Comparisons

For as along as I can remember I have been comparing myself to other people. Especially those closest to me. I compare myself to my best friends all the time. And I know that I shouldn't do it. There hasn't been one time that it has ever helped me. I compared my wedding with those friends of mine who were also getting married around the same time as me. I compared my relationship with my husband to my friends' relationship with their husbands. I even compared my pregnancy with that of my friends who were also pregnant at the same time as me. And so I don't know why I thought it would be any different once I had my baby.

All babies are different. That's a given. But when my baby seemed extra fussy compared to my friends little boy that almost never cried, I grew more and more frustrated. And when my baby stayed up late and wouldn't sleep for very long at night, I compared her to my friends son who went to bed early and slept well all night long.

I also wanted a baby that was content to just sit by herself and a baby that cooed and always seemed so happy. And I wanted a baby that went to bed promptly at 7pm and slept well through the night.

But then I had a much needed reminder about comparing my life to that of other people. I was reading an excerpt from a book and came across this quote

         " Savor the moments of this season that will never come around again. We tend to keep waiting for life to get better when, really, it just gets different. If the grass looks greener on the other side of your fence, it may be because you’re not investing your time and energy in your own grass. Live in the present".

-What Every Mom Needs

And I realized that I've been being very silly. I love my baby just the way she is. And if I didn't have a friend with a baby, I wouldn't think anything of her fussiness and her not sleeping well through the night (which, by the way, she sleeps very well now). I'm only comparing her because she is different than another baby. And like I said earlier...all babies are different.

This quote made me realize that I love this stage of who my baby is, and I really don't want her to be any different. Because she tends to be a little more fussy, I get to hold her more and cuddle her more. And I love that. 

She's learning to be more content with just being put down, but she still longs to be held and cuddled. And how can complain about getting to do that with their precious little girl?!

So...when I begin to compare my kid with the kid next door, I'm going to remember this moment.