. . . for Lauren and Lauren: She may be an attention hog

March 10, 2014

She may be an attention hog

(Sorry for the blurry photos.  I use my phone most of the time and she moves far too quickly these days to get a clear picture.)

I've been having a hard time the last two weeks or so adjusting to this new phase of motherhood.  I feel like all of a sudden Addilyn is not such a baby anymore.  I know things have been constantly changing since she's been born but with her starting to move more, eating solids, getting teeth and showing her personality I feel like it has taken parenting. to a new level.  

It has been so fun to see Addilyn's personality come out.  She is so funny and I think she is starting to realize it.  The other night she started making these funny faces and sounds when I was feeding her and Chris and I started laughing and she kept doing it.  Then first thing the next morning she did the same thing again.  It blows my mind that she is smart enough to remember stuff like that now.  

On the down side she has also started crying when I take something away from her or throwing these mini fits when she doesn't like something.  This part of parenting scares me.  I feel like when she's a baby it's a huge responsibility to take care of her, but there's not a whole lot of wondering how or what to do.  Feed her, cuddle her, love her.  It LOTS of time but it was clear how to handle most of those things.  

Now? I feel like I don't know what I'm doing.  How much solids to give her.  When to start nursing less and feeding real food more.  When do I start trying to actually teach her things?  

We take a music class on Mondays and Addilyn loves it.  She does her manly grunt and nose sniffly laughs (super feminine I know) throughout the whole class.  This last week though, she was a little more fussy than normal.  At the beginning and end of class they do a hello and goodbye song and go around and sing each kids' name.  Turns out she was incredibly happy, laughing and loving it when everyone was staring at her.  Move onto a different baby? Not so happy. 

Shoot.  My baby is an attention hog.  

Of course I am aware that babies are happier when they have your attention.  And being my only baby and staying home with her, she of course gets all my attention.  But it did make me realize that my responsibility as a parent is definitely changing.  As her personality continues to develop I want to know how to encourage her positive qualities, and know how to handle the not so positive ones too.  

I've started praying a lot more for Addilyn in terms of the kind of girl she is going to become.  I've always prayed that she'd know how much she is loved by us and by God and grow up loving and knowing Him.  But I'm starting to pray more for other qualities, like for her be a good friend, to be kind and loving.  To be affectionate and sweet.  And I would of course love it she kept being funny too.
  
And because I know there will be a million times those not so pretty qualities make their appearance, I also am praying that I'll have wisdom in how to handle them.  I was well aware that motherhood would be hard. But there are times when I look at this little girl and can't believe that I am responsible for her.  And now not just for her physical needs but all her other needs to.   I absolutely love being a mom, and know that I will continue to go through plenty of phases where I don't feel prepared.  And I'm so thankful for the reminder that God picked me to be Addilyn's mom and picked her to be my baby. 

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13 comments:

Denise said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Praying for your family.

Kayla MKOY said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Your little girl is going to turn into the most beautiful, smart, and sweet young woman if she's anything like her momma ;) praying for you and that you can find the right way to handle situations as they come up. I know you will! :)

Angie said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

You never quit praying for them and wondering if your doing the right thing. My daughter is almost 16 and although my prayers have changed for her, they are just important. I'm 35 and my mom still prays for me nightly. As parent's, that is all we can really do! She is so beautiful :)

PolkaDottyPlace said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I agree 100%!! This new stage of parenting is tricky. Our babies can't talk so I'm always questioning things. I wish Olive could tell me she was full, needing more table food, ready for a bottle, teething, etc. I feel like a detective trying to figure out what is wrong or what she wants sometimes. We've also been having some melt downs when I won't let her climb things or when I take something away. I'm definitely praying more and asking for some major parental guidance!! Guess it's good preparation and foundation building for the road ahead. :) You are doing a great job!!

The Girl who Loved to Write said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Oh, she is precious!

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

First of all, attention hog or not, girlfriend is adorable! Oh my goodness is she cute. Precious eyes! This has encouraged me. Sometimes I get slack in praying for all areas of my boys' lives. This reminded me it is my responsibility and gift to offer up all areas of their lives to Our Sweet Savior!

Sarah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Even the blurry pictures are cute :) Yes parenting is so hard, to know what the right thing for your kid is. I'm sure you will know, and she's going to become such a well rounded, funny kid.

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

You are your family are in my prayers! I will say though, from what what we all see it certainly looks like you are a wonderful mama!! I'm not a mom yet, but I definitely think I can understand where you're coming from. I actually had a long talk with my own mom the other day about how tough it was for her raising a girl (from the emotional perspective). It's funny to me that you wrote about this now because I actually just wrote two blog posts a week or so ago on a very similar topic, just from the daughter's perspective. My mom doesn't think she did everything right with me, but as a now adult I can say I think she did an amazing job - I'm sure one day Addilyn will say that to you as well! :)

Pamela said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

She's so adorable, it's ok ;) LOVE that first picture!

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

The role of the parent constantly changes. How we interact with our kids, when to teach and discipline and when to just let things go. I am not quite there yet with my baby girl but I am right behind you. What we pray for and I am sure how often (it will only increase as they get older and face new challenges I bet)! It's tough work... I don't know how I would do this if I didn't know Jesus. So thankful for Him.
Angela :)
www.acharlescoach.com/blog

Susannah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

You are such a good mom!!! Your little one is so blessed to have you loving her and praying for her!

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Oh the tantrum stage. Nobody warned me that it came on so young... I always imagined it was a toddler thing but Klair started at that age too. And I felt teh same way about all the changes and not being sure how to implement new things. They give you some information, but you're left to fill in the blanks yourself on so much of it. You are a wonderful mom though, and you'll figure out what's best for Addilyn. She is so lucky to have you!

Bethany said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Allie is the same way! (Surprise, surprise.) Addi is so cute. Nothing wrong with wanting attention! :)