Thank You

Since my last post, I've received so much love

from many of my readers and friends.  I am so grateful

to all of you who took a moment out of your hectic 

lives to email, text or call me to offer your stories 

and support; each and every word is truly appreciated

 and has served to bolster my spirits during 

this happy but emotional time.  I've heard from old

friends and new ones; from college buddies and blog 

buddies; from as close by as Jersey City and as far 

away as Northern Ireland and Alaska.

Each of you has proven that I am not alone;

that you are not alone; that we are in this together.

Baby Eliza is an absolute love and each day, Matty and I 

look at her and marvel at this little soul who is ours to 

love and protect. At just three weeks old, she is a pillar 

of strength and proved that to her dad the other evening

when he put her on the bed on her stomach and

within a few moments, she had pushed herself

up and turned herself onto her back.

Personally, I've been trying to keep myself centered

by looking for the silver lining in each situation.  

As of late, The Cheeks and I have been

venturing out on our own during the day and 

this week alone, have made two significant 

trips: the first to visit Jen and Co. in Basking

Ridge for the day and the second, to the

Delaware Water Gap where I met my parents 

and returned to Hoboken with my mom,

who will be spending the next few days with us.

The days have been filled with light, which

allows The Cheeks to really shine.

Evenings, however, are still my beast

of burden. Once the sun goes down, so does my

mood and confidence.  I spend too much of my time

anticipating what's to come and worrying about

how it's going to go. We have established a nice 

bedtime routine, however it involves sacrificing our

bedroom to The Cheeks for the first part of her 

evening sleep. While she luxuriates in 1/3

of our overall living space, Matty and I spend the

evening quietly confined to one room.

Thankfully, we really like each other but

even that doesn't make it easy.

I'm so thankful that my mom is here and 

willing to take on the middle of the night

feedings for the next few nights; I'll get

to sleep through the night, in theory. In

actuality, I'll probably keep the monitor

on because I'm a control freak and will feel 

super guilty that my mom is parenting my child.

But isn't guilt what parenting is all about?