One of the best parts of my time at J'Adore Dance has been the opportunity to meet so many amazing individuals. So many people have shared their experiences, memories and stories with me and each time I not only learn something more about the people who sweat with me for an hour but I also learn something about myself in return.
Today we launch our first guest blog post. Karla Hope is a Mother, Wife, Daughter, and Duola, who also happens to be one of the funkiest dancers in our Fit Hop class! Seriously this girl's moves are hot! Karla has written an open and honest blog for us about her journey into motherhood and what she has learned in the first year of parenting.
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It feels like so long ago that I was waiting and counting the days down until my little boy arrived! As my estimated due date came and went, I became more anxious. Looking back on my journal entries is so interesting! My emotions of fear, excitement, stress, and the list goes on is very evident!
Eli was finally born weighing 8 lbs 10 oz on June 9th at 10:23 P.M after 31 hours of labor. We brought him home on the 10th and our new life as we didn’t know it began!
I wish someone had told me before we brought him home how difficult the first 6-8 weeks was, but how much easier it gets as time goes on! Being a first time mom, I felt like I had this little baby whom I had to take care of and yet I didn’t know him at all! Who was he? How was I supposed to take care of this little thing that I’d never met before, and no one could teach me how to be a mom?
Here are a few things I’ve learned over the past year that I didn’t know before.
1) Breastfeeding will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Before I had Eli I was the woman who said “I’m going to strictly breastfeed, no formula or nothing!” I was in for a rude awakening. In a sense I thought, if I had breasts it should be natural. It was a lot of work and for the 3 months that I was able to nurse for it sure paid off! It is such a beautiful thing, yes it tough, but boy is it incredible!
2) I thought I knew love when I met my husband, boy was I wrong. Ok seriously though, I thought I knew what love was when I got married. But once I formed a bond with Eli, the first time he gave me a smile, or the first coo he did, I knew I was in love. The number of kisses I give him a day I wish I could count! The thought of anyone hurting my little boy, brings tears to my eyes, and when he’s sick if I could do anything to get him better I would! Hearing his little giggle, or seeing him do something silly melts my heart like never before! I now have 2 loves in my life. My husband and Eli. Their completely different loves, however they are such intense loves that I didn’t know were possible!
3) My relationships will change. The biggest change was with my husband. At first I’ll be honest, it was hard. He did things different than I did with Eli, but I soon learned that as long as the job gets done (weather it’s changing a diaper, bathing, feed, etc.) it doesn’t matter if he does it the same was as me. Although it took along time to accept that, and I still have some days that this is hard. We always have to be on the same page with everything. This is not always easy! And fighting in front of Eli is something that is hard not to do, however we have a common love that makes working through all of these things so worth it! Date nights aren’t as easy, but when we do get to go out, I come home feeling refreshed and energized!
4) Spit up, and pooh is really not a big deal, despite what I thought 2 years ago! I remember the first few months of Eli’s life. I didn’t go anywhere without a shirt to change into just in case I got spat up on, and I didn’t leave the house without a clean onesie just in case Eli needed to be changed as well! At first it was gross and it bothered me, but as time went on I quickly realized that spit up (or throw up and pooh, as I’m currently dealing with this week!!) is really not that big of a deal as I thought it was. As I let Eli crawl around last week in an attempt to air out his serious case of diaper rash, he decided he had to go. So here I am chasing him around with a cloth to wipe up his messy trail he’s leaving as he quickly crawls away from me. All I could do was laugh because really 2 years ago I never thought I’d be chasing an almost 1 year old around trying to wipe up his mess! But low and behold here I am, blessed with this little guy who brings such joy, and pushes me to have a really clean house and know how to clean up quick!
As time goes on and I look over the past year, it’s incredible how fast it really does go! I remember people telling me that all the time, and it went in out ear and out the other. But it is so true! And as each day that we wake up and start our daily schedule I realize that being a stay at home mom is so totally worth it! Some days it might be easier to trade jobs with my husband (who is a plumber, and sometimes I wonder who deals with more, well you know!) than to stay home with Eli. But it’s also those days that Eli gives me the biggest smile, or wants my undivided attention because he loves me, that I realize I wouldn’t trade my job in for the world! I get to see each milestone he reaches, or the little funny quirks that he has. I get to go on play date with girlfriends, and be my own boss (although some days I feel like Eli is my boss!!) As he continues to get older I can’t wait to do more stuff with him; riding a bike, going to a movie, camping swimming like a big boy instead of me having to hold him in my arms, etc. Our life has been changed in a huge way that I never expected, but its so worth it for this little incredible 1 year old who has a mind of his own!
Karla Hope
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