grateful for the (sweet) inconveniences

In the past 207 days I have learned that babies are rather inconvenient. They do what they want, when they want and how they want. And they really don't care what your plans are for the day or night. Nope they are the bosses. It's rude. Okay and while we are being honest, I also want to point out that babies are extremely codependent, as in you do every little thing for them. All the way from feeding them to cleaning poop off their cute little baby butts to making sure they don't find and eat tape (although sometimes that does happen and it's not the end of the world). It's hard work being a baby. 

I'm six months plus a couple days into being Ike's mama and it's been a learning experience. You think (or at least I did) that you have a small idea about what being a parent will be like but you seriously have no clue until you have those cute baby eyes staring at you!! I should probably interject that I absolutely love love love being a mom (don't let the paragraph above fool you). I'm still adjusting and learning how to be a somewhat sane person/mom. Is that even possible?! 

Anywho, like I said babies are inconvenient.

I don't know about all the other babies in the world, but Ike lives and dances to the beat of his own drum. I started writing this blog post a long time ago as in 99 days ago. At least we haven't hit the triple digits. Well scratch that. We have hit the triple digits between when this post was started and today. Life as Ike's mama is busy. I have all these grand plans to do with all the free time I have and then when I eventually get a moment I decide to sleep or watch Netflix. I'm sure he would say it's my own fault for staying in school and still working nights and being a mom... blah blah blah. Good thing he's not writing this blog post!

You know the saying "Life happens" now a days it's more like "We have a miniature human living in our house and ruining running our lives." I'm kidding totally kidding. But seriously, Aaron and I had no idea what we were capable of before having Ike. Like sleep. We actually don't need 8 hours or even 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep to function. After surviving the cluster feeding, we realized we really just need coffee and lots of it. Aaron discovered that being peed on really is no big deal even when it's 2am and you're half asleep and you get pee up your nose. 

Even when I am beyond exhausted - like that time I had blood shot eyes for a couple weeks - it doesn't matter! Nothing really matter because Ike is the biggest blessing no matter how you look at it. Being his mama is the sweetest more precious gift and adenture I have ever experienced. Yes, there have been plenty of days and even weeks that have felt extra busy and extra stressful. Sometimes it's a struggle to figure out how to be and do everything.

Deep breaths. Slow down. Refocusing. Gratitude.

But in the midst of the chaos I am so grateful for the sweet inconveniences. In the past 207 days I've realized that babies force us to slow down a lot. They invite us to be present in what is happening at that particular moment. They encourage us to notice the simple things in life. 

I'm grateful for the inconveniences, the interruptions, the sweet moments. 

Never mind cleaning the entire house, doing laundry, washing dishes, or sleeping. I have a sweet boy that loves to be held, that sometimes just wants to snuggle, that loves to play with toys with someone, that wants to giggle at everything and loves outdoor adventures. Sometimes this means only sleeping 3 hours after working all night. Sometimes it means playing from 3-5am. Sometimes it means just stopping what I'm doing to focus on Ike. 

Thank you Ike for being the best interruption & distraction. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being your mama... even though you think it's hilarious and laugh at me when I try to get you to say "mama" You are a stinker and I love you so much!