Sunday, March 6, 2011

Dusting off the cobwebs . . .

Um . . . Talk about being neglectful. I have not posted anything since October 6, 2010. Really!! Well, much has happened since then; I finally had the chance to take an ATC class with Luci at the Paper Niche. The holidays came and went, a new year passed by and I gave birth to my son 3 weeks early. Darin Augustino Reyes decided he wanted out on January 22nd, one day premature but healthy and strong as ever.



Now I know I dedicated this blog to all things creative. So, I'm taking liberty with the "creativity" side and since I helped create Darin, as a new mother there are a few things that have occurred that I had to write about. I'll spare the details of the pains of labor and delivery because really, when you tell people you’re pregnant, the women with the worst stories insist on telling you theirs. Don't get me wrong I found all the stories I've heard to be very insightful. Some of them useful, as I birthed another human being. For instance how to push. I did not take any of the birthing classes nor did I watch the DVD that my best friend so thoughtfully burned for me. So when it was time to push, it took a few to get the hang of it. Yes it is painful, yes the epidural works wonders.

I'm an educated person, I have a BA in Graphic Design (I don't like to throw it around) however the best way to feel like a complete idiot is to take your new baby out for the first time in public and attempt to unload them from the car. It took a good 10 minutes to figure out how to unfold his stroller, as people were staring some possibly even snickered. The next issue was how to maneuver said stroller as I opened doors and tried not to run my foot over. I should have purchased it earlier so I would have practiced how to push this thing. Yes, I believe the should have a stroller steering course cause I sure needed it. I sort of kinda still do. Of course, the highlight of ending my adventure was folding the stroller and getting it back into the trunk of my car. I'm still having issues with the folding stroller back part too. I'm sure the veteran Moms are laughing while reading this.



Bottles, bottle everywhere but mom could use one with a good stiff drink. In my younger wilder days I toyed with the idea of becoming a bar tender. The idea of mixing drinks, adding fruity garnish and pretty umbrellas to them, working the fast pace of a weekend crowd looking some courage in a bottle always intrigued me. Well, I got my wish so to speak, not mixing up intoxicating libations but baby formula. The evening routine of setting up Darin's nightly bottles reminds me of a bar keep filling her orders. The bottle system we’re using has 4 components that need to be broken down and put together for each bottle, at first I was careful and took my time added just the right amount of water. Now, I set up 3 bottles in 20 seconds flat, it’s like a “G” rated version of the movie “Cocktail”.

I read in a book that “As soon as you see your baby for the first time you’ll fall in love with them”. I read in another book that the writer “Was not sure how you could fall in love with a person you just met, even if you gave birth to them”. For me I didn’t have to fall in love with Darin. I just loved him. As natural and simple as that, I didn’t have to try to feel anything. It just is, and I treasure every little moment we have. What I have learned so far as a new Mother, your time is not your own and to get over it quickly because there is someone who is more dependant on you than anyone else you will meet in this lifetime. Also, 8 hours of sleep is for sissies.