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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

What a difference a year makes

This time last year I was in labor getting ready to welcome our little girl into the world. The big question was if she was going to come on March 12th or March 13th (she came at about 2am on the 13th). It wasn't a fun or easy labor, but the pay-off was worth it :)

Coming up on the Pepper's first birthday I'm reflecting a lot on the unbelievable changes she's gone through over this first year. I spend time with other babies just a few months younger than her, and they seem so different. It's amazing that just a year ago she was this little mush-ball functioning on a handful of instincts (suck, grab, sleep). Now she can walk, and understand language, and have opinions, and communicate her needs, and feed herself. She even has a sense of humor developing! I don't know yet how the next year will feel but I think part of the reason they say it goes by so fast is how quickly they grow!

D and I watched this program a few months back and it was great to have some understanding of the science behind the changes babies go through during that first year. As humans, we're born earlier than other mammals which means other mammal babies can do more just out-of-the-womb (like walk). The reason they believe we're born sooner is our head-size relative to our bodies. We need those big heads to accommodate those brains of ours. But it means we're born really helpless, which makes that transformation to a little person that much more poignant.

I have had so much fun being the Pepper's mom this first year. There were hard days, and of course hard nights. I'm fatigued all the time now from not sleeping enough. I don't have as much time for myself, my friends, or my marriage. And financially we're not saving as much as we were before we had to buy things like diapers on a regular basis. But it's been really, really fun. Pepper, you're a delightful sweet little person and I just love you to bits!! Happy birthday little girl!

 

Top image from yesterday. Bottom image from the day after she was born. What a difference a year makes.

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