See these faces? It’s a picture of two ladies who had big things to celebrate!


That was Baby H and me just last week when she turned 9 weeks old. It was a pretty big day! Baby H and I each chose to hit some major milestones.

Baby H rolled over from belly to back! Want to see?

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We were pretty surprised and excited! She repeated this new trick about 4 times and has done it since, so we know it was more than a fluke. She’s such a big girl!

I celebrated this day special in a slightly different way (I already know how to roll). Up until this point, I had never left Baby H for longer than 1-2 hours, and when I did I was always minutes from home because we didn’t introduce a bottle until about 7 weeks. And, at the beginning of bottle feeding we encountered a lot of resistance from Baby H so it took a little while for the bottle to become more than a hurdle to overcome.

However, after a solid week of Baby H successfully taking one bottle a day without major meltdowns, it finally seemed possible for me to get out of the house for a longer stretch of time. That picture above is the face of a mommy who put makeup on, a pair of jeans (only 1 size bigger than pre-pregnancy!), a cute shirt and a fun pair of high heels. I cannot even express how great it was to finally start feeling like me again!

I went out for dinner with girlfriends that night. I enjoyed almost 4 hours of fabulous food and conversation while in a restaurant on a completely different side of the city. There was no one to shush or change or carry around. I didn’t have to scarf my food down because someone was fussy. And even though I enjoyed every single minute of this time, I still kept my phone in hand, oohing and ahhing over the pictures that Mr. H would text me of their daddy-daughter night.

Even though I’m starting to look and feel like my old self again, I realized that in so many ways my old self is gone. Being Baby H’s mom has helped me develop into a new self – my life will never be the same, in so many wonderful ways! It’s fantastic that I’m able to start getting out more (ultimately preparing all of us for my return to work), but a big piece of my heart will always be right at home with Baby H.

When did you go out and leave your baby for an extended period of time for the first time?