What Motherhood Has Taught Me | 10 Months (or so) Later

Well, this just got away from me.

I thought about waiting until the year mark to do this post – because really, that is all that is on my mind. Clementine is about to turn 1. And I am throwing myself a damn party, people.

That’s right. She isn’t going to remember it – she’ll see photos, of course – but it is going to be a PAR-TAY. Because, hey, we made it this far.

WE MADE IT THIS FAR!
SHE IS ALIVE AND WE ARE ALIVE AND WE ALL ARE OK!

Give me a mountain top to shout from and a bottle of champagne! Because, I didn’t lose my mind (most days).

As I started planning her birthday party, my husband kept looking at me with that raised eyebrow sort of “what on earth are you planning” look on his face. The party kept getting larger, I was looking for “venues,” and my guest list was getting a bit out of control. For a while, I didn’t even realize WHY I felt so strongly about throwing such a well-planned birthday bash, but after posting on one of my “mom” pages on Facebook, a conversation happened that made me realize what was REALLY going on.

Here is just a LITTLE bit of this thread – that ended up getting way more responses than I had anticipated.

So, there you have it. Hey, thanks kiddo, for turning one so that Mom could throwing herself a party.

Clementine, here are the top 10 reasons why Mom (ok, and Dad a little bit) needs a party:

1. She really has to celebrate the day she became a mother, because it is the best thing she has ever done
2. She lived off possibly half the amount of sleep she was used to, and was still pretty productive in life! (She, in fact, has JUST started sleeping more than 6 hours at a time)
3. She has held onto 15 pounds of momma chub so you could continue to breastfeed to one year
4. Pumping at work, in storage rooms, in a bowling alley kid’s birthday party room, in the car, in a bathroom, at several conferences, and many other strange and fun places
5. She has already put away 3 garbage bags of clothes that you have outgrown (WHAT!)
6. She has had to deal with finding herself crying at EVERYTHING and literally has to stay away from websites like Upworthy for fear of ruining her makeup at work (aka: hormones). She just can’t deal with anything too happy or too sad. That includes things like diaper commercials.
7. POSTPARTUM HAIR REGROWTH
8. Mom worry. Always. Constant. Forever. The end.
9. Sucking snot out of your nose for most of the winter. With my mouth.
10. To celebrate our amazing little family – because nothing makes me happier!

So, there you have it. If I go overboard, just indulge me and call me crazy behind my back. I am trying to tone it down – so at the very least, I don’t cry the whole flippin’ day.

Parents, we need to celebrate ourselves – what we have done, what we can accomplish, how hard we work, and how much we love. THROW YOURSELVES A FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Because, this.