The days are long, but the years are short.
Nothing hurts my heart more than realizing the above saying is completely true. The past four weeks or so have seemed to crawl by slowly. The days and the nights are long. Oh, the nights. Then, out of nowhere, it's May 29th, and your newborn is already a month old. And your other newborn is 17 months old.
How did I get here?
I feel like I am very present in the day-to-day actives - trying to soak in every moment because I am hyperaware that time truly does fly by. I was given this warning several times by my mother growing up: the older you get, the faster times flies. She was right. Time always wins. It can't be paused or stopped - it keeps going and we keep moving.
We can only accept this reality and do our best to look past the laundry, dirty dishes, and messy house to enjoy each and every moment - or, in my case, just to survive the day with two tiny babies! We need to put the distractions away and play with musical barns and Noah's Ark; read books and make a mess at lunch. Otherwise, it won't be just a month that has passed by, it will be 18 years.
Our precious Allison Paige was born a month ago, on Sunday. The past month has been exhausting. Even with the help of Chris, my mom, and my mother in law, it's still been exhausting. It's also been beautiful. I find my life to be most beautiful in the rare moments when I have both of my girls in my arms or in my lap. Those moments are completely rare with a newborn and a one year old, but it's happened a couple times - and I soak up every minute.
At one month old, Allison still basically just sleeps and eats, but we are slowly learning more and more about her.
This tiny one month old has a short patience (and by short I mean no patience) between waking up and wanting milk. Her cry is painfully piercing, but I'm grateful for healthy lungs that have the ability to hit decibels no newborn should be able to hit. She loves nursing. Loves it. She'd stay at the bar all day if I let her! Her dirty diapers are constant. She has a love/hate relationship with a paci and being swaddled. She has piercingly beautiful blue eyes. And she sometimes giggles in her sleep. She loves snuggles and falling asleep on my chest. And that sweet smile melts my heart.
I'm thankful to have already enjoyed a month with this precious baby. I'm doing my best to enjoy every moment before they all turn into wonderful memories, but I also look forward to seeing her personality emerge and seeing her grow up. Such a bittersweet life we all live.
Happy one month, Allison Paige!
I'm currently working on writing up her birth story. I cannot wait to share that special day!
