Will Monroe: Month 1

It's hard to believe almost an entire month has gone by since Will made us a family of three. I swear he is growing right in front of my eyes, and it kind of hurts my heart. I want him to stay teeny tiny forever. But don't let that fool you- I am beyond excited for him to start sleeping through the night..

{Left: 2 weeks - - Right:1 month}

 It's absolutely true what people say, motherhood is an enormous adjustment. In so many ways. I've had my fair share of frustration and tears. But there is also nothing more rewarding. He has brought a new sense of joy and purity to our home. It's such an overwhelming, accomplishing feeling knowing that this little person is completely dependent on Chris and I.

Some of my favorite things:
-Smelling his little breath as he sleeps. The sweetest smell on this earth. Truly.
-Getting him out of his crib in the morning and snuggling with him in my bed. I'm happy to report that even though he may be the spit image of Chris- he got my love for cuddling. It's the best.
-He loves to make breakfast with me. At least, I think he does. He sits in his little bouncer and watches me shuffle around the kitchen every morning and I swear this is his happiest time of day.
-Watching him as he sleeps. He does the cutest little smiles and every once in a while, he starts giggling! Melts me.

Some of Wills favorite things:
-Milk.
-Staying up until at least 1:00 a.m.
-Laying on his belly.
-The bath (one after my own heart).
-SNUGGLING. Oh, how he loves snuggling.

Wills least favorite things:
-Getting his diaper changed.
-Getting his clothes changed.
-Being swaddled.
-Being naked. I can't even tell you how bad he hates being naked. You've never heard a baby his size scream louder..

{I swear he loves the bath, despite the look on his face}

Now, I'll just be honest. Will isn't the easiest baby. It almost makes you ashamed to say that your baby is fussy. (Okay- more than fussy... more like a full blown screamer). It somehow makes you feel like you are failing as a mother. Like you just don't know how to soothe him, or that you just aren't doing something right. But over the past couple weeks, I've just had to admit to myself that I don't have an easy baby. I love him to absolute pieces. But he is hard. I guess I never imagined what it would be like to have a "hard baby," so I never prepared myself for that. There's something about a babies cry that somehow makes you question everything about yourself. Luckily, over the past week or so, I've learned to deal with it a little better. But poor Chris still gets so frazzled.
Just try to picture the scene: Screaming baby. Chris and I passing him back and forth. Trying to hold him in different positions, bouncing him all over the place, pacing all over the house, talking to him in the most ridiculous voices, trying to do WHATEVER we can to get him to stop. It's quite comical actually.

{Clearly, these are the peaceful moments}

There has been a lot of growing done in this home of ours. From baby Will's height- to my length of patience. Over the past 4 weeks, I feel like I've learned one of the most valuable lessons of my life. That every situation and every emotion we face can be controlled by our attitude. There have been several times when I have felt like giving up. Or that I couldn't possibly wake up in the middle of the night one more time.. But then I realized I needed to change my perspective. I have this little angel in my life and I should feel privileged to wake up and take care of him. I should feel beyond blessed to have a baby that so many women pray for. And that has made some of the tough times a lot easier. 

{I should probably avoid putting pictures like this up- but I just had to laugh when I looked at them. 

Do we both look miserably exhausted, or is it just me? Haha}

I've never been so tired in my life. And I've never wanted to pull my own hair out so many times. But I've also never been so in love. I am so grateful to be a mommy. I feel like he has been mine all along. Like we've known each other for years. It's such a surreal feeling. Oh how I adore him.

One month down, and a whole lot more to go. Cheers to the first 4 weeks baby Will!