New year, new adventure

This time last year I was unwrapping gifts of tiny newborn clothes, swaddling blankets, car seats and more at my sweet baby showers. I was waddling around anxiously waiting for baby Graham’s due date, totally and completely unaware of what was about to happen to my life, despite all of the books I had read and the stories I had heard.

More changes, both physically and emotionally, happened to me in 2015 than ever before in my life. What an adventure 2015 was! From the last swollen stages of pregnancy, to having my sweet baby boy, to being thrown into the sleeplessness and bewildering love of new motherhood, it was a roller coaster ride to say the least.

How fast our sweet baby has grown. In 2015, little Graham morphed from a tiny 7 pounds to a adorably chunky 21-pounder. He learned to roll over, to sit, to stand, to cruise! He started as a tiny, helpless baby who needed to breastfeed around the clock but learned to feed himself real foods and drink from cups. He grew five teeth! He learned to give hugs and kisses and how to make people laugh. He learned how to tell me, “No!”

2015 was an amazing year for us. Now that we’ve made it through baby’s first holidays and we’re into the new year, the next thing on the agenda is baby’s birthday.

In less than six weeks, our family and friends will be gathering to celebrate little Graham’s first birthday—I can hardly wrap my head around the idea. How is my sweet, sweet little baby boy going to be a whole year old? Time has never moved at such warp speed before.

This also means that in less than six weeks, I will have made it to my goal of breastfeeding for a whole year—365 days of my breasts belonging to someone else, 52 weeks of my body feeding someone else. It’s been both good and tiring, and I’m SO ready to be done. Breastfeeding has been beautiful and sweet, but a big part of me is ready to have the girls back in some regular non-nursing lacy bras. I’m ready to not hook myself up to that pump again for a good long while. My baby has loved breastfeeding, and it’s still a cure-all if he’s cranky or sleepy—so it will be an adjustment; I plan to try to take it slow. But I’m SO excited!

2015 was a great year, but I have a feeling 2016 has a lot of wonderful things in store for our family!