Life as a New Mom: First Words and Wardrobes

Have you ever looked at your child and thought, "Who said you could grow so fast?" That's my life these days...

I spent the majority of yesterday evening getting things ready for my booth at the West Alabama Traders Market, which is happening Saturday at the Killer Buzz Arena at McFarland Mall. I'd considered having a booth for a while, but I was hesitant as I didn't think I would have enough stuff to sell at my booth.

I found out soon that I was wrong: WAY wrong. Sure, I have maternity clothes, household goods, and a Wii I never use, but I had NO CLUE how many baby clothes Dolores has already outgrown. I started going through her closet to see if there were any onesies, dresses, pants, or jackets she was no longer able to wear. I ended up with a metric butt-ton of stuff.

As I was sorting the clothes and packing them for Saturday, it hit me like a ton of bricks: my baby is turning into a big girl. She was five pounds and six ounces when we brought her home from the hospital; she wore preemie size clothes and diapers. Everything was heartbreakingly small. I held the pink onesie she was wearing up next to a onesie I'd set out for her to wear after her bath last night. I couldn't believe it.

Then I pulled out the tiny preemie diaper I'd saved (I save everything, BTW) and held it up to one of her Size Three diapers. I am not going to lie to you: I started crying. It really put things into perspective--the days of her infancy are flying by. I remember this Dreft commercial that said something like, "You have a child for a lifetime, but a baby for only a year." When I first saw it a couple years ago, I was all, "LOL. That makes NO SENSE," but now I get it. God, do I get it.

I was emotional (obviously) packing her little clothes away, but then things GOT REAL. We were playing before Dolly's suppertime, and she started to fuss the way she does when she's getting hungry. She's in her highchair at this point while I am preparing her dinner (BTW, baby food "meat" is probably the most disgusting smelling thing on the planet, but that's another post), and she looks at me as I am putting away her bottles. Then she says it.

"Baba." 

I thought she might just be babbling the way all babies do, but when I held her starter sippy in front of her, she reached for it and said it again.

"Baba."

I died. It was a mixture of pride and elation and SHOCK. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My baby, my little baby, is big enough to talk. I handed her her sippy; she grabbed it, looked down at it, and said it again.

"Baba."

At that moment, I knew she was truly my child: of course her first word would be food-related... I grabbed my Galaxy S3 to start recording her talking, but then she saw my phone and switched into "TOY TOY GIVE IT TO ME" mode. Needless to say, I did not get video evidence of her first word. I was bummed about it, but that's okay. I'll keep this memory tucked away for the rest of my life.

The next thing I know, she'll be talking a mile a minute. Then she'll start talking back to me in American Eagle because she wants a sixty dollar pair of jeans but refuses to get a job and I'll have to lay down the law because I WILL NOT HAVE THAT.

I'm going to cherish these precious baby days while I still can.