Month 12: Birthday Boy

Guess what this Friday is? Miles’ FIRST BIRTHDAY!! Here are some questions people have been asking me:

Q: Can you believe your baby is one already?
A: No, I really can’t.

Q: Didn’t it go by so fast?
A: Yes and no. In the beginning, during the sleepless haze of the “fourth trimester,” no, it didn’t go by fast at all. In fact, the first two months felt like two years. Maybe around the 5 or 6 month mark, time started speeding up.

Q: Are you doing anything special for his birthday?
A: Not really, if by “special” you mean sending out hand-written invitations, renting a moon bounce and making up goodie bags for two dozen kids. We’re having some of our friends over for happy hour, and then a small family party. I figure it’s the last year we can get away with it before Miles starts to notice he’s getting the short end of the birthday stick.

Other people, mostly other moms with younger babies, have also been asking me stuff like, when did he start getting teeth, sleep through the night, recognize his own name, etc. The answer in most cases, I’m afraid, is that I don’t remember. I know, I know. I hate that, too. It’s only been a year, for Pete’s sake. Plus, I have a leg up—I’ve been blogging about this stuff. Even so, I don’t remember EVERYTHING. Sorry.

If it helps, I DO remember that he started walking at 10 months. Specifically, the one time in his whole life that I left him overnight and therefore wasn’t there to witness it. Thanks, Miles. C., however, was here. (“I swear I didn’t encourage him!” he said.) And a couple of weeks ago, Miles started a cute new trick. If you ask him, “Who’s number one?” He holds up his chubby little index finger and waves it in the air. So cute.

Other “firsts” I actually wrote down:
1/15/07: first time he stood up in his crib
1/21/07: first time seeing snow
3/27/07: first taste of meat (before this he was a vegetarian, like me)
5/31/07: first haircut (he's not a big fan of the clippers)

So, I’m wondering, can I legitimately call myself a “new mom” anymore? Or is there some cutoff date when I become an “intermediate mom” or “advanced beginner” or something? I still feel like a newbie most days. And anyway, I’m not changing the name of this blog.

I’d like to give a shout-out to my friend, S., who is a new mom for the third time, to a third son! God bless her and baby Dylan. That girl’s a trooper, huh??

TIP O’ THE WEEK: I’m only on page 38, but so far I’m loving this book: I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids: Reinventing Modern Motherhood. Just for the title alone.