What does it take to enjoy a moment? How do you actually experience it fully and remember it? Perhaps it’s through as many senses as possible – the sound of baby squeaks and snorts, the smell of their new skin, the softness of their skin and yet the wrinkles of their toes. Maybe when we bring ourselves to reflect and summarize our experience we are able to see with new eyes and live more fully as we try to find words to describe what we are feeling.
The baby stage is an amazing time, really it is… but let’s be honest : it’s a mix of enjoyment and exhaustion.
When the rest of the world is dying to kiss your baby’s cheeks and snuggle them close you are trying to get some semblance of your past self while eating, showering and doing anything else you can in between feeding the baby… and that’s when you have someone there to help you. More often than not, we are not spending all day thinking about the magic of the baby stage, we are hoping to sleep a little bit longer, conquer the laundry, get out of the house and have a successful trip to the grocery store / coffee shop / post office. That’s not even getting in to the physically recovery which (while different for everyone) can be stressful and takes time.
Those moments we are able to recognize and revel it – they are magic. There is nothing like being with your baby and watching them grow… which is precisely why I love working for myself. I have so much more flexibility in not only deciding how much I will work but when – that I feel like I have the best of both worlds as a mom and photographer.
One of the biggest decisions our family made this past year was for Matt to stay at home. That’s right, my husband currently works with me in both running my business and taking care of the kids. He is incredibly talented, smart and driven and yet at this time he is putting our family first and we are invested in my business. We collectively decided that it was the best decision for us this year, and it has proven to be true. For me the thought of working is possible because Matt is by my side, helping me accomplish what I’m working on whether it’s taking care of the kids of getting the business ready for a season of weddings. It’s not the set up for everyone, but it works for us.
So here we are, at home in the country and ready for winter to be over, but enjoying the baby stage as much as anyone can… together. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend this time.
