Being a mom again brings back special times, memories

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Columnist
Over the past several weeks, my world has been turned upside down with the arrival of our third son, Gavin.
Gavin was born January 20, and since then, my days have been filled with diapers, bottles, and a very sporadic sleep schedule.
As many of you already know, the addition of a new baby is a lot of work. I have never been so exhausted before in my life, except maybe when my other two were babies.
It’s funny how our perceptions of things change as our children get older.
I mean, looking back I remember being exhausted with the other two babies, but it didn’t seem too bad.
We tend to forget about the pain of getting the baby here, the high fevers, the ear infections and runny noses.
We remember the birthdays, their first steps, first words, and their hugs and kisses.
I have to admit having Gavin has been an absolute joy even with the sleepless nights and the fussy afternoons.
When I look into my little baby’s eyes and then give him a hug, it makes all the work worth it.
I have to be honest. Before becoming a mother, I never would have worked so hard for any pay. But after I held Jordan in my arms the very first time, suddenly the work didn’t matter. Having a healthy and happy baby was payment enough.
I am back to work now, and I have to admit, it was difficult leaving my six-week-old at home while I came to Franklin County to write for this paper.
A co-worker said to me Monday, “What about when your other two kids were babies?” My reply to him was, “I was lucky enough to stay at home with them.”
That’s the truth. When Gavin was first born, I actually considered staying at home with him because I wanted to be there for his every first.
Now that I’m back to work, I am faced with the reality that I may miss his first word, his first step, and so forth. While the new accomplishment will be new at five o’clock when I get home, it’s not the same.
I was there to see my other two sons do everything for the first time. Thinking I may miss these moments with Gavin makes me very sad because they are only little once. When those moments are gone, they cannot be regained.