"Aha MOMent"

When my husband and I had our daughter we had a wonderful experience.  I remember we were on a huge high...I remember being so happy that I couldn’t eat or sleep, I just wanted to stare, kiss, hold and love my little girl.  I also remember asking my husband if we could have another one (LOL)!   We were also in disbelief that this little sweet bundle was ours for keeps.  We felt so blessed that she was healthy, but we also felt the weight on our shoulders to be the best parents we could be!  We had a lot of support through friends and family and so the first few weeks were what I call the honeymoon phase!

Day 5, we had our first doctor’s appointment...no big deal...no problem!  My husband and I get up with plenty of time to spare for the two of us to get ready and get out the door.  As we are getting ready to go, my daughter needed to be fed, burped, changed, clothed and of course loved...our time is slowly running out.  My “aha MOMent” happens and I realize that we definitely did not prepare and plan for this morning (mistake #1 forgetting to allot time for our daughters’ needs!!!...ha...amateur parents!)  Panic starts to settle in and my husband and I start to realize that we are probably not going to make it on time (mistake #2 running around the house in a state of panic and getting ready without communicating...every man for himself mentality).  Just when we thought we were out of the woods, ready to leave, we go back up the stairs...we forgot to pack the diaper bag (mistake #3...not packing a diaper bag in advance/not knowing what goes into a diaper bag)!  Time is really starting to run out and my husband and I are running around our daughters room grabbing diapers, wipes, cream, burping blankets, regular blankets, sleepers, onesies, another outfit, socks, bibs, a toy...everything but the kitchen sink...stuffing it all into our little diaper bag!  By this time our daughter starts crying from being in the car seat and having to witness her parents in frenzy-like state!  The clock is ticking...but we rock her, sing to her, hold her tiny hand...awesome...she’s back to sleep...we are heading out the door.  My husband gets to the front door and stops...he asks “where are the car keys?”  I look at him, he looks at me...we stand at the front door looking at each other (mistake #4...staring at each other...thinking...waste of time)!  Next thing you know, we are both running around the house looking in all the usual places for the keys...we meet back at the front door...still no keys.  My husband has an “aha MOMent” (dads can have them too you know!) and says “the keys are in the car, I forgot that I already started the car when we were running around getting ready!”  We take a deep breath, we leave the house, we get into the car...we take another deep breath...we looked at each other with a sense of accomplishment and pride...we smile...we start to laugh...we both agree... “at least we didn’t forget the baby!” 

Although the honeymoon phase lasted about 2 weeks, this was our first real parenting experience that made us realize that our life was going to be different from here on in...a good different, but nonetheless different!