Were you a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

My guess is that there are two audiences that tend to ask what your child was like when they were a new baby: new mamas and, at some point, your own child. I've wondered how I'll answer that question on more than one occasion and I've noticed that, over time, my answer seems to change right along with our growing girl. The older she gets, the easier it gets - of course. So lately, I feel my answer morphing into regarding Storey as being an easy baby - because lately, that's starting to be the case.

Oddly enough, what I don't want to do though, is forget the hard times. The loss and redefinition of self, the inevitable stress on our gratefully solid marriage, the trial and error attempts at soothing, the lack of sleep, the sometimes constant fussing and screaming and the sight of her grumpy little face has been just down right hard in these early weeks. Really.

Not that I plan on telling Storey that she was a difficult baby, but especially if a new mama asks me, I don't want the patience, support, tears and triumphs to go forgotten in the haze of that all-too-cheery selective memory mamas of older babies sometimes seem to develop.

Bottom line, taking care of a small infant 24-7 has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. But, I will say that when I see the little person that's emerging due to our Herculean efforts, it's way, way worth it.