Ten Lessons

Morgan Lousie is ten days old today! It's been a whirlwind ten days, from the isolation of the hospital, to the return to chaos at home. I've been reminded numerous times over the past ten days that life is good. And I've learned some important lessons too. Here they are.. my top ten lessons (in no particular order) I've learned in Morgan's ten days of life:

1. Childbirth hurts, even with an epidural. Yes, this is my fourth baby and you'd think I would know this by now, but, it's the kind of pain that hurts really bad at the time, but as soon as you get to hold that precious baby, you completely forget all the pain. I am determined not to forget this time.. it's my insurance that number four is truly the last baby.
2. Babies cry. They also eat alot and poop alot. Yes, this is another thing I should know by now, having had four kids..but the sleepless nights and constant feedings are, like childbirth, things you tend to forget after awhile. In the past ten days, it's all come rushing back to me. But this time I have a super comfortable recliner. I pretty much sleep there, cuddling and feeding Morgan every night between 1:00 am and 5:00 am. And, for the record, at this age, the crying is actually kind of cute.
3. Sweat pants make me happy. I have not worn anything but sweats since Morgan was born. That's partly because none of my regular pants fit, and I refuse to wear maternity jeans when I'm not pregnant. But it's also because I truly love sweats. Really. I would wear them everyday, everywhere if I could get away with it.
4. My family actually likes my cooking. I had gone on a cooking strike in the days leading up to Morgan's birth... I didn't cook anything with meat (the smell made me want to throw up and so did the taste) so we ate a lot of grilled cheese and noodles, and a few times I even made Brad cook (in hindsight, that was mean of me, since he was working long days and I was done at 12:30 everyday) I'm not really sure what my family ate while I was in the hospital and for the first several days after Morgan and I got home, I didn't cook. Some friends brought food over, we ordered pizza, and Brad cooked. Finally this week I got back into the supper cooking habit. It was nothing fancy... blt's, sloppy joes, spaghetti, tacos. But my family apparently appreciated it. Brad offered to take Jake out for a burger after a long night at Cub Scouts. Jake said no thanks, he'd rather eat Mom's cooking. And last night, as I was clearing the spaghetti dishes, Brad and Lexi both thanked me for cooking and rejoiced that "Mom is back".
5. I wish I could be a stay home mom. I've never wanted to quit working completely, and until now, working part-time has been the perfect solution... I still have some adult conversation, but I have plenty of time with my kids. After a week of hanging out with Lizzy and Morgan all day, I'm dreaming of winning the lottery so I can do that forever. Yes, I may change my mind after a few more weeks of maternity leave. No, we can't afford for me not to work (unless we move into a trailer house..) but a girl can dream, right?
6. I don't mind doing laundry. I have always hated this chore, because the laundry pile was always so huge and overwhelming. But this week, I've been doing a few loads everyday and getting it put away that same day (except for Jake's basket..it's been on the floor of his bedroom for about three days now). I have actually found myself searching for enough clothes to make a load. Call me Grandma Shea... but I can't stop doing laundry!
7. I don't really like shopping. Morgan and I went to Target last night. I didn't enjoy it at all. Granted, we were shopping for toilet paper and cereal, but still, it wasn't fun, and she was actually really well behaved (she slept the entire time). Today we went to Hobby Lobby. It took me five minutes to find what I wanted, and then we stood in line for over 30 minutes. Again, Morgan slept the whole time, except for a little cry just as we were paying, but still, I didn't enjoy it. I was actually sweating by the time we finally got to the register. I had planned on going shopping the day after Thanksgiving, but now I'm thinking I'll do all my shopping online, from my comfy recliner, with Morgan in my arms.
8. I hate missing my kids' activities. Lexi is playing in a basketball tournament in Dickinson this weekend. Brad and Jake are hunting in Mott, so Grandma, Madonna and Chrissy took Lexi and Lizzy to the games today. It seemed silly to take a ten day old baby to 5th grade basketball games all day. Chrissy texted me throughout the games, so it was almost like I was there. But when I heard how good the girls played, I got sad. I've only missed a few games ever, and the mom guilt is terrible. Tomorrow, Morgan, Mary and I are going to Dickinson to watch Lexi play in the championship game.
9. I love the smell of freshly bathed babies. Really. It's the best smell in the whole world. I know she doesn't need a bath everyday, but I can't help myself. I just love the way she smells after a bath, and when she cuddles me, it's heaven.
10. Don't sweat the small stuff. I've never been a really mellow, calm person, but I'm learning. Maybe it's the fourth baby. Maybe it's age. But somehow, I'm learning to just "chill" about the little things. So the toilet seat is up, there are dirty dishes in the sink and Lizzy's wearing her jammies at 2:00 in the afternoon. So what? As long as everyone is happy, little things like those really don't matter. And yes, Lizzy really does wear her jammies all day.. they are to her, what sweats are to me!