Curled up against my body in a soft white blanket, my baby girl is finally sleeping peacefully. It took rocking and singing and nursing and the pacifier that I thought we had successfully gotten rid of a month ago, but she eventually closed her eyes and slipped off to sleep with a whimper.
Sore gums where three more little teeth will soon sprout have kept her on edge and cranky. All she wants is to be held and to let me know how miserable she is with pitiful noises, her big eyes shiny with tears and heavy with sleepiness.
Every night I hold her close and sing to her, just like when she was a newborn and wasn’t yet able to sleep through the night. She is only nine months old, but it has been the fastest nine months of my life. We brought her home, brand new and swaddled, and seemingly overnight she grew. Now she is smarter, faster, and filled with her very own feisty, loving personality.
Even though we are facing a hard time right now, a time of sleepless nights and moody days, I try to remember the unique effect a child has on time: the days are long, but the years are short. This piece of insight was coined by Gretchen Rubin and so eloquently describes what it feels like to be a parent. I created a little reminder for myself and hung it over Vi’s crib so I can see it every day. And, because I know I am not in this alone, I have included it here for you to download, print, and put somewhere that will remind you of what a wonderful thing you are doing with your days. What other words keep your parenting strong? Create a space for them in your home so that you never go a day without remembering what is truly important.
