10 days

7 to 10 days - pretty standard expression. It seems like everything happens in 7-10 days: shipping, billing, etc. And I gave birth 10 days ago (well, 11 now, it was 10 yesterday when I wanted to write this blog...) My son is 10 days old, he'll be starting high school next week and college in a month or so, I swear!

To mark the milestone his umbilical stump fell off. At first I thought "wow, that was quick" but then I did the math and realized it happened right when it was supposed to - 7-10 days after birth. And then I realized he was 10 days old already! So much has happened in that 10 days, it blows my mind.

One one hand, giving birth is sort of commonplace; my body was designed to do it and women do it all the time. In fact, they've been doing it for our entire existence, in far more primitive and dangerous conditions than I can even imagine. Women do it every day, all over the world, at all ages and despite heavier odds than I had to overcome. On the other hand, when you really stop to think about it, giving birth is pretty amazing. I grew a human, inside my body, and then pushed him out! I find this to be pretty miraculous, even if it did happen exactly how it was supposed to. I still can't even believe that I survived 9 months of pregnancy and gave birth to this precious little boy. I swear I just found out I was pregnant and yet here I am, 10 days post delivery already.

Looking back now I can say I had a very easy pregnancy (physically) and probably didn't take it as easy as I should have but I survived it and managed to grow a perfect little boy. And then to think about the process of actually giving birth, I still can't believe I did it. In some ways I still think of myself in the terms of never being able to have children, even though I have this little baby in my arms. When you spend over a decade believing something, it is hard to adjust your thinking. I know I was pregnant, I know I gave birth, I know I have a son, but it still seems like it was all a dream. I have to say it really feels like a dream during those 3am feedings!

I've learned a lot in the last 10 days. I've learned that my body can do incredible things. I've learned that a good chunk of my life and conversations now revolve around poop. I've learned that there really is no point in putting a shirt some days. I've learned that making plans for the day is kind of pointless because it all depends on Ryder. I've learned that I love Mike and Ryder more than I ever thought possible - to the point where I break down in tears when Mike leaves for work because I can't bear to be separated from him (hopefully this is just hormones and doesn't last because the tears are really getting old). I've learned that I adore being a mommy to this little boy.

10 days down, the rest of our lives to go...