“Yup, one is definitely enough.”
“Oh yeah, I’m not having another kid after this one – pregnancy is a cruel joke!”
“Why would anyone choose to go through this more than once?”
– Statements made by yours truly prior to the birth of my first child
Flash forward, oh, three or four months…
“How long do you think we should wait – assuming I get a new job and everything is okay money-wise – before we start trying again?”
–Statements made by me approximately 24-48 hours after the birth of my first child, Benjamin Parker Trott.
This, my friends, was and is to me the most amazing phenomenon. This 180 degree perspective change was clearly the result of an instinctual reaction so powerful that I can barely begin to put it into words. For it was able to minimize – no – to NULLIFY – the purchasing power of the nine months of pain, discomfort, frustration, and general state of miserableness otherwise known as Kelly Manion’s first pregnancy.
On top of that, the first three to five days of Baby Ben’s life (ok, let’s be honest, the first 3 and a half months so far!) were no walk in the park. I mean, they were BEAUTIFUL, crazy, sleepless, extremely confusing, and full of lots of happy-making oxytocin, but definitely not easy. The fact of the matter is, no logical person would even begin thinking about fashioning a new embryo with that kind of shenanigans going on. Such a notion would just be, well, insane!
Nevertheless, less than a week into my stay in the love-laden, slumber-deprived land of motherhood, and I was ready to lay down my roots and start adding another branch to my family tree.
What was I thinking?
Well, the truth is I didn’t do much thinking at all – nor would have that been recommended. With less than 2 hours of rest per night I could have started a fire from frontal lobe short-circuits alone. So instead I nursed, cuddled, nursed some more and tried to sleep when my baby slept (this should be the mommy slogan of the decade). Meanwhile feeling both totally disconnected and completely at one with my new world. And within all of that the idea of adding another soul to my new brood (as soon as possible, mind you) just kind of casually crept in. No fanfare. No pizazz. Just waltzed in like a seasoned waiter who fills a half empty glass of water as naturally and automatically as one takes a breath. Or, as one who has worked several years in DC’s overflowing SPCA, habitually anticipating the precise moment to tug the leash and prevent my DC animal shelter boxer-shepherd-jackrussel-mastiff mix from eating your $400 miniature schnauzer yorkie hybrid.
Excuse me, your “Schnorkie.”
Having another baby just, well, seemed like the next right thing to do.
And though some may argue otherwise (because, as I’ve also learned, there are no shortages of opinion in the monocratic land of motherhood), that feeling, and the thoughts and actions that it causes around the world each and every day – in bedrooms and on couches, in backs of cars, on tops of hoods and in between newborn baby cries – may reign supreme as mother nature’s greatest triumph.
That and those Moroccan climbing goats – they are pretty cool too.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. Kelly you always have winning spirit and truly do understand the meaning of being a new mom, because I know the past few months have been stuff and been pushing through like a winner. And I’m happy that you and Mike a planning to have another one in the future.
Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful little boy! And regarding the “I’m NOT having more than one” comment…..well, I said that too when I was pregnant with my first. Five kids later, I guess I just got used to the pregnancy misery!