Maree: Dress (more sizes here) | Wedges | Bag | Sunglasses | Necklace

 

I laugh so much looking at these pictures because it is a miracle we got any good ones with how fast Miles moves these days. I even contemplated not taking any pictures to celebrate Mother’s Day simply because Miles is at the age where he never wants to stand still, but I cherish all the photos we have already and knew it would be worth it. Stan has become quite the master at capturing Miles in the moment and we all ended up having so much fun together.
This is my second Mother’s Day with Miles and I feel so grateful to be his mom. I look back over the past 18 months and am amazed at how much he has grown and turned into his own little person. I’ve shared before how hard my c-section recovery was and how I really struggled with postpartum mood swings for nearly a year after so I’m happy things are finally beginning to balance out and I feel more like myself again. Finding a routine gets easier each day and I’m much more confident now as a mom. I knew I always wanted to have children but wasn’t really a “kid person” if I’m being honest. I didn’t spend a lot of time around kids and had only changed one diaper before having Miles. While I do believe that maternal instincts kick in after having a child, I was still so nervous when he first arrived. I was scared to take him out by myself and do things alone. I started slow and would take him to a store, put his car seat in the shopping cart, walk around the store for 10 minutes and then leave. Believe it or not, these sorts of trips really helped me gain confidence. I learned how to handle him in public, how to get him in and out of the car/stroller easily and what to do if he started to get upset.
Fast forward to today and I regularly take him everywhere by myself. My favorite thing to do is take him to dinner on the weekends – just the two of us (Stan is normally working) and it’s such a delight. Spending time with him is my absolute favorite thing to do and I can hardly remember what it was like before I had him. Don’t get my wrong, I really enjoyed my single life, then my married with no kids life to the fullest, and this is a new chapter that I love just as much. I was always a bit worried that after I had a child, I wouldn’t feel like myself anymore or would feel pressure to be a certain type of mom. Thankfully that has not been the case and in some ways, I still feel like that vivacious gal from NYC who now has a fun little sidekick. I’m confident in my role as a mother and love that I have found other women with kids who accept me as I am. Miles has already taught me so much about myself and continues to do so each day. I’m grateful for those lessons (no matter how difficult they may be at times), and that he came into our lives because it has brought more joy then I could have ever imagined.