Holy Moly! I'm a Mom: The First 2 Weeks

Thank you so much for bearing with me as I navigate this new chapter in my life!  In addition to our new addition, there is a ton of change coming up in our lives in the next month or so, so while I promise to try and keep up with blogging, I have new priorities in life, and he's way cuter than my MacBook!  

Words cannot express how I marvel at my son.  My son.  Wow.  It's so hard to imagine that I'm a mom!  I'm not sure if it's truly hit me yet that he's mine and I'm not just a long-term babysitter.  But he really is all mine, and I made him, and carried him as close as two humans could possibly be for nine months.  And it's not just that he's here, in my arms, but that he already has a personality.  And he already emulates all of us.  His measurements were identical to mine at birth.  Yes, I'm talking length, head, and chest.  All the same!  And his weight?  Only two ounces off from mine!  Sometimes while he's sleeping, he has one hand up against his cheek, with one prominent finger sticking up all alone (yes, my son already knows how to flip the bird).  Sometimes I catch Hubs doing the same thing while watching TV or perusing the internet for the next great stock to snatch up.  Other times, I see a look in my baby boy that is the spitting image of my dad.  It brings tears to my eyes in remembrance of my father, but also a smile to my face knowing that he is living on through my son.  At the same time, I am learning to force myself to use his name, my dad's first name, rather than cute monikers like Bunkey or Little Man.  Since my dad is the only person I know with that first name, it's natural that I associate that name with my dad.  But I know that I need to teach my son his name, and I need to learn to say the name without tearing up with an abundance of emotions for the grandfather he'll never know.

All that said, these first two weeks have been nothing short of amazing.  A learning experience, yes, but amazing nonetheless.  We've battled projectile vomit and switched to soy formula (fingers crossed it works; we only made the switch on Monday) and navigated sleepless nights and endless crying with no apparent solution.  Hubs and I have learned to prioritize our responsibilities but not take the other for granted.  We've learned to be careful with the words we use toward each other since emotions are heightened right now.  We've learned that long-term living with parent(s) isn't always easy on a marriage, but we can sneak away for a moment of private conversation, and all advice is on a take-it-or-leave-it status as we figure out what works for us.

But even in his short 12 days of life, Bunkey has experienced some milestones.  He's been holding his head up since day 1 and has even slept through the night (though only once, and I'm sure it'll be a while before it happens again and regularly...but I can dare to dream right?!)! Only six hours after we got home from the hospital, we attended Little Brother's high school graduation.  My Nana met and held her first great-grandchild even though she swore she wouldn't because she didn't want him to catch any germs!  Bunkey was baptized, at only one week old, at the same church where Hubs and I were married just over three years ago.  He wore a medallion, given to him by Mama A, that Mama A, Big Brother, and I gave to my dad when he converted to Catholicism when I was a baby.

And in just a few days, he'll go on his first airplane ride, and say goodbye to Virginia...at least for the time being!