the phrase that got me through my first year as a parent

I know a lot of moms really love having a newborn, so I'm probably in the minority on this one, but I'm gonna go ahead and say I don't think I'm cut out for the newborn phase. 

Maybe I'll feel differently if/when I have a second newborn....maybe it'll come to me a little easier...a little more naturally. But when I think back on life with Aven up to about 8 weeks old, I mostly feel happy to have made it through to the other side. Not that she was a particularly difficult baby....she just wasn't a particularly easy one either. 

There are certainly things I miss about a brand new baby...like her soft fuzzy head and countless little rolls. I miss her all curled up in a ball on my chest and the way she stretched with her whole body for a full 30 seconds every time she was awakened. But now that she's older, I feel like I'm actually enjoying motherhood rather than just trying to survive it. She's becoming super interactive, can actually communicate some, and is just plain hysterical. 

Being only a couple weeks out from her first birthday, it got me thinking about what words of advice were most helpful to me in navigating not only the newborn days, but my entire first year as a mom. There is one phrase that has been my go-to, my mantra, my life-saver, from day one to now.

11 months! {update}

So, on Tuesday I was at work and wrote "1/6/2015" at the top of my first patient worksheet for the day. It hit me. She's 11 months old. ELEVEN. You guys, that's only four weeks from being one year old. 

Someone hold me.

These pictures were made possible by Puffs. I literally had to bribe her to get any decent ones. 

She's decided it's more fun to take the headbands off now. She's becoming a bit more mischievous and really keeping us on our toes.

As of now, I'm not planning to do these monthly updates after she turns one, but I may change my mind. I love being able to revisit when she did what, and to relive all the milestone moments from her first year. I may just do an update every few months or so. We'll see how it goes.