To the stay at home mom

Let me start out by saying that this post is geared toward stay at home moms simply because that's what I am, so after staying at home during my pregnancy and all of Sarah's life for a total of 22 months so far, I feel like I have some decent insights into being a stay at home mom that could maybe lift your spirits as a fellow stay at home more or at least get a head nod and an "Mmhmm.  Preach it."

It's okay to take a nap.  Seriously.  I'm tired if hearing moms say that they don't have time to nap or feel guilty about napping.  Let's just estimate that you're baby is awake from 7:00am-7:00pm and naps for a total of two hours a day.  That means she's awake for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.  That means that you're spending 70 hours a week meeting your baby's needs.  That's just shy of two full-time jobs.  You don't get a breakfast break; you drink room temp coffee an hour later.  You don't get a lunch break because you feed your baby and then heat up some leftovers.  You don't even get to go to the bathroom in privacy.  Seriously, you deserve a stinking nap when your babe takes a nap.  Sure, your husband will be extra happy if he's able to make it to the kitchen table without breaking his leg maneuvering through a pile of toys and laundry, but you'll find 10 minutes during the day to pick up really quick before he gets home.  Take a nap, take a nap, take a nap!  Okay, so maybe you aren't a napper.  Read a book, watch tv, crochet, or whatever helps you reset to make it through the rest of the day.

You might feel like because you're not out there interacting with dozens of people a day at work that you've kind of been forgotten.  Honestly, people probably aren't thinking about what you're doing all day, and that stings from time to time.  Sometimes you'll hear people say, "I wish I could stay at home," and you'll feel guilty about not loving every second of it.  It's okay to not feel like shaking a rattle and singing The Wheels on the Bus is the mentally stimulating thing you've ever done.  You'll feel like you aren't making an impact on the world or the Kingdom because you literally build block towers and spoon-feed squash to a nonverbal baby all day. But, and this is something I have to remind myself of regularly, you are building the foundation for a loving, trusting relationship with your child.  Right now she already knows that she can trust you to keep her safe, feed her when she's hungry, help her stay rested, and introduce her to new and fun things.  By God's grace, one day she will trust you to hear her and know her when she shares about her first crush, a friendship where she feels misunderstand, homework struggles, and her hopes and dreams for the future.  When you feel like you could be out there being a missionary and bringing hundreds to Christ through a crusade, remember that you have 70 hours a week to be Jesus to your little one.  For now, it might look like reading a four sentence version of the creation story and saying things like, "What a soft kitty.  I'm glad God made animals.  Thank you, God, for making animals and for making me," and that seems super basic, but I hold fast to the hope that one day Sarah will ask Jesus to forgive her of her sins and will become a born again believer.  Seriously, that will make every time I sang "Jesus Loves Me" over and over again worth it.  My number one priority as a parent is to shepherd my child toward a personal relationship with Christ, and I'm so thankful that I have the honor and privilege to be her primary influence.

Some days will be really quiet, but God is still with you.  Some days you'll look at the calendar and realize that you seriously have absolutely nothing to do and it's only 9:00am.  You don't want to muster up the energy to go grocery shopping, it's raining so you can't go on a stroller ride, you friend's son is sick so you can't have a play date, everyone else is at work so they  can't come by or talk on the phone, and the day will seem super quiet, but God hears every thought, and you can talk to him in your head or aloud.  Don't worry, your baby won't think you're crazy!  You can also narrate everything you're doing.  You'd be amazed at how therapeutic it can be to say, "Mommy is losing her mind right now.  She sure hopes you take a very long nap so she can eat a brownie and watch TV."  I suppose one day she'll be old enough to understand that.  :)

The other day I knew that Robert had an extra meeting in the evening and would be gone from about 8:30am-7:30pm.  Around noon I was feeling down that I still had more than seven hours until he'd be home, and I literally had to have a complete mindset shift and say, "I'm not going there."  I told myself I wouldn't have a pity party.  I know Robert doesn't want to work late.  He'd rather be at home.  I know that he has to work outside of the home so that I can stay at home.  When I can think reasonably like this it makes a world of difference.  Of course, this doesn't always happen, and sometimes I lay in bed and cry for a minute when Sarah wakes up after a short 30 minute nap.  That's real life for you.

But other days God will send you an angel of a friend who comes to play with your baby, and you eat dinner together, go grocery shopping together, and then watch Grey's Anatomy and bake cookies after your baby goes to sleep.  God is so sweet to me, and I know he'll give you some sweet forever friends, too, even when it seems like all of your other friends work, go to school, or just have so many other things going on, and you're at home just changing diapers on repeat.  And maybe when you start working outside of the home one day you'll make a younger stay at home mom friend and the memories will come flooding in and you'll take that mom a coffee, and you'll be her angel of a friend for the day.

Sarah At 15 Months

I've slowed down on the Sarah updates and haven't done one since she turned one, so it's high time, huh?  We just had her 15 month appointment, and she's grown an inch, has lost 3oz, and her head hasn't grown at all.  30 3/4" tall (55%), 22lbs 13.5oz (68%), and 17 5/8" (25%) head circumference.  She's still wearing 12-18 month and 18-24 month clothes.  I feel like the waist and torso fit well on the 18-24 month clothes, but the sleeves and pants are usually too long.  It's weird that she can still wear clothes that she was wearing in March.  Her body has definitely been focused on talking and walking and has come to a grinding halt in the height and weight department.

Sarah has a healthy appetite and will try most anything and enjoys a variety of foods.  Her favorites are still things like peanut butter, smoothies, bread, carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon, milk, and peas.  But she likes random stuff like water chestnuts, spoonfuls of sour cream, and bamboo.  She eats three meals, two snacks, 2-3 thermoses of milk, and 1-2 thermoses of water.  The biggest news in the food department is that she drinks whole milk and ditched the bottle about a month ago.  YAY!!!!  No more bottle washing and drying rack.  One day it just clicked and she started loving her rubber straw thermos.

She is learning so many new physical things that her body can do.  She started walking on her own a week or two after her first birthday.  Now she can walk sideways, backwards, run, march, and dance.  She's learned how to climb onto her own little chair, step stool, rocking chair, and hearth (YIKES!).  She can't quite reach the couch yet, but I know it'll come soon enough.  She can stack three blocks on top of each other.  She also follows short commands like, "Go get the ball," or "Bring me the book."

She loves imaginary play.  We frequently feed book characters and stuffed animals crackers and sips of milk.  We like having tea parties together.  She loves combing my hair.  She is a neat freak and needs a napkin so she can wipe her own hands and tray after each meal.  She also likes wiping the floor, walls, bath tub, and anything else that she thinks needs to be cleaned - this has even included wood chips!

It seems like she learns a new word nearly every day.  She can repeat/mimic about 90 words, and I'd say she has at least 50 words that she says on her own regularly.  She's started putting two words together and saying short sentences like "Hi, DaDa!" "What's that?" "Oh no." "Night night." and "Hi, baby."  Some other favorite new words are push, wash, down, up, walk, rock, talk, horse, pumpkin, and kitty cat!

She's such a charmer and has learned how to smack her lips together for a kiss, blow a kiss, and catch a kiss.  She's become much more affectionate in the last month or two and frequently runs across the room just to give us a hug, hops up in our laps to read, give us a hug after every diaper change, and kisses things she loves like the rocking horse, stuffed animals, and books.  She is also obsessed with stickers and enjoys putting them on herself and others.  She can say sticker, sticky, and stuck.  She loves necklaces and can turn just about anything into a necklace.

Temper tantrums have started up, and in that category she's your typical toddler.  The first notable one happened when she fell and her graham cracker fell in half.  It was the end of the world.  The other most memorable one happened when she found out she could climb onto the fireplace hearth.  I got her off, got eye to eye to tell her it was unsafe, and swatted her hand.  She really wanted to get back on it, but she just looked and it and cried but clapped her hands for herself for being so obedient even though it was really difficult for her.  I was so proud!

Other notable events from the last three months include Halloween, a double ear infection, and meeting her first little cousin, Sadie.