The following notes were made by Tam on February 12, 2002:

Although she is now 22 months old (as of Sunday, February 10), I find myself trying hard to remember some of the sweet precious things she did at fifteen and sixteen months, that she does no longer: I find myself missing those things that are now precious memories. Some of them are:  the way she would stand up in her crib in the mornings and look at us in bed, crinkling up her little face and making a SHSHSHSHS sound of delight at seeing us there; another memory of her insisting on putting Cheerios on her baby food as a crunchy topping: or using them to dip into the soft baby food.

Thoughts on being a new Mom:

Part of me is surprised that I am not as tired as I feared I would be: it is not a bone-numbing tired, but rather a low grade fatigue that can be lightened on the rare occasions that Sarah sleeps til almost 9 a.m. on a weekend day, or if she takes a two and a half hour nap, giving me a chance to sleep for an hour and a half. That really makes a major difference in the day.

I am surprised at how much my elbows, especially my left elbow, hurts from picking her up and holding her. No one of my friends who are Moms informed me of this condition! I have not had much lower back pain, but I think it is because I am not with her during the week days and so am not bending to lift her as much. Michael really feels it on Thursday through Sundays when he has her.

I am really surprised, and appalled, at how messy and perpetually “sticky” it is being around a baby/toddler. It seems I am constantly wiping, cleaning up, washing etc., her, me, the booster seat tray, the floor, toys, her table, clothes, etc. This is an ongoing condition that never ends.

Special times or things or experiences I cherish in sharing with her:

Although it is tiring, when she wakes up at night fussing, and wants to be comforted only by Mom, that means so much to me. I really really love holding her in the darkened house, walking her around, her head nestled up against my neck, me soothing her and her trusting me, and then rocking her a little just back and forth on my feet before I put her back down in the crib with chewshirt. These moments mean so much to me.

She does not kiss a lot, but I love it when she smacks her lips together and makes a smacking sound to get us to kiss her, and vice versa, that’s so precious!  In the car, she also, at night on long trips, takes our hands and kisses them, that makes both Michael and me melt.