Hudson was a few weeks old and we were at our weekly breastfeeding group.  We were all newbie moms, eyes wide open wondering what we do now that we have these healthy, beautiful little babies.  Our babies were pretty easy, they slept, ate, pooped and snuggled for hours straight.  

It was wonderful having other new moms to connect with.  We talked about milk production, clogged milk ducts, too much production, too little production, our babies' weight gain, our babies' weight loss, lack of sleep, lack of sleep and more lack of sleep.  Same topics, over and over.  Days blended into weeks and weeks into months.  But it felt good knowing that we were all in "it" together and we were sharing an incredibly special bond.

Our get-togethers were comforting.  Until one day. A couple of moms were talking about their flash cards.  I listened quietly.  Granted, I was half asleep, but I swore they were talking about showing their three week old newborns flash cards.  OMG - how did I miss this in the books I had read?  Why didn't my pediatrician tell me about these flash cards?  Damn it, Hudson is already three weeks behind and I'm sure he'll be slower than all of the other babies because his mommy is behind the times and flash cards was not amongst the list of 500 "must haves" from Babies R Us!  I didn't ask questions as all of the moms seemed to know what the other moms were talking about.  I must be the only new mom on the planet who doesn't know about newborn flash cards.  

At the end of the group I drove back home in my lack of sleep daze and started consulting my expert, google.  I couldn't find anything on newborn flash cards other than the marketing pieces by the manufacturers themselves.  Baby Einstein of course has a line of flash cards (brilliant marketing name, by the way!).  But I found nothing to support the use of flash cards and newborn development.  I got to thinking, I'm pretty sure Einstein himself didn't use any sort of newborn flash cards.  Nor Beethoven.  Nor Sir Isaac Newton.  Nor Leonardo da Vinci.  I'm sure Einstein would be mortified if he knew about the Baby Einstein product line.  Now I don't mean to suggest that we should never use modern science and technology to improve the way we learn, but I wasn't able to find anything linking newborn flash cards and learning or development.  (Or any of the Baby Einstein products for that matter).  

Since I wasn't able to find anything solid on flash cards I asked a few friends with older children what they "did" with their newborns and they looked at me like I was going cross-eyed (I may have been given the lack of sleep I was surviving on).  Everyone pretty much came up with the same response - they showered their babies with love and affection, talked to them, made eye contact, sang to them and comforted their newborns.  Love.  Unconditional love.  That is all Hudson needed from me as a newborn.  Lucky for Hudson, he was already getting all of those things from his adoring mommy!  :)  

Hudson is going to be 17 months tomorrow and while he certainly has a lot of toys, for the most part, he still enjoys the simple things.  He couldn't live without his books, his spoons and his special cupboard filled with some Tupperware and pots and pans.  It's a constant reminder to me that I often get guilted into buying "developmental" toys.  I still love the classics - shape sorters, animal sounds books and puzzles and building blocks, but the rest of his toys are really unnecessary.  

I have many friends who are pregnant right now, or who have newborns and I hope this post reaches them right around the time they're at a moms group and wondering if they've messed up their kid for life because they don't have newborn flash cards!  You're doing a great job, just be in love with your babies and they will thrive!  

Yep, another sappy baby Hudson blog post. Go figure. If you've been following my blog long enough you probably already expected today's post to be all about my little guy and me. 

My baby Hudson isn't so much of a "baby" anymore. Today at 5:20 p.m. he will be one year old. one. year. old. How did that happen?! I was just in labor. I was just pushing with all of my might. I was just holding my beautiful 7 pound, 12 ounce baby boy in my arms for the very first time. Just yesterday he cooed for the first time. Just yesterday he held up his own fragile little head for the first time. Just yesterday he sat up alone, and hopped across the floor on his belly. Just yesterday. Or at least it felt like it was just yesterday. 

The year has flown by. My "little little" is now a "big little".  I've watched him become a little boy, and such a charming little boy if I don't say so myself. 

This past year has truly been, as cliche' as it sounds, the very best year of my life. Without question, t-h-e best year.  It hasn't always been easy, nor has it always been joyful, but it has been perfect just exactly as is. 

I have grown so much not only as a mother, but as a person. As a woman. Being a first-time mommy has shown me where my "edge" is. I've learned just how little sleep I can actually survive on.  (Hopefully year two brings more sleep!)  And I do mean survive, because in the beginning that is what it was all about. Days, weeks are a blur. I remember snuggling with Hudson day-in-and-day-out for what seemed like months, though I'm certain it was likely only weeks. Maybe even days.

The biggest lesson I have learned this past year is that everything is temporary. It really is. For good and bad. Just when I thought Hudson was in a predictable routine, another milestone approached and the routine went bye-bye. And likewise, just about the time I thought I had no energy left for waking up every couple of hours, Hudson started sleeping six hours at a time. And then eight. And then ten ... It's all temporary. It gets easier and easier, just like everyone said that it would.

Another important lesson that I learned was that I am Hudson's parent, and although I'm new at this parenting stuff, I still know what's best for my baby. When Hudson was a newborn, Jamie and I struggled with making decisions for fear that we might make the wrong decision. As if there is ever truly a wrong or right decision anyway. I remember one of his friend's giving us the most sound advice when we asked him to make a decision for us. He told Jamie that part of parenting is making the tough decisions for our son and that we are the only people who know what's best for Hudson. That has really resonated with me over the past year as I've faced decision-making. It has been very empowering knowing (and I mean really knowing, believing) that I have all of the answers. I may fumble along the way, but I do the best that I know how.

This past year Hudson has learned how to roll over, crawl, walk, talk, giggle, snap his fingers, clap, wave, play peek-a-boo, give mommy raspberries, feed himself and give the best sloppy wet kisses you've ever had.  And he has six adorable pearly-whites. He's made snow-angels, body-sledded down a little mountain and he's been to Portland, Atlanta, Chicago and Hawaii.  We've had quite the active year and it's been an absolute ball. He really is my best buddy. 

I still remember the first second I laid eyes on my baby boy, as if it was just yesterday. On January 4, 2010, at 5:20 p.m. my whole world changed. Happy 1st Birthday, Hudson. You have no idea how much joy you bring to me each and every day. I love you so very much, and I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us.