Friday, February 27, 2009

Things I never want to forget . . .



. . . about Clara as a baby.

- The way her downy head is softer than the softest velvet and how both of us find peace and relaxation when I gently stroke her head with my hand or cheek.

- How my milk let down too fast for her at first, and she'd pull back her little head and "yell" at my breast before eagerly trying again. Thankfully, this is mostly resolved now, but it was incredibly frustrating and cute all at the same time.

- The little dark hairs that grow over the shell of her tiny ears, that covered her shoulders at birth, and swirl on her forehead. They are fewer every day.


- Her tiny fingers that grasp tightly to my fingers, necklace, or clothes or "knead" me while she's nursing.


- The dark blue gray of her eyes--will they be blue or brown as she gets older?


- The way she lets out one or two half hearted cries of protest as we soothe her after she fusses. It sounds like a tiny cooing "meh" and is too adorable. We really need to video tape it sometime soon, but videoing her crying just seems too heartless!


- The itty-bitty "o" her mouth makes when she's consentrating on something.


- All the different faces she makes while sleeping. How am I supposed to "sleep when the baby sleeps" if she's too cute for me to ever want to close my eyes!


- The quiet alert time she has after she's eaten well and before she falls alseep again. We spend that precious time staring into each other's eyes, singing songs, and doing little dances.


- The little "nibbling" motion she makes while nursing as she's falling asleep.


- The way she falls asleep into my hand as I sit her upright to burp her.


- They way I cheer and praise her for burping. I want to remember this when she's 4 and we're working on table manners. : )


- Her favorite sleep position: with her head on my heart.


- The little "sitting froggy" position her legs take when her head is on my chest. It makes me think of the way she was inside me, only upside down!


- The body jolting hiccups that she gets on a regular basis and remind me of the time, not long ago, when she was still inside me.
-The way she does a "trial run" sneeze before she does an effective one--and how cute they are!

- How much I love watching her in the arms of her adoring daddy--I never dreamed anyone could make me love him more, but she did. She made us a family.

-How watching her grow and change every day is the sweetest and the saddest thing all at the same time. I want to bottle her babyness up and keep it forever, yet I can't wait to meet the little girl and young woman she will become.

I am totally, adoringly, head-over-heels in love. I thank God for her, kiss her a thousand times a day, and appreciate the feel-good hormones that negate not enough sleep, achy muscles, sore nipples, and a home that looks like it has never seen a cleaning rag. : ) But for now:

Quiet down cobwebs,

Dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby,

Cause babies don't keep.

6 comments:

  1. This brought tears to my eyes! Everything you wrote is so true.

    I'm watching my little boy sleep right now, and I'm amazed at how he grows and changes before my eyes.

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  2. oh this is so sweet. . . i remember that bitter sweet realization when alani was just a few days old. . she was already getting bigger and she would never go back to who she was the day before. it has helped me to enjoy each day and phase of her life, and never wish i had "the baby stage" back or wish for "the toddler stage to end." how much love they bring us!!!!

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  3. i am so feeling those exact things now as Sydney is already 10 weeks old. Everyday I just want to keep her little but then I see how cute Aspen is at 2 and I know every stage will be wonderful. Isn't having a baby the best thing ever?? I am glad you are enjoying this time. Nancy

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  4. that was so sweet Andrea..I can't wait to have the same feelings about my child, that's a good idea by the way writting down things you don't want to forget, i'll have to remember that. Thank you for sharing.
    ps. can you send me your email address so i can add you to my blog. I set my profile to private so i have to add people myself by inviting them with putting in their email address. Thanks!

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  5. She has changed so much since she was born. But she is getting more and more pretty!

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  6. Wow, that was lovely. She is so pretty!

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