Happy One Year of Parenthood {Celebrating Us on Our Son’s First Birthday}

We just celebrated my son’s first birthday. It’s like I came home from the hospital with this new tiny person, I blinked; and now, here I am. I have a one-year-old. A one-year-old toddler. I should be celebrating and I am …

We had a birthday party, which isn’t always every parent’s cup of tea; we took my dude to the Aquarium on his special day and he loved it (I think!)

But, this post is not about celebrating my son’s first birthday. It is about celebrating the accomplishment of getting through a really hard year for my husband and I. Pretty much all of the good stuff you hear about being a parent is accurate. I got all the feels the moment I held my son. I think the world of him. My love for him grows and grows and grows each day.

So why am I celebrating my husband and I on my son’s first birthday?

We Couldn’t Both Always Give 100%

I had absolutely no clue what being tired actually was until having this baby. The days were long, and the nights were indeed longer. Those days and nights turned into weeks, then months, and now a year. Somewhere along the line, I became so sleep deprived that I started to experience sleep paralysis a few times a night. Sleep paralysis left me with such an uncomfortable feeling that even though I was tired beyond belief, I didn’t want to go to sleep.

There were many nights where my husband heard me over the monitor crying, talking to myself or talking to the baby – completely frustrated that I could not get him to stop crying. Likewise, I sometimes heard the same when my husband woke up with the baby. We give 100% until we can’t. Everyone has days (or nights) where their game is off. I am thankful that I had a teammate to help pick up the slack when I couldn’t give my full 100%. I am thankful that we were (are) both able to realize when the other needed (needs) a break.

It’s Not Always Sunny Days

It wasn’t a holiday or extended weekend without our son being sick. It never failed – every official break from work since last July, my son either had an ear infection or random stomach bug. This is on top of having a milk protein allergy that required the steak dinner of formulas. I’m not going to lie. There were days that I thought were just the absolute worst – whether it was trying to control a 104+ temperature for a baby that cannot communicate with you in any other way aside from crying or being concerned about money because the only formula your child can handle runs you several hundred dollars more a month than the free breast milk you were planning to feed him.

Life Outside of Baby

I’m not sure what I did with all of my free time before my son. Just kidding. I slept; I visited friends; we traveled; I worked way too much. Not only did we go through the major adjustment of adding a new person to our family, I also needed to figure out how to balance work and life with my new little babe. My husband and I both have full time jobs. We have managed to consistently make it to work on time and have never been late in picking our son up from daycare. This all sounds simple, but if you think that is the case, hang out with a friend that has a small child for a day or two.

Happy One Year to Us

For getting through this, I celebrate us. Not because we did more or less or did better or worse than other parents did with their children in their first year, but because we did the best we could and we made it. We did it. Together. Let’s pat each other on the back because we deserve it.

Happy one year of parenthood to us … and to many, many more!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here