’t even miss out on Elle time, as the sitter just watches the monitor. Yet the one-on-one time is so great for us to reconnect. On the days I don’t go into work, I always try and shower and change into at least presentable Yoga pants. Sometimes I have to stop halfway through a shower and while my one shaved leg or shampooed but not conditioned hair is super cute I’m sure–the effort is there. I ignore the chores and just love on Elle, if someone is going to judge me for a stack of dirty dishes so be it! And most importantly, when I need help, I ask for it. Shout out to my BFF Ashley who rescued me last Sunday when I tried to walk our 65 lb dog and stroll Elle at the same time.
I feel like the “Rocky” theme song should play when by some miracle I manage to get Elle dressed, feed the dog, send some work e-mails, and make it somewhere on time. Everything I do now I think of her. When I accomplish something at work and feel a pang of missing her I think: “Someday she will be proud of me.” When I go to five different grocery stores to find her organic brown rice cereal, I think about how a year ago, I would never imagine doing such a thing. When she smiles or laughs at my husband and I having a dance party to a lullaby version a of Dave Matthews Band song, my heart explodes and I think that there never was a more perfect moment.
I remember when I was pregnant thinking: “Nothing will change. My husband and I will be perfectly adjusted parents with a baby but still our carefree fun old selves.” The truth is that everything changed. The old me is gone and a new me with a new outlook and a greater love than I could ever be prepared for has emerged. Yes, everything is more complicated and I can’t randomly go to Happy Hour or stay at my studio until 1am prepping work. But I do know this…I have literally never been happier wearing an old t shirt singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” with my baby girl, husband, and puppy in our own little family world. That is what I am sooo excited to celebrate this week. My new world and how all my life has geared me up for this…becoming mommy.
Lindsey Peers is the owner of the Craft Studio. Learn more about her at craftstudionyc.com!
