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3 Reflections on Being A Mom for A Year

Kalia turned ONE last week!  Time flies and I cannot believe she is one already!  I am so busy with her party, but I took a moment to jot down some reflections in my small year of being a Mom.  I intend to write a more sentimental piece for her one year when my life is not a disarray of glitter.

1) Babies are WAY more resilient than you think.

I am incredibly klutzy:  klutzy mom + lack of sleep + precious little tiny baby = recipe for disaster.  Most new mothers irrationally fear dropping their babies, but it was a valid concern in our case (I am sorry, Kalia).

So…. I have not dropped her yet – but I have: misjudged the distance between entryways &
her head, kicked lightly touched her face with my foot and threw a ball into her head.
So far, she is totally fine, she does not cry when I bang graze her head on the door jam anymore; instead she has developed ninja baby skills and lifts her hands up covering her head against the door or my foot. Mom’s klutziness= awesome self defense skills at one years old! (perhaps at the cost of a couple points of IQ)

[Kalia, this reflection is more for you. I apologize, but you will be in the news when you are two years old for saving your mom by calling 911. And I will be thankful because, frankly, having the neighbors call 911 when I am in shock (and pantless) from burning off my thighs from an exploding teacup is just embarrassing. (A true story for when you are older: Lesson Titled: “Why Wine is Safer Than Drinking Tea”)]

2) I have absolutely no clue what I am doing.

And neither does any other parent, they are lying if they say anything else or they are just know it all people who cannot admit mistakes. If anyone was prepared, it was me-I read so many books, researched everything under the sun, but most of the time sometimes when Kalia cries, I have NO idea WHY. And she rarely cries, so I must really suck at this mommyhood thing. But, I cannot read in a book how Kalia will be. Kalia is Kalia, a totally unique individual (yes, even at 0 months old, babies are unique) and I love every single moment of discovering who she is. (Except when cleaning poop, I could totally leave that part out.)

3) I thought I loved my husband more than I ever thought possible before Kalia came along, and now I love him even more 


(Kalia, you have mushy parents who love each other & this will probably gross you out most of your life until you are much older & realize how blessed we all are)


Nick is an amazing father- and, like me, has no idea what he is doing. Together, we are in this for the long haul- the long journeyhood to be the best Mom & Dad to Kalia we could be. It is a bonding experience to be up at 4 am trying to figure out why she is crying and also comforting to know he has no clue what the answer is either.
I also am more annoyed at Nick than I ever have been, because it totally sucks being woken up at 4 am & Kalia is way too cute to yell at, so while figuring out what is wrong, we usually yell at each other discuss calmly what to do and always never blame each other.

P.S.   To My Miss Kalia- Happy First Birthday!  I love you more than anything, thank you for coming into my life! You are the only Kalia I will ever have and as the only Mom you will ever have, I will work relentlessly to be what you need me to be and help you achieve your goals.  I also promise to try and stop hitting your head into walls and doors.  Love, Your Mom


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  1. Laurel I am also very klutsy. My daughters are all grown so yes it is amazing how resilient they are. I dropped my eldest out of her carry cot and she landed head first on cement. I raced her to the emergency. I was convinced I had brain damaged my own child. The doctor did some reflex tests and assured me that there was no harm done. (I think he spent more time calming me down than he did tending to her)

    • Laurel says:

      Thank you Vivian! And wow, I would have freaked out if I dropped her on concrete- glad to hear she was ok, and I am sure you were more upset than she was!

  2. Happy Birthday Kalia! I can't tell you the number of mom-inflicted injuries my children received over the years out of complete accident – they survive. Now they tower over me.

  3. This is precious! I've knocked my kids in the head on many occasions. After a few of 'em, I still don't know exactly what I'm doing…they're ALL different!!!

  4. IASoupMama says:

    My 3rd and 4th kids are twins and are now 14 months old. Those poor girls… Between two very rambunctious siblings and a mama who is now struggling to carry two of them at once, they get more head thumps than my first two ever did. I keep telling them that we'd fit through doorways much better if they would let me carry them one at a time, but they just insist…

  5. FloodG says:

    I fell asleep on the couch with my first newborn on my chest, once. I woke up and took a big stretch and watched, horrified, as he tumbled to the floor. I completely forgot he existed! Thankfully swaddling saved the day (and the baby). Don't tell anyone, 'k?

  6. Tammi says:

    I can relate with I have "absolutely no idea what I am doing" and daily I am learning what worked yesterday does not always work today! There are days I wish both my kids came with an instruction manual!

    • Laurel says:

      Thank you Tammi! Yep, one day I think I know everything, the next day usually shows me how little I know and knocks me back down!

  7. Robbie K says:

    Happy birthday to your lil girl and happy 1 year of momhood!

  8. Pippi says:

    Sounds like you learned some great first-year lessons! I enjoyed your post. Whew that kids are resilient. 🙂

  9. Meredith says:

    Why, oh why, do so many people pretend to "have it all together"?? This was a great post–thanks for making me a little more normal and happy 1 yr.! 🙂

  10. vicky says:

    Love this post! Very real and very inspiring 🙂

  11. I have a story to make you feel better… My 16 mo old loves to stand on chairs, now. She only knows two multiword phrases, and one of them is "sit down please." She was standing on a chair – again – and I was worried it was going to tip over backward. So I decided to move the whole chair back toward the wall with her on it. Guess what? Me moving the chair tipped her off balance, and she went tumbling to the floor. Thank goodness it was carpet. She still had a goose egg the rest of the day. I felt terrible (and stupid!) but my doctor husband was unfazed.

    This was a great, funny, and sweet reflection. 🙂

  12. Rhonda says:

    I have been a mom for 6 years. I still bump their hands on doorways! And just a couple weeks ago, I DROPPED my THREE year old on his head, leaving him with a huge goose-egg and not letting me help him out of the tub anymore. Nobody wants that kind of help!

    And YES to the husband thing! I love my husband more with each passing year of parenthood!

    • Laurel says:

      Thank you Rhonda, I love hearing everyone else's stories- makes me feel tons better about all the head bumps, lol!

      Aww, yes watching them become "Dads" is such a blessing!

  13. Oh happy birthday to your little one!

    The doorway head bump happens to everyone, I think! Poor little things, but you are right that they are very resilient. 🙂
    It's a wiggly road, and there'll be even more lessons but boy is it ever awesome.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Darling,
    Caught up with you a little later than 1,but not too much more…I watched in amazement as you grew up to go to school & turn into this incredible person…Now a mom???? WOW!!!!!!!!!! Congrats to Kalia for 1 year & to Mom for surviving the first year

    I Love You,
    Joey

  15. So awesome. I love the love you're sharing. I hope to be there with you in mom land soon.

    • Laurel says:

      Thank you Angela =) I look forward to when you are there- all the wonderful creativity and writing that you will create from it will be so wonderful to enjoy and read!

  16. Love it! You were one of the most-clicked links at last week's #findingthefunny. We're featuring you tomorrow, and pinning this!

    Thanks for linking up!

  17. I agree with #2 — we are all learning as we go — that is the secret 😉 (Visiting from the Mommy Brain Mixer)

  18. Congratulations on the one year victory!! Don't worry…I believe most of us did not know what we were doing!!

  19. All of this is true, especially #2.

    Thanks for linking up with the Mommy Brain Mixer
    New liker

    http://lifeexperienceneeded.blogspot.ca

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