I'm Not A Newbie Anymore

So my friend finally had her baby at 40 weeks after being told by her doctor since June that she was going to go early. It's a boy! Now Nolan has a best buddy for life!

The above pictures were taken only a week before her little one arrived. Nolan was sitting on top of her belly being kicked by his future playmate. Little did my friend know just how much her life was going to change as she babbled with my son and imagined what her own little bundle would look like.

When I heard the news of her son's birth, I was over the moon with joy for her and it brought back so many memories and emotions from when my precious babies were born. I think that happens with all moms when they hear news of a new baby's arrival. We can't help but re-live some of it vicariously through new moms. So she is now officially part of the club, and only a mom really knows what I'm talking about when I say that.

I was so excited to see her little one. I wanted so badly to go to the hospital and spend time with her so I could soak up the wonderful "new mommy" honeymoon vibes that she would be emitting outward to all those who came to visit.  When I entered the hospital room it seemed like it was just me in there not that long ago, sighing in contentment at the miracle that I had grown inside of me.  Really it has only been a short two months ago and yet I can't even remember what my life was like without Nolan as a part of our family. Funny how that happens.

But as I had conversations with my friend in the days to follow, and listened to her talk all about how she was doing with feeding and sleeping and all the other things that us moms adjust to in the first few weeks, I realized just how far I have come in the past year and a half.  When I was a first time Mom I constantly sought advice and help from other mothers because there were times when I just didn't know what the hell I was doing and needed moral support. And now it is me telling my friend that yes, it is normal to worry that you might be starving your child because he won't latch on.  It is now me promising her that breast feeding WILL get easier. It is now me nodding my head in a  "yep..... been there done that" kind of way as she tells me all about the worries, challenges, and joys of getting to know her baby.  Having these conversations with her makes me want to run over to her house and give her a big hug and say, you are doing a great job, you are not alone, we've all been there, I'm so happy that you now know the joy of being a mother.  And it makes me happy to see just how far I have come from that person who worried about things like whether my baby was sneezing too much or whether the colour of her poop was normal.  And now I can relax a little because although I don't have all the answers I know that I have definitely grown since the birth of my first child and am proud at the mother I have become so far. I'm not a newbie anymore. I am a mother twice over now and I actually know a thing or two about raising babies. Now if I can just figure out the toddler years....