My Favorite Part of Motherhood [so far]

Time somehow speeds up when there are tiny people under your care. I am going to miss these days. Every single one of them.

This is my very favorite self-portrait to date for so many reasons. Spontaneously one-handing a big fat camera at arm's length—selfie-style—and getting the right things in focus at f/2 is a miracle for sure, but I have spent so much of my time over the last 347 days with this view. It makes my heart all mushy and my eyes all weepy just thinking about the countless sweet moments Elias and I have shared while nursing.

...The inside jokes, prayers, giggles, tears, deep sense of comfort, nap time cuddles, nurture, lullabies, and honest heart-to-hearts to name just a few. (And let's be honest—I can FEED a human with my BODY and it's no less mind-blowing now than it was on the day he was born.) I don't even mind enduring his occasional hair-pulling, earring tugging, shirt-pulling, leg-kicking, hand-slapping, or cover escapes in public, because for each of those, there's a gentle little arm rub, back tickle, face caress or blue-eyed gaze that makes up for it.

This connection is one I was most nervous about before he was born, but am most sad about transitioning away from now that he is here. When other aspects of my life, identity, work or commitments are swirling with confusion, this is my quiet confidence; my favorite part of motherhood. It just feels so right.