2
Years!! Wow! How the time flies…2 years ago today I was just embarking on this
new choice of Single Motherhood…1 year ago today I was 38 weeks pregnant &
so close to meeting my daughter…& now today, as she sleeps beside me, I’m
about to enter yet another chapter, Working Single Mother…
14
days until I go back to work…I am excited…I really am for the most part. I am
very fortunate that my Mom lives with me & will be looking after Elena
while I’m at work…I am grateful I don’t have to go thru the emotions of leaving
her with strangers or worry about her adjusting to a new environment. I also
don’t have to get her ready in the mornings, which is a bonus.
Elena
will benefit so much from spending days with my Mom…you see, due to social
anxieties, I’m not good at taking her to play groups & due to phobias, I’m
not good at getting Elena outside to play…My Mom on the other hand is awesome
at that stuff…once the weather is nice, she’ll be taking Elena to the park
everyday & to play group at her church on Wednesdays & she’ll continue
taking her to swimming & the story time at the library...I can’t express
enough how grateful I am that Elena will have such a deep & special
relationship with my Mom.
There
are 2 things that worry me about going back to work…1st, I worry
about how Elena will feel with me gone so much. I wonder if she’ll act out or become
withdrawn…my other concern is that Elena will pull away from me, forget that
I’m her Mama…that she’ll become more attached to my Mom than to me…I know, in
the grand scheme, there are worse worries to have.
Elena
is really starting to show her little personality…she amazes me with how much
she’s understanding now & learning so much…she’s like a little sponge. She’s
got her own language made up of grunts & babble & with this language
she talks A LOT so I think we’re in for it when she does start talking…she
clear says “All Done” & uses it appropriately…it’s funny at the dinner
table as people finish eating she’ll chime in, “All done”…she also seems to
say, “What’s That” though not a clearly so it’s hard to catch sometimes but it
is obvious she is questioning, like she’ll hold up a shoe & say, “Whas da?”
so I’m trying to identify everything for her. She still says Mama but not
always directly to me & continues to look at me & say Dada & now
she’ll say, “Mama blah blah blah” I truly believe this is her sense of humour
beginning to show!
And
oh boy, she’s got herself a temper and she can become very frustrated…these behaviors
really test my patience but then she’ll come over & wrap her little arms
around my neck & give me a big sloppy kiss & all that tension melts
away. There are so many little moments where this girl can just melt my heart I
think she throws in the tantrums just to keep me grounded!
Eating
is going really well now…we are breastfeeding at bedtime & in the morning…She
still doesn’t drink much milk but we’re offering it regularly & she’s
taking more & more all the time…she loves her cheese (just like Mama) &
eats yogurt daily so I’m not too worried about her dairy intake. Besides, I’ve
been mixing milk in with her veggies too. I’ve also started giving her thinly sliced
deli meats & she loves these. She loves her ice cream too (just like Mama)
so I bought frozen yogurt for a treat for us to share. She hasn’t refused a
fruit yet so she gets lots of that too…basically, she’s finally become a great
little eater & I couldn’t be more relieved!
Elena’s
1st birthday party plans are in full swing…lucky for us, her
birthday is on a Sunday so we are celebrating on that day. My initial plan was
to have a Storybook themed party (which I think I totally stole from Gille J)
but I couldn’t find any decorations…so ended up with more of a Baby Rocker
theme. The reason I wanted a Storybook party was because I wanted to request
that her guests give her books instead of toys. She has a TON of toys she hardly
shows much interest in so I really didn’t want to get a bunch more…also, I
wanted her guests to inscribe each book with a message so that she would have
them to look back on. Well even though I went a different direction with her décor,
I still put the request on her invitations to please bring her books instead of
toys…we’ll see how it all turns out!
Wow, I can't believe you're already planning her first birthday party. Time goes by so fast.
ReplyDeleteReally 2 years??? I swear I remember some of your first posts. I think I just started thinking about becoming a SMC when I found your blog. You were just starting to go through the process yourself. It's amazing how much your life has changed since then and I have to say it's been fun being able to get a glimpse of your experience becoming a mom. Good luck going back to work!
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogoversary!!
ReplyDeleteAnd hope going back to work goes well :-).
It's great that your mother will be able to watch Elena! Both for the bonding between them [Butterfly and my mum have a very strong relationship and it's very nice :-)] and that your mum will do things you don't.. I wouldn't worry about Elena feeling withdrawn from you. Not because it is not something worth worrying about but because a mother is a mother is a mother! She might have a great time with her granny and might enjoy being with her and all, but at the end of the day, it is you she wants and cares about.
Very exciting Elena will be ONE soon!!
She will never, ever forget who her Mama is. You are her sun, moon and everything in between.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see pictures from her first birthday!! How did she get that old already?
ReplyDeleteI too am amazed she is almost one, has it really been that long??
ReplyDeleteI hope she has a wonderful birthday and gets lots of fun books that the two of you can read together!
Wow!! Almost one! Where does the time go??
ReplyDelete