Tag: motherhood

Maisie Days have begun…

Wiwohka21 Comments

Thought I would do a brief post, while the little angel sleeps. She’s such a good baby, honestly!

I was so nervous and excited about today that I started waking up around 1:30 in the morning, subsequently waking every hour on the hour, til around 5 am. By then it was time to wake and prepare for her arrival, so I guarantee my bedtime will be early this evening, lol.

You’d think that it would be second nature to care for an infant, being that I birthed and raised three, myself. Somehow, it feels different with Maisie. I think it’s the nervousness of caring for one that belongs to another. I love her so much, but she’s not my baby… she’s my daughters child. I want so much for her not to worry about the baby while they are apart, during work hours.

I will say that I was happy to get smiles from her this morning, when we first got her out of the car. I was worried that she would be frightened, possibly, what with all the changes happening. Nope! It helps that she simply adores her papa, and he came downstairs to get her with me.

You know, I don’t think we’ve gotten more than a few grumpy whines, and that was just before I gave her a bottle so I know she was just hungry.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Ok, so maybe it won’t be that easy to write while she naps. I barely got started and then had to take a break to feed and change her, as her morning naps are merely 30 minute breathers.

All in all, it was a great success, today! By the time I handed her back to mamma, she’d been thoroughly loved, fed, tickled, and spoiled. What else could I do? This Meemaw has no other choice, does she? To hear the sound of a baby’s giggles, coo’s, and the strange dialect of baby babble, is to have truly lived….

Thursday Thoughts…

Wiwohka5 Comments

It’s been over 30 years since I raised my babies, and at least 5 since I watched over a baby full-time.

While I’d like to say that I’ve got this, no problem, there is still some butterflies in my stomach.

I’m no spring chicken, as they say. Will this body hold up?

My relationship with my daughter is a fragile one, do to my own shortcomings as a mother. It’s almost as if my grandbaby is bridging a gap between the two of us, providing an area of safe ground for rebuilding bonds, once more.

I’ve always wanted and prayed for the opportunity to be there for my daughters, and be the MeeMaw that my grandchildren will adore. Now is one of my chances!

Oh lord, I pray that you give me that which I need, for the sake of those I love.

I don’t even know why I’m writing all this stuff down, really. I guess it helps to put it down on paper, or a computer screen, in this case.

No need for answers, or words of self-affirmation.

It simply helps to write out my thoughts. Then I can observe where they take me, or how they keep me grounded, if that makes any sense.

Obviously, I can remember how to care for a baby. That’s not the issue, I don’t think. Most probably, it’s the fact that she’s not mine, first of all. Caring for something so precious that belongs to another is a wonderful, yet, terrifying venture. I don’t think I ever really doubted myself as a mother. It just felt natural, some how.

With my granddaughter, I feel inadequate, somehow. I’m not mamma! I can’t make all the monsters go away, and make the world feel safe like she can. I smell different than mom, sound different, and behave in a different manner. This will all be a huge adjustment for her, and my desire is to make it as gentle as possible.

Life can take one in so many differing directions, offering a multitude of opportunities and experiences. But something about a baby on scene, and the rest of the world seems to fade to grey… for me, at least.

Babies are such a vivid example of Gods design for humans. They begin life so small, and fragile. Each day, we find their eyes full of wonder at the world around them, as they grow and develop. It’s such an awesome thing to observe a baby learning their first words, taking their first steps, and becoming more independent, and self-reliant.

I feel so honored to get the opportunity to be a part of Maisie’s world. And, you’ll get to read about all of it. Most likely, my Thursdays will be thoughts of all that we’ve been up to, and how we’re both getting along. Maybe that’s boring for you, but honestly, it’s not really about you, nor is it about me any longer.

I’m kind of sick of talking about myself all the time. I think she’s much more interesting, by far.

With all that being said, I am confident that this will be one adventure worth documenting.

Let the fun begin, right?! Well, not til Monday, that is. Until then, I’m gonna play hard like I did when I was a kid. Remember when you knew that school was starting up soon? You played even harder, stayed up later, and slept til it was lunchtime, knowing that those easy days of summer were fast disappearing. I’m gonna play like that, only I do my playing on the computer. Don’t judge! Like I said earlier, I’m no spring chicken anymore.

My adventures are all virtual. Why? Because my body hurts less, afterwards. You do the math…

Monday Messages…

Wiwohka10 Comments

I want to do things a little differently this morning. I know that we normally pick strange words in the English language, just to learn and understand more about properly reading and writing. But sometimes, life takes us in directions we didn’t see coming. I guess that’s where my mind is, just now.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want to become a famous writer, and all. That’s a dream that will never stop growing, a passion that will never diminish!

What I’m trying to say is that I feel like maybe it would be kind of fun to be a part of something bigger, and much more important.

Wiwohka’s grandbaby will now be with us three days a week, which means that everything is changing around the barnyard. Routines are all going to be different, which won’t allow us to write as much as we normally do. I want to help with the baby, more than I feel like writing, lately. Is that wrong?

I mean, she’s not MY baby, but still. She’s just adorable, and I smile so much when I see her that my cheeks hurt. I’m sure that Wiwohka will need my help, but I don’t really know that much about babies. I was thinking that perhaps I can still practice my reading and writing skills, while still being of use to Wiwohka, and little Maisie.

What if we use Monday Messages to look up different things about babies, and all that goes into caring for them? This will help me learn all about babies, and at the same time, I can practice my spelling and proper word usage. While I doubt this will be anything new for you, it will aid me. What good is an ant that doesn’t know anything, right?!

I do know that babies sleep a lot, eat a lot, and poop a lot. But, aside from that, I’m just certain that there is more to be learned about a baby. So, just to prove this to myself, I shall be embarking on an educational journey through the forests of baby lore. How did they do it way back then? What changes were for the better, and what ones were not so helpful? What things have remained the same, since the beginning?

You see, there are a number of things to study and write about, when it comes to babies. I thought it might be fun to write about Wiwohka’s and Maisie’s journey together, and document all the changes along the way. Plus, if Wiwohka’s daughter reads anything about it, maybe she won’t be so unhappy about going back to work. They visited the other day, and I could tell that she was sad about it. But, our place is just down the road from her work, so she’s not far away. I still feel bad for her, though.

Anyway, I hope you don’t mind me using Monday Messages to learn more about babies. It won’t last forever, as I’ve heard that babies tend to grow very fast. Before you know it, we’ll be back to our regular writings.

Inquiring minds want to know…

Wiwohka4 Comments

What on earth happened yesterday? One moment I was typing out my prompt answer, and the next, we were moving out of our apartment!

For anyone not aware of our recent FunVee activities, some moron decided it would be fun to set a fire in the 4th floor garbage room, thereby, setting off that section of the buildings water suppression units. It flooded all the way to the basement parking lot!

We’ve had to wait nearly three weeks for them to get to our unit for repairs, and had been under the understanding that they would work around us. That wasn’t happening, as there were about 10 of them + us … which equaled out that we would be spending at least several days, corralled in our tiny bedroom with all our belongings. They needed to basically gut the whole left side of the apartment and the bathroom, as well. Mold has become a concern, so plans changed.

In the space of 4 hours, 6 darling young maintenance workers helped us completely move from the 2nd floor to the 5th! It’s the Penthouse baby!

Well, maybe not THE penthouse, but it’s actually a bit more spacious than our previous unit. Though we’ve just a little one bedroom there’s now room for my office to sit beside my husbands. The nice thing about this is because now I have room to turn my closet into a baby nook for Maisie when she starts coming over. I get to babysit when my daughter goes back to work, and I’m so stoked!

It’s perfect for her crib, and there’s room for a bookshelf and toy bin, once the pictures all get put back on the walls. Baby steps! Hahahahah, I just realized what I did, there.

Why must I take baby steps, you may be asking? Well, you try moving in only 4 hours! Me and my island of misfit internal organs had a field day, yesterday. Fibro started banging on her drums, thereby, sending IBS running off the reservation, and finally that left Arthuritis (yes I purposely misspelled that), to simply wipe out my back for the next several days. Folks it hurts to type, lol! My fingers keep falling asleep.

Personally, I think the move was worth it for the rewards…

Wouldn’t you agree?

(for my daughter’s privacy, I’ll often be implementing our SugarPlum, as my granddaughter’s stand-in.)

(2024) Little People…

Wiwohka4 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.
View all responses

The most precious time in my journey, hands down, was having and raising my three daughters when they were babies!

Don’t get me wrong, I carry their older years in my heart as well, but the baby phase was the most difficult to leave behind.

The doctors said I would never conceive … and if I did, I would not be able to carry a baby to full term, due to my medical history. I had a great many difficulties in my young life, of which, now is not the time or place to go into in any great detail. I will simply say that babies were not supposed to be in my future!

I became pregnant 8 times, losing 5 in order to have the three that I did carry to full term. The sicker I was, the better, because I knew my body was holding on to the pregnancy. I relished every bit of morning sickness, every stretch mark, crazy cravings and chubby pounds I gained.

My first daughter didn’t want to exit the building, forcing the doctor to induce my labor 2 full weeks after my due date… she is my stubborn Drama Queen, to this day!

My second daughter and I both nearly died in childbirth, as my placenta ruptured prematurely, causing an emergency Caesarian section. She was born 2 weeks early and still weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. when she arrived. She was a very fussy baby, being dubbed Kaitlungs… though, to this day, she’s the quietest and most reserved daughter of all three!

My third daughter was the easiest pregnancy, easiest delivery, and tiniest of the three… born 2 weeks early and weighing in at a solid 8 lbs. She literally shot out and landed in my doctors arms, being dubbed the surfing baby! She is most like me, of all my girls… just as strong minded, sassy and bright!

It was after her delivery that my doctor said, no more pregnancies … the risk was just too great for me to continue having babies. Thus, my season of bearing children had finally come to an end.

You may scoff, but I miss every detail of those years… every sleepless night, every tantrum, every band-aid handed out! I miss nursing my babies, changing their diapers, cuddling and rocking them gently, while they slept in my arms.

If I could, I would have bottled up and saved the smell of their breath, their skin… their hair!

If only I had made recordings of their laughter, cries, shouts, whispers and bickering… oh well, no more woulda coulda shoulda, in that regard!

I did make journals for each of them, with letters and stories of things they did and said, that I have saved all these years… I tried so hard to plan ahead, knowing that memories fade and things can so easily be forgotten over time.

Thank goodness I did that, because even if I had to say goodbye to that phase, I can easily go back through those books and memories, remembering and cherishing them over and over. Who knows, maybe one day my daughters will want those books to read with their children… maybe not. I’m still glad I dreamt of them, birthed them, raised them, and wrote things down for them… that way it’s not really goodbye to that phase, is it? My blood runs through their veins… they will always be my babies… and I will forever be their mother!

Here, I decided on pastries this morning…

What’s a baby?

Wiwohka6 Comments

One of my favorite songs about babies has to be from Lady and the Tramp, when Lady first meets the new baby. Put an adorable dog together with a baby and a tender song and what do you get? I get all emotional and start crying!

So it seems that it is fitting and right that I start your Monday off with the sniffles… but in a good way, of course!

Guess what?

It’s a girl!

Well, she’s here but not ready to come out of hiding just yet. That’ll be on or near November 25th. It makes me smile whenever I think on that date since my daughter’s birthday is the 18th. Wouldn’t it be the funniest thing if she is born on my daughter’s actual birthday day?!

They’ve still not quite settled on her name, at the moment, and neither have I. NO, I don’t get to name her! But, what I do get to do that nobody else can is to give her a special Meemaw name, just like I’ve done for all my other grandbabies.

Let’s see, there’s my first grandson “Peanut”, then my little Peach, my pinecone, and Little Man. Following them is my Chipmunk and our little Firefly, too. That makes five in all, so far. I’m also a Godmother to a very special Peapod.

Why the namesakes? Simple terms of endearment left with each of them for their memories… and, let’s be honest here… my memories, too!

It’s funny that I started doing this all the way back when my girls were born. My girls would never forgive me if I stopped referring to them by their personal nicknames, no joke!

I guess it never occurred to me how important it was for them, til a few weeks ago. I was sitting with my oldest grandson and talking about when he was smaller. I thought to apologize to him for always calling him Peanut when he was little, as he always made a fuss at me for doing it.

When I said that I was sorry, my grandson stopped what he was playing on the computer, looked at me funny for a moment, and then said, “why are you sorry?” I told him that I thought it bothered him, but he just smiled and shook his head in disagreement.

Apparently, he would like me to continue calling him Peanut… I’ve been given the all clear!

Ever since that conversation I’ve not stopped thinking about the importance of those little things, those tiny details. Often we find ourselves getting so caught up in doing the big things, we lose sight of what’s possible in a tiny, tiny thing…

All big things begin small, right?!

So, now that you’ve been given way more information than you probably needed for this next part… it’s time we think on a very special name for our newest family member. Yes, I said we! Don’t you want to help me think up an adorable new nickname for my soon-to-arrive granddaughter? Give it some thought if you would and then let me know in the comments. If we all put our heads together I know we can come up with something really adorable.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday … hugs