The First Few Months

The first month of being a mom was an adventure. We did all sorts of different things. I got a lot of help from some great friends. My friend Sarah had a somewhat baby shower. She had a friend take Victor to main event where they went and played all sorts of games. I stayed back with the ladies and we had a good time, visiting and talking about what it was like to be a mom. I was a bit uncomfortable because so many things had changed in such a short time and I still had not adjusted and everyone was asking questions and I just didn't know how to react. I hope they did not think that I was ungrateful for all that they did, I truly was and I don't know what I would have done without them. I had only had my son for a few weeks and I still wasn't comfortable with being a mom yet.Everyone was so kind and supportive. I still felt like all of this was just a dream and I was going to wake up and it would all be over.

At school my co-workers and team got together and got a card for me and we ate cake balls and talked about what it is like being a mom. With the money from the card I got bedding and some toys for Victor. I was very grateful to them and their support. They gave me great advice on how to be a mom. I can't tell you how much I learned from them and how much their advice has helped me. I couldn't have done all that I have done without their support and advice when I had no idea what I was doing.

When my son got to me he was in third grade. That first week of school he was not doing very well at all and I could see that the curriculum was too hard for him and I spoke with his teacher and she felt the same. I could see that if he stayed in third grade he would struggle all year and in the end he would be held back. I spoke with the principal and classroom teacher about pulling my son down to second grade. I had to write up a proposal for the principal of why I felt that my son should be put down to second grade. The classroom teacher helped gather information and my son's previous school was helpful and after two weeks of going back and forth with the school and district we were able to get him into second grade. Looking back having him put into second grade did him a world of good, he was able to catch up and over the summer I was able to work with him and get him closer to where he needed to be. He was also able to build up confidence to where he felt as though he could be successful.

Attending church at first was a nightmare. Having been a single adult, I was so use to things being quiet and being able to listen to the speaker with no interruptions. My son had a very difficult time sitting still and he would blurt out how much he did not want to be there. There were times I was so embarrassed, I felt like everyone was watching me and judging me. After a few weeks of this, I sat my little boy down and we had a nice conversation and lesson on reverence and I told that him that sacrament meeting was the most important hour of the week and if he could not behave that after church he would have to sit in a hard chair at home for an hour. What he wanted was to be taken out of sacrament and when he realized that no matter what he did I was not going to take him out he started to finally settle down. Then I had to deal with him wanting to leave to go to the bathroom every week. I stopped that by having him go at the beginning of Sacrament and if he asked to go during I would not allow him to. At first I had The Friend for him to look through, however now he just sits and listens. I have to say I am very proud of him, he still gets a bit fidgety at times and I just remind him the importance of church, and it is normal for an eight year old to get a little board.

The first few months were really a learning experiences for my son and me. I saw miracles all the time. Those first few months we were getting to know each other and it was kind of fun.