6 months go by quickly!

I did it! After months of not wanting to face it, I finally did it! I just finished packing up Little Mommy's 0-3 month clothes. Who knew that it would be so emotional. Let me stop lying-I knew it! Every time I got ready to pack up her first months' clothes, a knot rose in my throat and I became tearful, knowing that I did not want to face the challenge of packing away her first set of clothes. I can remember almost every outfit and when she wore it as I fold up these tiny clothes, reflecting back on the past 6 months. Folks weren't lying when they said the time goes by incredibly fast. It's amazing to think that she was so tiny as I'm looking at her chubby little legs now. I can't believe that my little 6 pound, 5 ounce baby is now almost twenty pounds, sitting up, and even attempting to pull up on her own. I feel so conflicted crying as I pack up her clothes as we prepare space for her new outfits, knowing that there are numerous parents who never get the opportunity to see their little ones transition to a new phase in life. I am so grateful that she is healthy and continues to grow and develop but there is a little pang in my heart knowing that she will never be this tiny again, that this phase of her childhood is only a memory. Looking back at the outfit in which we brought her home brings back clear memories of the day that she was born, the time in the hospital, and the day that we went home. It makes me sad to know that this part of her infancy is gone but makes me happy to know that we've come so incredibly far. I think back on the significant struggles that we had in the beginning with her losing weight, her bouts of gas and milk protein allergies, and her difficulties falling and staying asleep. I think about how hard and frustrating breastfeeding was at the beginning and how we worked as a team to make it a success. I chuckle at the fact that she was so determined to breastfeed that she darn near milked my breasts with her tiny little hands. Now breastfeeding is a breeze for the both of us and I am immensely appreciative of the time with her as only a mother and baby can share. I recently read a blog on Huffington Post about a baby who self-weaned off of the breast at 18 months and how emotionally difficult it was for the mother, as she realized that she would never get those moments back with her baby. She didn't even have time to get her mind and heart ready for the process as her little one made the decision that she didn't need the booby anymore. I found myself heartbroken for her and could only imagine how emotional I would be and will be when the time comes as it certainly will. As I pack up her little baby booties and her tiny little caps, I imagine that I will be even more emotional than I am now as another chapter closes and another opens in her life. I know that each time I pack up a new set of clothes, it is a sign that she is growing and continuing to become the little girl that God intended her to be. That's what my mind tells me. My heart tells me that time is going by so quickly and before I know it, she'll be walking, talking, and this phase in her life will be a distant memory.