Love Personified

Parent post by new Gen Y mom, Diane Udin

No words can truly describe what it is to become a parent. It is essentially turning your life upside down and inside out, a real life roller coaster. It is instantly becoming unselfish, it is love personified.

I remember being 9 months pregnant and begging for God to get this child out of me because I was so uncomfortable.  I thought I was ready and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my baby-to-be and yet when he did “come on down” out of the birth canal, I was terrified instantly.

For the first few seconds of his life, he didn’t make a sound. It was the longest moment of my life, I remember thinking why isn’t he crying? And then it happened; I heard the most beautiful cry that ever was. It was the sound of my baby. I never believed in love at first sight until that very moment.

And when I saw all the hair he had on his head I realized that was the reason I had heartburn for my entire pregnancy. I could have had stock in Tums, it was so bad. But, nothing surprised me more than his size; I am a small-framed woman and yet out comes my 9lb, 14.4 oz.  boy.

I thought, how did he come out of me, and then once the drugs wore off, I realized just how much I was torn and how much they had to cut me to get that big, beautiful 97^th percentile head out of there after 16 hours.

After the shock wore off, I thought it was so strange to see my face on another person and know I am responsible for this life forever.  It is also amazing how little sleep you can survive on and not really mind because you have this perfect little being.

The most fulfilling moments for me are when he understands what I am saying or learns something new right in front of me.  And then I see the excitement in his eyes because he is proud of himself.

No matter how bad my day is or how exhausted I am, the best part of my day is walking into daycare and having him giggle with joy and greeting me with the best smile and hug ever. It is the best feeling in the world.

There is no more important title that I will ever call myself than “Mom.”  It’s what I was born to do, and I am loving every second of it!