It’s Thursday, the night before my baby boys first birthday. As I check my email and arrange travel, I glance over and absorb his preciousness. It gets me all choked up to think that he is mine and he’s going to be one already.
A typical night, he’s carrying a spoon and bowl around as he chases the dogs. He gets tickled when they wrestle and tries desperately to be a part of the action- much to my dismay. He thinks Levi (my brother’s dog) is his own personal plaything and absolutely adores Ella (our New Orleans rescue). He and Basco seem to be working on their spot in the house as they both vie for first-born attention.
Feeling reminiscent, I thought I should document what this first year with Zacary has been like. If I were to sum it up in one word, it would be “incredible”; in many more words- amazing, difficult, challenging, fun, exhausting. Before my own experience, new parent tales of how hard it is meant nothing to me. Having finally experienced myself, all I can say is that there are no words that can fully explain the emotion that goes into raising a child.
Zacary is born:
I checked into the hospital on Wednesday afternoon – exactly forty weeks into the pregnancy. On Thursday morning the 23rd of February 2006, at 9 o’clock, labor was induced. It was a fairly uneventful day – we watched American Idol – until about 9 pm, when contractions fully set in. Five hundred-thousand breathes and several pushes later, at midnight (exactly), Zacary Coburn Tucker made his arrival, weighing 8 lbs, 3 oz. What a beautiful thing to see your baby being born.
Post delivery was quite scary. The placenta had not dropped on time (a rare occurrence according to Dr. Plotnick), so I was wheeled to the operating room. Drugged with heart attack medicine and strapped to the table. Another doctor was able to take over where my body had left off and we could all breathe a bit easier.
We enjoyed – or rather I should say, Andrew & I enjoyed – three days of luxury care and service at Boulder Foothills Medical Center. The nurses took great care of us as we rested and ate while preparing for our new life with the littlest one. Zacary wasn’t nearly as happy as we were. Little did I know my milk was not coming in and he was STARVING! Finally the day we were to check out a doctor instructed us to FEED THAT BABY some formula – and we did – and he was happy.
Thank goodness mom was here to help out. She cleaned and cooked and gave us just enough space to figure out the whole baby thing. Happily she’d take him at his 4 am wake up, giving us time to sleep in. Her presence was invaluable. She’d sing her special song to him and feed us butter beans. What a special time that was.
Life with a newborn:
It took a good long time to adjust to life with a new little, helpless being in the house. My morning routines would consist of bringing Zacary into the bedroom and feeding him as I tried to stay connected to the world through the eyes of the Today Show. Andrew would head off to work leaving us to another day to learn more about each other. I’d prop up my knees, put Zac on top of them and just stare at him in amazement. I couldn’t then, nor can I now, believe that I have created another human being. He’d just look back at me, smile, laugh (he started smiling at 7 weeks and laughing at 10 weeks) and hoot like an owl (which was hilarious!)
Minutes would turn into hours and before I knew it Andrew was home. My daily goals were to 1) make sure Zacary was fed and content, and 2) make sure I showered at least once during the day. I was determined not to become one of those “sloppy, spit ridden moms”. Thinking back on those first few months home with Zacary is like trying to remember the scenery when you’re in the fog – it’s just so hazy. Life with little Z has really flown by.
Zacary gets mobile:
Even before Zacary was born he was an active little baby. When I was pregnant, Andrew would put his head or hand on my belly and Z would kick him. He was constantly rolling around inside (he also had the hiccups every day of my last trimester – so cute!). So, it’s no surprise that the little man came out wanting to move.
Every day we’d have a little floor time; me to do sit ups and him to look at the birds on his floor mat. He’d coo and reach for them and just kick, kick, kick. It’s no wonder that he was (and still is) ALWAYS hungry. As soon as he learned how to roll over (at 5 months), life as I knew it was over.
Zacary started out getting places by rolling to them. Then he figured out the army crawl, then he started pulling up, then he cruised the furniture, then at 8 3/4 months he took his first step. Those nearly four months FLEW by as my little infant quickly advanced to toddler. Now at one year, he’s trying his hardest to climb up on the furniture! I have to keep an eye on my little bugger.
Zacary loves life:
One of the funnest things about being a parent is experiencing everyday things through the eyes of a new person – especially one who has a blank pallet. Who knew that saying “pop” over and over again could be so funny? Or that a wooden spoon could be so entertaining? A natural born explorer, Zacary seems to get the most from everything around him. His unbiased, unabashed love of all things is infectious. When he gets cracked up – I do too. And, his smile is absolutely amazing – it really lights up his face.
Part of loving life is loving people and animals, which Zacary most certainly does. He LOVES his dogs, Basco and Ella. He loves to talk to them, share his toys with them and hug on them. Quite often I’ll look over and he’ll just have his head on top of Basco or will be petting Ella. He has the sweetest disposition.
The Pain of it All:
Ok, so I’ve gushed and gushed about the gloriousness of my amazingly, adorable child. How cute he is, how loving he is and how fun he is. Leads you to believe it’s all fun and games, huh? No, no! Here is my condensed list of the hardest part of having a baby:
1. Teething: Z-man does not deal well with sharp bones pushing through skin, of course, I wouldn’t (and probably didn’t) either. Teething is awful, probably worse than those first few weeks home from the hospital. Why didn’t they tell us? The crying, the crankiness, the sleeplessness – made for several days of edgy parents.
2. Body Snatching: It’s not that I had Pamela Anderson’s body before I was pregnant, but I had gotten used to my flaws and had learned how to either camouflage or live with them. Post baby body has kind of rocked my world. No need to go into specifics I’ll just say, “thank god for lycra”, ok?
3. Happy Hour: Yeah, happy hour. You know, you have a long week of work and want to unwind with your friends. It’s easy to do when the little one can’t move, but after he figures out he can get places, it’s all over. Not to mention, most of our friends are single and simply don’t understand why I can only have one drink anyway.
4. Home Destruction: I’ve decided to rename Zacary, Taz. He RIPS apart this house 15,000 times a day (and loves it). It’s definitely hard to keep up with. The plants, the toilet, the trash cans, the strangely weird things I never knew were under the couch – nothing is sacred to a one year old.
5. Therapy Bills: When you’re shaping the mind of a child, you can’t help but wonder what is going to come out in therapy bills later. Even through all our conscience efforts to be sure that Zacary is happy, healthy, well adjusted and overall cared for, I’m CERTAIN that I’m screwing up somewhere. The stress of it all is enough to make a woman go crazy!
Zacary; our little person:
I started this summary shortly before Zac’s first birthday, and I’m ending it about a week later. As much as I try to, I can’t seem to put on paper the emotion or the wonderfulness of it.
Zacary is funny, and cute, and sweet and all consuming. When I’m with him all day I just want a break, but as soon as I get that break my heart aches to see his sweet little face again. His smile is infectious, with his 6 little teeth. His eyes are beautiful and light up when he sees us. His six strands of hair stand up in the funniest ways after a nap and he giggles when you chase him around the house. Just thinking about it all brings tears to my eyes.
Zacary if you ever read this, I want you to know that I am completely and totally in love with you. I can’t imagine life without you in it and I look forward to being a part of yours as you grow up.
Now , I must bid you farewell as I start year number TWO!
Susan
