I can't seem to figure out how Ella became 9 1/2 months already. Did I blink at some point and miss the last 9 months?? How did we get to the point of her cruising around the furniture, laughing constantly, having a personality, and being the most important part of my life? When did things change? For the life of me, I can't figure out where the time has gone. I know everyone says that it goes by so quickly, but they are downplaying it! It feels like just yesterday when I had plans to move to North Carolina, when I found out I was pregnant, when I went into labor, when we celebrated her six month birthday. How did all of this pass by without me realizing that time was slipping away from me?
Somehow Ella is a big girl already, and I am overwhelmed by it. Next thing I know she will be going to pre-school, grade school, high school, and then college. How do mothers handle this? I can't imagine letting her out of my sight even for daycare. How am I going to handle a future of letting go?? Even now, I become so overcome with such a deep love for her that I am caught off guard by it. I love everything about this child. Daycare is a fast-approaching likelihood, and I am panicking on the inside about it. I keep talking about how badly I am ready to go back to work, but how can I leave her? I know mothers go through this everyday, but it doesn't make it any easier. My attachment to Ella and vice versa is so strong that I do not know how to spend a day without her. I've never been away from her for more than 4-5 hours.
I'm watching her sleep right now as I blog and drink my decaf, and there is such a peacefulness about her that it immediately gives me peace. Ella is the most important thing to me. Now I get why nothing compares to a mother's love for her child.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Monday, August 26, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Ella can roll...and now she won't stop!! My fault???
So we hit a milestone on March 23, 2013. Ella can now roll all the way over. And I actually caught her first roll on video! She struggled for a couple of days before to get all the way over, but she kept getting so close. Finally, she actually made it all the way over. Which is great! I am such a proud mommy. BUT now she seems to think it is the coolest thing ever. I lay her on her quilt, turn away, she immediately rolls over, waits a few minutes for me to notice, cries to get rolled back on her back, and then repeats the process. Over and over and over. It was super cute the first few times, but not as much now. LOL! It takes me twice as long to get the dishes washed and laundry folded because of how many times my genius baby wants to play her game.
Which leads me to the topic of today's post. Are we being too indulgent as parents?? I personally believe Ella is too young to be spoiled and know how to "get her way", but I realize a lot of parents believe that we (young, new-generation moms) are way too indulgent with our children. Everyone that knows me knows that I like to do things by the book. Literally. I research everything and then make what I feel is the best decision. And a lot of times this decision contradicts what the moms before me did. For example, Ella went through a period where she was pretty fussy when it was time to go to bed. A lot of people told me to just let her cry. She would eventually learn to go to sleep on her own. However, I couldn't do it. I am not a fan of the cry-it-out method, especially at such a young age. KT and I had many discussions about what we should do, but I really just could not bring myself to let her cry. Therefore, I decided to stick with my method of putting her to sleep, laying her down, and picking her up if she wakes up and cries. It may have been tiring for a while but now Ella goes to sleep just fine. I no longer have to nurse her to get her to sleep. When she falls asleep, I lay her in her pack-n-play and she sleeps through the night. Rarely, does she wake up before 6-7 a.m. the next morning. And she falls asleep usually by 10 at the latest every night. And the best part is she wakes up so happy. She calls for us (not by crying, but by actually yelling for us LOL), we peek over the side of her pack-n-play, and she has the biggest smile on her face. Every morning this is our routine and I love that she has complete faith that we will be there to get her. I never worry that she is unsure of whether or not we will respond to her cries.
This is not to say that I think that parents that choose different methods from mine are wrong. Every parent knows what is best for their children. I have simply chosen to parent with a more attachment parenting style. I do not plan on going full-blown attachment parenting (nursing at 5 years old?? Not gonna happen!), but I do believe in the reasons behind attachment parenting. So I am blending some of these techniques with some of my own choices. And so far I am happy with the results.
But I have definitely noticed that some older moms think that the attachment parenting style makes your children way too dependent. I literally have had older women that I do not even know try to tell me how to take care of my daughter, which is incredibly rude. I know my child better than anyone else (besides her daddy of course), so I do not need anyone else telling me what to do! And I really disagree that Ella will become too dependent on us. At this age, I love that she has a deeper connection with KT and I than she does with anyone else. I believe that her confidence in us and our love for her will allow her to become a more secure child, teen, and adult.
But what do you guys think? What is your parenting style? Do you believe that new-generation moms are too easy on their kids? Are we making them too dependent? I would love to hear your opinion (even if it disagrees with mine)!!
Which leads me to the topic of today's post. Are we being too indulgent as parents?? I personally believe Ella is too young to be spoiled and know how to "get her way", but I realize a lot of parents believe that we (young, new-generation moms) are way too indulgent with our children. Everyone that knows me knows that I like to do things by the book. Literally. I research everything and then make what I feel is the best decision. And a lot of times this decision contradicts what the moms before me did. For example, Ella went through a period where she was pretty fussy when it was time to go to bed. A lot of people told me to just let her cry. She would eventually learn to go to sleep on her own. However, I couldn't do it. I am not a fan of the cry-it-out method, especially at such a young age. KT and I had many discussions about what we should do, but I really just could not bring myself to let her cry. Therefore, I decided to stick with my method of putting her to sleep, laying her down, and picking her up if she wakes up and cries. It may have been tiring for a while but now Ella goes to sleep just fine. I no longer have to nurse her to get her to sleep. When she falls asleep, I lay her in her pack-n-play and she sleeps through the night. Rarely, does she wake up before 6-7 a.m. the next morning. And she falls asleep usually by 10 at the latest every night. And the best part is she wakes up so happy. She calls for us (not by crying, but by actually yelling for us LOL), we peek over the side of her pack-n-play, and she has the biggest smile on her face. Every morning this is our routine and I love that she has complete faith that we will be there to get her. I never worry that she is unsure of whether or not we will respond to her cries.
This is not to say that I think that parents that choose different methods from mine are wrong. Every parent knows what is best for their children. I have simply chosen to parent with a more attachment parenting style. I do not plan on going full-blown attachment parenting (nursing at 5 years old?? Not gonna happen!), but I do believe in the reasons behind attachment parenting. So I am blending some of these techniques with some of my own choices. And so far I am happy with the results.
But I have definitely noticed that some older moms think that the attachment parenting style makes your children way too dependent. I literally have had older women that I do not even know try to tell me how to take care of my daughter, which is incredibly rude. I know my child better than anyone else (besides her daddy of course), so I do not need anyone else telling me what to do! And I really disagree that Ella will become too dependent on us. At this age, I love that she has a deeper connection with KT and I than she does with anyone else. I believe that her confidence in us and our love for her will allow her to become a more secure child, teen, and adult.
But what do you guys think? What is your parenting style? Do you believe that new-generation moms are too easy on their kids? Are we making them too dependent? I would love to hear your opinion (even if it disagrees with mine)!!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The baby girl who stole my heart
While reading the blog post I posted about earlier (if you haven't read it, you can find it here), I realized just how incredibly blessed I am to have the most amazing little girl in my life. And I get to call her my daughter. I can't even describe how being Ella's mommy makes me feel. Unconditional love doesn't even cover it. She literally holds my heart in her tiny palm, and I am perfectly okay with that. Before becoming a parent, I had no idea that you could love one person (especially someone so tiny!!) this much. I saw other parents and they obviously loved their children, but I assumed it was the same kind of love you had for anyone else in your life. I was wrong. The type of love you have for your child is so different from anything you will ever feel for another human being. That is not to say that your love for someone else is not as great but love for a child is just on a completely different level.
While this post may not have much relevance for anyone besides me, I will do it anyways. Many parents go through heartbreak that I cannot even imagine. And I know that I have been blessed with Ella, so I am choosing to celebrate my precious baby and the love I have for her. So for no other reason than just because I love her, this post is solely dedicated to Ella and how amazing, brilliant, beautiful, and loving she is every single day. :) You can call me cheesy now if you want!
Yesterday, we had Ella's four month well baby check-up. She is doing amazing! She is a healthy 14lb 1oz and 24 1/2 inches long. She did so great with the doctors too! She laughed and smiled at them while they did their physical check of her. She thought the leg stretches, tummy time, and getting picked up and put on her feet were all games, so she played right along! Both of the doctors were impressed with how well she holds her head up, keeps her back rigid, and can push up with her arms while on her tummy. They said she is really close to sitting up by herself and rolling all the way over. The doctor also said her bottom teetth will come first, but we are about a month away from the first ones popping out. KT and I sat and watched her getting examined and showing off her skills like such proud parents! It felt like we were watching her first real "baby challenge" and she passed with flying colors! She made us so happy! She even did well with her second round of immunizations. She cried when they did it of course, but after it was over she went back to just being her normal happy self. Just like with the first round, she didn't even get a fever! Another reason I am happy we have been able to breastfeed! The benefits are so widespread!
XOXO,
Dani
While this post may not have much relevance for anyone besides me, I will do it anyways. Many parents go through heartbreak that I cannot even imagine. And I know that I have been blessed with Ella, so I am choosing to celebrate my precious baby and the love I have for her. So for no other reason than just because I love her, this post is solely dedicated to Ella and how amazing, brilliant, beautiful, and loving she is every single day. :) You can call me cheesy now if you want!
These are some of the 4 month pictures I promised!
The flash makes her eyes big. So funny!
Yesterday, we had Ella's four month well baby check-up. She is doing amazing! She is a healthy 14lb 1oz and 24 1/2 inches long. She did so great with the doctors too! She laughed and smiled at them while they did their physical check of her. She thought the leg stretches, tummy time, and getting picked up and put on her feet were all games, so she played right along! Both of the doctors were impressed with how well she holds her head up, keeps her back rigid, and can push up with her arms while on her tummy. They said she is really close to sitting up by herself and rolling all the way over. The doctor also said her bottom teetth will come first, but we are about a month away from the first ones popping out. KT and I sat and watched her getting examined and showing off her skills like such proud parents! It felt like we were watching her first real "baby challenge" and she passed with flying colors! She made us so happy! She even did well with her second round of immunizations. She cried when they did it of course, but after it was over she went back to just being her normal happy self. Just like with the first round, she didn't even get a fever! Another reason I am happy we have been able to breastfeed! The benefits are so widespread!
Ella loves to play on her playmat! She REALLY loves when I pretend to kiss her cute little feet! Sorry for the kissing sounds! LOL
Another quick update, Ella loves bananas in her rice cereal! I tried that today because she was eating the rice cereal a little bit, but she wasn't enthused about it. I want her to enjoy eating, so I mushed a small piece of a banana and mixed it in and she loved it!
These are from our trip to the park to celebrate her four month birthday! Ella loves her Daddy!
My adorable little family!
I love this little girl more than anything in the entire world!
XOXO,
Dani
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