I was just reading a…

I was just reading a mommy blog post about how much this woman loved being pregnant and loved having a newborn. And I was just bewildered. I'm starting to love being a mom, but for me, the good part is definitely all about Kavi turning into an actual little person. Babies are sort of sweet, when they're tiny and helpless and soft, but that totally doesn't make up for the sleeplessness! The first six months with Kavya were an endurance gauntlet, just trying to survive without Kev and I killing ourselves or each other, or giving up and throwing the baby out the window. It's so much nicer now that she's older -- it pretty much gets easier and better and more fun every day. She does such funny things now -- a few days ago, Kavi was trying to get something out of her toy box, and it was way down in the box, and she was bent so far over the side that she got stuck -- bent at the waist, hanging on the wood side, unable to tilt herself forwards or backwards. Now that's funny! Kev and I couldn't stop laughing. Newborns never do that kind of thing -- they just lie there. And cry. And poop.

Pregnancy was no great fun either -- worth doing, and it was sort of nice the way people tried to take care of me (strangers, friends, family, Kevin). But horribly full of discomforts and pain. So it really throws me when I run into someone like this, who clearly loved the parts I found so hard and unpleasant. Did you guys who have kids love the pregnant/newborn stages? Am I just an oddball?

We're having a pretty nice quiet day here today. I got some e-mail and photo editing done this morning while watching Kavi -- then Kevin came down and watched her for a couple of hours while I read some history for class. My quarter is over -- I just turned in grades, so although I have a few little things I want to send to my students, and one I want to meet with sometime soon, I'm essentially on spring break right now. Which means I've started cramming hard for the AA Lit class I'm teaching starting March 31. Now I'm back on baby duty while Kev's off teaching -- he's on the semester system, so our breaks are a bit different. Kavi is amusing herself pretty well crawling around the living room, exploring, so I'm going to try to catch up a bit more on e-mail while half-watching design shows on HGTV. This evening, I'm making Thai green curry chicken for our dinner, yum. Peaceful Friday.

Tomorrow, Jarmila is coming to watch Kavi -- I'm hoping to do some serious lesson planning AND work on my new website design. We'll see how it goes. CSS will not defeat me!

4 thoughts on “I was just reading a…”

  1. Heh. I think I’m more in the “loved pregnancy/ newborn” stage camp than you are. I got some stretch marks, but I had great skin, the second trimester was awesome, my hair was thick (it’s falling out now, sigh), etc. Last few weeks of pregnancy and the whole giving birth only to have it end in c-section, yeah, I can do without that. If I have another, I might not even try for a vaginal delivery (I have medical reason to just schedule a c-section, since I’m likely to end up there again anyway).

    The newborn stage: they’re just so cute! And tiny! And they stay where you put them. Their needs are simple. But then, River was ridiculously easy (and still is); if he’d been colicky I doubt I’d be saying this. Also, I’m glad he’s growing up, smiling, giggling, etc. I’m enjoying the whole process; I wouldn’t want him to be in that newborn stage forever, that’d be tedious! But I do think about him someday being a teenager and I look at how small and cute he is now and I mourn the future passing of his babyhood, y’know? Yes, it’s very cool to see him grow into a person, but I only get to watch it once. It’d be sweet if I could keep more than photos and videos of this time; oh, for virtual reality!

  2. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    Heh — I’ve always had good skin and thick hair, so I guess I didn’t see those change in pregnancy — in fact, my hair got a bit too thick, and needed thinning to be even halfway manageable. 🙂

  3. Kristen (Jim's wife)

    I can see where some would not enjoy pregnancy, but I definitely did. I’m sure it has everything to do with how hard or easy pregnancy is for you. Mine was a breeze! The birth was another story, but the end result was the cutest little guy and I wouldn’t change a thing. He’s only 3 months old so I’m sure things will get easier and better, but so far I’ve loved the newborn stage! Yes, being sleep deprived is horrific but Des has been a really good baby so I don’t have much to complain about.

  4. I really enjoyed pregnancy as an experience (with its ups and downs), and loved my little tiny baby once I had her home; she was essentially really easy — as babies go. That said, I would never willingly have an infant again — it is mindblowingly exhausting dealing with all that poop and nursing — and I have been happier and happier as she’s grown into her own ever-more independent, communicative, and able person. But she turns 2 this week, and for some time now I have been feeling her maturation is a bit more bittersweet. I was happy to get past the 24/7-ness of infancy, but now each stage of development leaves a little something sweet behind and brings her closer to the day she’ll be grown and leave the nest…. I feel a little of the sadness about that day already.

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