Four years ago…

Still working on that birth story.  It's about half done.

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It has been four years (exactly!  today is a birthday!) since I last had a newborn baby, and I have been rather amazed at how much I seem to have forgotten.  I feel very clumsy.

And sometimes I even forget that the baby is even born.  I am walking around with laundry, or trying to teach math, and I look down and I realize — hey!  he's here!  

That part that I was so worried about — the going into labor and giving birth thing?  I don't have to worry about it anymore, because it already happened.  It's done!  We are safe, home free.

And then sometimes I think:

Now all I have to do is NEVER HAVE SEX AGAIN.

I will probably get over that thought.

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I got over it four years ago, after all.  

It helped that the newborn in question grew into a wonderful little boy whose first complete sentence was "Ank'oo make a dinner, mama."  

Who skipped right over the so-called terrible twos and also the usually-more-deserving-of-the-word-terrible threes.

 Who likes to randomly compliment strangers in the grocery store on their pretty earrings.  

Who has latched on to the fact that his first name means "lion" and who with his dad likes to play "daddy lion and baby lion."  Then he is a baby lion who can only meow for help.  But who, other times, likes to roar.

(And scratch with his Sharp Claws.  Only in fun, but those claws can hurt.)

Who idolizes his big brothers, and who willingly rescues his princess big sister from dragons, and who, we are pleased to discover, is thrilled to have a new baby brother that he can "kiss on the nosey."

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Who loves going out in the snow with his dad even if it is -17 F and dark.

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It's a good day for a birthday.  Especially since it's grocery-shopping day, which means I can outsource the cake. 

Wonder if the grocery store will have a lion cake.  I will figure something out.


Comments

8 responses to “Four years ago…”

  1. Look at that boy!
    I only have one son so it isn’t like I have a lot of experience with them, but mine is so sweet and yours has the same look. Watching my energetic son tenderly care for his little sister is one of the joys in my life right now.
    It’s hard to not want a dozen of those fresh, eager faces.

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  2. I never have found it hard to not want a dozen, but I have always had trouble not wanting (n + 1) where n is the number I have over age two.

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  3. Love that last picture of Leo! He has the same giant smile that Vincent always has.
    Completely agree with you on the baby wanting equation.

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  4. Oh I’m just thinking ahead. It doesn’t take long for n=n+1 to make it to 12.
    I have the same dilemma. I always thought I would want 2 maybe 3 until I had 2. Then I thought I would definitely want 3 and maybe 4. Once I had 3, I definitely wanted 4, but thought 4 would make the itch go away. Now that I have 4, the itch is stronger. This is not going as envisioned. ๐Ÿ™‚

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  5. He looks so cute bundled up like that!
    I’m currently wondering if we could just hold off until I’m, say, 48 or so. Maybe 50? Yeah, n + 1 is pretty intimidating right now! I’ve long thought we’d have 5 kids, and now that we’re at 5 I’m thinking this is a really good place to be. We’ll see what I think in a few years though… and then there’s always the possibility of a surprise too – even if I am good at charting and we’re pretty good at self-control and all.

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  6. I never expected to get to five. I find that I’m almost giddy about it, like I found the coolest present under the Christmas tree, the one that was SOOOO expensive I never thought anyone would get me.
    I really don’t think it’s likely we will try to conceive any more children, though of course you have to acknowledge the possibility of surprises. I don’t know how I will feel about that in two years. This little one has just knocked my heart right over and spilled it all over the floor. I’m so glad to have him. And I’m only thinking ahead very tentatively.
    Every new baby has felt like a new beginning — and of course it is for the baby, but for me as an adult human being. Like starting over with a new job in a new city yet undiscovered. I am a little bit addicted to that fresh-start feeling.

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  7. And then you start to think, “Six is a nice even number and we could fit one more in the van…”

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  8. mandamum Avatar
    mandamum

    My son (5.5) was commenting, apropos of putting the baby seat into the van as part of our birth prep, “And after we have another baby [beyond this one coming any day] and there are eight of us all together, then we’ll need to get a new car if we have another baby….” ๐Ÿ™‚
    I was really struck by a friend’s comment: Beforehand, she only wanted two, but when her second was born (both boys), she was so struck by his uniqueness, and enthralled by getting to know him, that she wanted to have more babies just for the chance to get to know each of these unique people that would come along ๐Ÿ™‚

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