A Tiny Glimpse

I babysat for a friend on Monday who has a 4 month old. It was only for a few hours, but I think it gave me a tiny glimpse into staying home with a baby. The baby girl started crying right after her momma left, but I think it was because it was her nap time. I figured out how to settle her down and not be intimidated by her crying. I had to keep reminding her and myself that she was going to be okay. Some of her crys were the hard, silent type where her face would start to turn red and I would have to tell her to "BREATHE!" and she would and we'd start over. She fell fast asleep and it was so sweet to hold her and rock her. While she napped, I did a few things around the house and had my quiet time, but I didn't get to everything-like I had planned, naive' and overly ambitious I guess. She was suppose to have a good, long nap for about an hour to an hour and a half, but she only slept for 45 minutes. Then I was a little late in feeding her because I got her bottle too hot, so I was consoling her and trying to cool down her bottle at same time. I fed her and burped her and then we played a little which mostly consisted of me carrying her around the house and talking to her. I was able to sit her up and read to her and play with some of her toys for a little bit, but she didn't last too long. She started crying again because she was getting tired. Maybe since she hadn't slept well for the first nap? So I held her and rocked her till she fell asleep and every time I would try to lay her in her pack 'n play she would wake up and cry! I thought it was kind of funny and it felt like a game-which i was losing. Then, her momma came and picked her up and it was all over, just like that.

Through all the tears (hers, not mine), holding, napping, feeding, consoling, playing, and walking around there was still a very present silence throughout my house. Since I'm an extrovert silence isn't always a welcomed presence for me. And I thought, "So, this is what its like being a mom of a baby. This is what my days could consist of: no other adult, no other person to talk with or get the 'to do' list done for me, or hold the baby girl because my back is starting to ache." Now, I know this is not a perfect picture, it is after all just a tiny glimpse into a small part of a young mother's day. But I can see where even through the all joys of motherhood this could get hard and tiresome. However, I will welcome it any day and there is a longing in my heart for this stage.

Even though this is only for 3 hours this morning, my eyes have been opened to the world where so many of my friends live currently and I understand. No, I don't understand fully and I may never understand fully, but on this day I feel like I scratched the surface of understanding and I just want to encourage all my 'young mother friends' that you aren't alone and what you are doing matters and pleases the Lord because this is where he has called you presently and he desires your faithfulness to rest and trust in Him and His faithfulness.