As many of you know, I really struggled with Levi when he was
a newborn. I mean now he is the world’s best toddler, but he has not always
been like that. When he was born he pretty much just cried and slept. Sure I was
grateful for the sleeping, but all the time he spent awake was pretty draining.
On top of that Levi did not enjoy any type of hugs and snuggles. He would never
sleep on my chest, and would only let me hold him if he was facing out. Levi
rarely smiled, and I do not remember him laughing until he was around 6 months
old. As you can imagine this extreme grumpiness would suck the energy out of
any new first time mom. Eventually Levi got easier and became the sweet, smiley,
and affectionate little boy that he is today, but I promise those characteristics
came later. Because of this experience I have dreaded going back to those early
months with any of our future children that was until Parker came along.
Since the first night Parker came into this world he has
wanted nothing more than to snuggle with his mommy. Parker was born at 10:30 at
night, and after a thirteen hour labor I was beyond exhausted. My mom spent
that first night in the hospital with me, and she was going to stay up with
Parker so that I could get some rest. Well shortly after I fell asleep Parker
just flipped out and would not stop crying. My mom tried for a while to sooth
him, but eventually caved and woke me up. As soon as I took Parker I lied him
down on my chest and he immediately calmed down and fell fast asleep. My mom
could not even believe it, all he needed that night was his mommy. I am so
grateful that I was able to snuggle and sooth my sweet new baby that night. It instantly
made me feel so loved and cherished.
The next day I had come home from the hospital and Morgan and
my mom were taking care of Parker so that I could take a nap. He again started
crying uncontrollably. Eventfully they decided he must be hungry so they came
in and woke me up to feed him. I remember walking out into the living room,
where they all were and I started talking. As soon as Parker heard my voice he
instantly fell asleep. It was like all he needed was to hear the sound of his mom’s
voice so that he could feel safe enough to close his eyes and fall asleep.
Since Parker has been born he has always taken extra comfort to having his mom
close by.
Parker has just been the sweetest newborn and I love him so
much. I now see why people cherish the first year of a baby’s life so deeply. Parker just loves to be held and cuddled all
the time, which I don’t mind at all. I love that Parker gets so much fulfillment
from being close to me. He will just lie on my shoulder and snuggle till he
falls asleep, and he will sit on my lap for as long as I am willing to hold
him. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night to feed him, and I just get so over whelmed with his smiles and stares that I cannot help but stay up
for an extra hour just so I can just look into his eyes, kiss his little neck,
and soak in all his smiles. It is like for those few minutes I completely forget
how tired I am. I just become so over whelmed with his love all I can do is just sit there in aww as I think about how perfect my sweet baby is. He is always happy and smiling and he just has the sweetest
laugh that I have ever heard. He is just such a happy boy, who loves life. He
just melts everyone’s heart with his smiles and dimples, and I cannot get over
how much I am dreading him growing up. I wish I could keep him
this age forever. I know I have said the word smiles a million times, but I just cannot get over how smiley he is. He pretty much always wears a smile.
It is
amazing to me how different two babies can be. I know Levi loved me with all
his heart, but when he was a newborn he did not have the best ways of showing
it. Now that he is older he loves to give his little brother kisses and hugs all the time. He
is honestly one of the
most affectionate little boys I have ever met. I am so
grateful for all the time I have with my boys, and I am glad I get to be the
one to help them experience their different stages. It is fun to see their
little personalities as they grow and experience all the different parts of
life. I am loving this stage of my life, and I am just so grateful for the opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to be a mother to such beautiful little spirits who I love more then I thought possible.
