We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

The little ticker in the right-hand corner of this page tells me that Annie is 4 months, 1 week, and 6 days old today.  It’s funny how the last 19 weeks have seemed like both a hundred years and about two seconds all at the same time.  And by the way, when will I stop measuring time in weeks?  That was a habit I picked up while pregnant and I can't seem to break myself of it when it comes to talking about baby age.

A dear friend of mine had a baby on Tuesday (if you are reading this Melissa, which I’m sure you are not because you do, in fact, have a newborn to care for - Congratulations again!) and that happening has made me all sorts of nostalgic.  So nostalgic, in fact, that I almost decided to finally type out Annie’s birth story for today’s post.  But then I decided that kind of thing is probably best left for some sort of milestone – like her first birthday or my first Mothers’ Day or something.  Or at least a time more than 4 ½ months after it happened.  I have a feeling perspective is going to make that story even sweeter.

And what a sweet story it is.

Anyway, Melissa’s new addition has really made me think a lot about our newest family member and how fast the time is going.  I know I’ve written about this before and just be prepared, I will undoubtedly write about it again, because there’s just nothing like watching this little person change literally every single day.  Just a few weeks ago, it seems, she was sleeping relatively motionless in a tiny bassinet at the foot of our bed (a short-lived arrangement), and now I go into her room in the mornings to find that she has wedged herself against the slats of her crib in her sleep.  Just a few weeks ago (at least in my mind) she could barely focus her eyes and I would kind of freak out about how they looked sort of crossed a lot of the time.  Now she makes eye contact with me from across the room almost the second I walk into daycare to pick her up and gives me a big old smile, waving her arms and squealing.  Do you know how good it feels to see someone get THAT excited to see you?  There’s nothing like it.  But she used to be too little to do that.  Not anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the changes.  In fact, if I were to be truly honest I would have to admit that the newborn stage was really pretty hard for me.  This 4 month and beyond business is lots more fun.  But there’s still nothing like a tiny person being nestled against you.  As tiring as it was, I already look back on those stretches of time at night when Annie simply wouldn’t sleep unless one of us was holding her with fondness.  I can only imagine how many more moments like that I will get nostalgic and sappy about by the time she’s a year old.

That ceiling fan is still so interesting.

Yesterday, as I put a box of rice cereal in my basket at Target (yes, we are starting down the road to solid foods this weekend), I was struck once again by how crazy time is.  Just over 4 months ago I barely knew where the baby aisle was in Target and now I’m quite the efficient shopping mama.  And I actually caught myself smiling at the boxes of newborn Pampers, as if to say, “I remember when.”  Is that silly or what?  Of course I remember it because it was only a few months ago that I was standing in that very spot on my hour out of the house while David watched Annie, wearing the same capri yoga pants that I wore every day during my maternity leave and one of about four shirts I had in a rotation, frantically deciding between Pampers and Luvs and feeling a little overwhelmed by that simple decision.  But oh how it feels like a lifetime ago some moments.  And then the next moment it doesn’t.

Celebrating LJS Day 2011 - the one day of the year we allow ourselves to eat Long John Silver's

I guess all of that is a big part of why I am doing this blog thing.  As I chronicle the bigger and the tinier moments of our first year with baby girl I am able to reflect on what makes each stage special and look back just a month or two later to see how far we have come.  And in these last 4 months, 1 week, and 6 days, we’ve come a long way, baby!

From here…

… to here, in fact.