on precious moments.

sometimes, in the middle of the night, the wee hours of the morning, when my whole house (except for me) is fast asleep, i look down at the little baby sleeping contently in my arms and i think, all the sleep deprivation in the world is worth this one little moment.

i look down at his tiny little hands, curled into fists that rest by his ears, and i try to soak in the rhythmic hum of his breath.  i try to memorize everything about his perfect little face, his tiny nose, his pouty lower lip.  every day he changes, and to me, looks a little different than he did the day before.  and so, even though i have not slept more than 4 hours at a stretch for the past three weeks, in these quiet moments, in the still of the night, i am at peace with the lack of sleep.  being awake for these moments gives me the opportunity to soak up this precious time with this tiny little man who won't be so tiny for so long.  happy 3 weeks to my dear little boy.

ole faithful.

i've heard it from every single parent i know, so it's probably cliche of me to say, but time flies with babies around.  for real.  i can't believe little baby jack will be 2 weeks on wednesday.  ok, it's not like he's graduating from college or going to senior prom, i know, but it's still amazing to me to think that 2 weeks ago, i was carrying that little peanut in my belly, and now he's hanging out on the outside, melting my heart ... like every minute of every day.

and in the past 12 days, jack has experienced many important milestones that he's basically just slept right through.  his first hike/walk... his first wedding... his first sweater vest... you know, life-changing moments.  i have  experienced some life altering moments of my own.

leaking in the workplace.


last friday, i headed down to the office to do some checking on some of my files, update the other attorneys on some cases, and just generally reassure myself that everything was being handled in my absence.  i had made the rounds, chatted with colleagues about cases, stopped to give baby jack updates to inquiring paralegals and secretaries, and was one conversation away from heading home when i felt it.  liquid.  on my chest.  i looked down.  houston, we had a problem.  apparently my body was telling me it was time for a jack snack because i had leaked through a nursing pad, a t-shirt and my sweater.  immediately i was horrified.  how long had this little scenario been playing out?  had everyone in the office noticed, but been too polite (or disgusted) to inform me that i was indeed geysering all over my clothes?  for the love of god!  i would have marched right into the office of my lone female colleague to round table the situation, except it being the day before her wedding, she was out of the office tending to important business involving programs and favors.  "now what?" i panicked.  should i just hightail it out of there and forego my meeting with the last attorney?  should i try to find some awkward way to use my purse as a shield over my leaky right boob?  the OCD part of me decided i had to finish all business as planned, so i opted for the purse shield and made my final stop.  i survived the conversation, leakage and all, and headed out to my car, where john and the little man were waiting.  the minute i got inside, i turned to john, burst out laughing, and pointed to "the situation" (who, as you now know, is not just a jersey shore character).  "look what happened!"  we both had a good laugh over it.
i'm just hoping that while we were finding some humor in the leaky event, everyone in my office wasn't gathering to discuss same.  ahhh well.  i'm sure it's not the last leak we'll have to plug.  cheers to breastfeeding!

all in all, i have to say, i'm having a good time being a mom.  john and i are just figuring out this whole parenting thing, but we're trying to take it all in stride, enjoy the precious moments, and laugh about the "crises averted."  a special thank you to little jack for being so patient with us.