Things my daughter has taught me

I always thought that parents were the teachers, and kids were the learners. But the more I learn from Parkyr, the more I know it is totally both ways. I expect her to learn a lot from me. And I am already trying really hard to teach her things. But she has taught me just as much. Here are a few of the things that this little gem has taught me.

 

1. Labor is the easy part. I always thought that if I could just get through that part, I would be fine. I'd be the best mom. Well guess what? Being a mom is kinda hard at first. In the beginning, it was full (at least for me) of worries. I worried whether or not she was getting enough to eat. When she wasn't sleeping through the night I wondered if she should be. When she did sleep through the night, I worried that she was sleeping too much. And don't even get me started on diaper issues. But kids are pretty resilient. And she's happy and chubby. And I LOVE HER. Really, that's all she needs.

 

2. I love my mom. Wayyyyyyy more now that I ever did, I know how much my mom loves me. Having your own child makes you realize why your parents did the things they did when you were younger. There were so many times I thought my mom was so mean because she wouldn't let me do certain things, and now I know she was just trying to protect me because she loves me so much. If  I am half the mom to Parkyr that my mom was to me, she will be one lucky little person.

 

3. I love my husband. This is not anything new, I have obviously always loved him, but to see him with our child is so great. I always wanted not just a dad for my kids, but a "daddy", and Justin is the best daddy. Parkyr will never have to wonder if her daddy loves her. And not every little girl has that.

 

He loves her, and I love that he loves her.

 

 

 

4. Gummy smiles are what I live for. Especially if her tongue pops out with it. When she looks up at me with her huge eyes and smiles...it's the best. I know she knows me, and she thinks I'm awesome. Who wouldn't love that?

 

 



There are so many more things that I have learned, but these are the biggest. Have a kid, people. It'll change your life. In the best ways.

 

 

Parkyr Christine Lindsay

There's this joke in the Lindsay family about everyone being late all the time. Only it's not a joke. Everyone really is late. All the time. This has always been hard for me, because I am extremely on time. Or early. All the time. But the Lindsay's are not. We call it "Lindsay Standard Time". Well, when we found out we were going to have a baby in September 2012, there was some wondering on my part if this baby would be on time/early like mama, or late like daddy. Secretly I thought she/he would be early or right on time. Because that is how I plan. And I plan to be right. When we found out we were having a girl, I was 100% sure that she would mind her mama and be early/on time.  Baby was due on September 20th. Four weeks before my due date, I went to the doctor and he told me (HUGE MISTAKE) that I would probably have the baby in the next two weeks. I was stoked. Those two weeks came and went, and I was still angry pregnant. The next time I went to the Dr., he told me he was sorry, but it looked like I'd go to my due date. OR BEYOND. (Yep, I cried). It's not that I hated being pregnant, or that my pregnancy was hard, but I was sooooooooooo tired of heart burn. I had an appointment on my actual due date with my doctor (who I absolutely love). After the appointment, he told me that I hadn't moved along--any--since my last appointment. (Yep, I cried again). He told me that if she hadn't come before, I would be induced on September 25th. All I had to do was call at 6 a.m. and they would tell me when to come in. I woke up that morning, called, and got to go into the hospital at 9:15 a.m. They got me all hooked up and we were ready for business!

 

 

I must be way lucky, because I thought labor was awesome. I was nervous, and it hurt.  Lots of people told me I wouldn't want an epidural. Lots. But of course I got one. But not until I'd been there for 9 hours. And I'll tell you what, I enjoyed every second of having my baby (that smile is a GENUINE smile) and would never not have the drugs.
 
My nurses were awesome all day.  Justin was introduced to the "Father's Treat Closet" and got to eat delicious treats (everything looks delish when you haven't eaten for 8 hours)  and I'm pretty sure he drank his weight in Mellow Yellow and Dr. Pepper. I ate tons of grape popsicles. Like 12.

Justin was the best. Around 1:00 I started to have some pretty strong pains, and he looked up Brian Reegan's video on YouTube about hospital stays and pain scales. Pretty darn hilarious, and it helped me get through. He's such a good hubs. There was one scary time, where the baby's heart rate and my heart rate both dropped and I had to have oxygen. I was pretty scared, and I'm sure it was no big deal, but I just wanted everything to go smoothly. He kept reassuring me things would be alright, and kept me calm.

At 9:00 p.m., the nurse came in and told us that we were ready, but that I would have to spend the next hour resting. Didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but before I knew it, I was waking up and we were ready. They called in Dr. Kirkman (aka Best Doctor Ever), and at 10:15 I started pushing. Parkyr Christine Lindsay was born September 25, 2012 at 10:25 p.m. She had tons of dark hair (maybe the reason I had heart burn?), weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz., and was 20 1/2 inches long. She had the best little scream.  Her name was picked a long time ago; both Justin and I loved the name and said we would name the baby that name, boy or girl. We spelled it Parkyr to be a little more feminine, and to be different (after all, I am Arien).  Her middle name comes from my best friend in the entire world of a bazillion years, Christine Smith. I thought Parkyr was beautiful when she was born. Justin didn't know what to think. But when I look at pictures of that day now, well, let's just say she's way cuter now. She is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I just kept staring at her and couldn't believe that something so wonderful and beautiful and perfect came from me.

 It is crazy how much I love her.

Well...it's been a while...

Holy Moly. I'm pretty sure it has been almost 3 years since I have posted anything on this blog. Not that my life is awesome, and that anyone has noticed, but I kind of  really want to get it going again. The main reason I quit blogging before was because I really didn't have anything to write about. But now I have a super cute daughter, so if all else fails, I'll write about her. Cuz she's pretty dang wonderful. And she's our life. And if no one wants to read about her/us, (other than Grandma Kimmy), then at least I'll have it for my own memories.