Gratitude

~ I'm so thankful for my DH. He is truly my best friend. We've recently been handling things differently and I get really frustrated with him, but I know if we both have patience and open the lines of communication, we can work through anything.

~ I'm thankful for my sitter. We don't necessarily see eye-to-eye on some things, but I have confidence that she has my baby's best interests at heart and misses her and loves her. I also know that even though she has a policy about late pick-ups, if we get stuck in the awful weather today and are late she'll give the baby a bottle if needed and take it all in stride without making us feel guilty. I love not having to stress about getting there on time.

~ I'm thankful for my mom. She loves me, DH, and the baby so much that she can't contain herself. I've been having a hard time reining her in sometimes--there are just some weekends that we need our own family time--but I want to take time today to just be grateful that she WANTS to spend time with baby girl. She would be with her every single day if she could and it's so wonderful knowing that someone else loves my baby as much as I do and that I have someone I can rely on to take care of her like I would if I can't. I don't know what I'd do without her and hope I don't have to find out anytime soon.

~ I'm thankful that I've been able to exclusively breastfeed for 6 1/2 months now. I was all set to write up a venting post about how I never get a break and how my husband doesn't understand how much and long I'm awake every.single.night, but today I'm just happy that I've had a relatively easy time nursing my baby. I didn't have to pump extra in the beginning to encourage supply and I haven't had to supplement--those two things alone are such a huge deal to me.

~ Lastly, I'm thankful for my baby. She has been incredibly trying recently (last night she was up 9:30-10:15 (shrieking like a crazy woman), 11-11:30, 2-2:30, and 5-5:30) and has been fussy-ish, but realistically, my baby is the happiest I know. She smiles at everyone, giggles for no reason, eats like a champ (both nursing and solids), and is generally a pleasure to be around. I know so many people who are hoping and praying for a baby and I have to remind myself sometimes that I was in their shoes--just wanting a baby, any baby, of my own. And now I have her and I get so incredibly frustrated with her and I need, sometimes, to just be glad that she's here. She's mine. And she's perfect.

So thank you God. I truly am blessed.