Written by our Mom Talk contributor, Susan L.

If I have learned anything at all in my 13 months of being a parent, it’s that babies go through phases and that everything will pass with time. Of course, that’s easy for me to say right now, as I sit in the office and write this blog entry.

It wasn’t so easy back when baby D was just 8 weeks old. I remember every evening, as soon as the witching hour of 5 PM arrived, she’d suddenly transform from a relatively calm baby into an intensely fussy one for the next three hours. It seemed like an eternity when it was happening, but then it went away in just a few weeks.

And I remember she went through a period where she’d startle herself awake from naps. Just when I thought I got her down for an hour (or two, if I was lucky), her body would flinch, she’d wake up and we’d have to start all over again. Well, that also went away after a month or so.

Good or bad, I’ve learned that everything comes and goes in phases.

Well, the latest phase is baby D’s separation anxiety. I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise since she has always preferred to be with me over anyone else. Sure, she’d sometimes cry a little if I left the room, but she’d get over it pretty quickly. But last weekend it got to the point where I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without her screaming and crying for me to come back. She was really clingy and needy and just not her usual self.

This whole separation anxiety thing has brought on a wave of mixed emotions. On the one hand it makes me feel really special, knowing that the “bond” that you read about in all the baby books is actually real. But on the other hand, I feel tired and overwhelmed, knowing how much attention she needs from me. And sometimes I even feel guilty when I do have to leave her to take time for myself.

But as hard as it is for her and for me, I know that this is just another phase that will soon pass and I’m sure that soon enough I will be the one crying because she is running away from me!

These pictures have nothing to do with her separation anxiety, but they are the most recent ones I have of her at a friend’s 4-year old birthday party:

What’s a mom to do when her baby wakes up with a 102 fever on her first birthday? Our contributor Susan L. shares with up how she got through the day without going delirious:

If you know me, you know that I’m a planner. So naturally, I started planning Baby D’s first birthday party three months ago.  Afterall, there were so many things to think about: invitations, party favors, the guest list, the venue, games and entertainment, food and the cake!

The guest list of 60 people (30 adults and just about 30 kids) pretty much determined that we were not hosting the party at our house. Thinking about it just gave me a headache, so we hoped for good weather and decided to have it at a nearby park.

The thought of keeping 30 kids entertained gave me mild anxiety attacks, so I looked around on yelp.com and found a face painter to keep the kids busy. It was great – the kids had so much fun picking out their “tattoos” and that day it seems that everyone was having a good time.  Everyone, that is, except for the birthday girl!

Poor baby D had woken up that morning with a 102 degree fever. She wouldn’t stop crying so we took her to Urgent Care to make sure it wasn’t an ear infection (it wasn’t – the doctor said it was a virus – which in my mind is just code for “we don’t know what it is, so tell them it’s a virus”).  We almost canceled party, but then decided to go through with it since it was too late to call everyone to cancel. And plus, it was her first birthday – I really didn’t want to cancel it after planning it for so long!

So, as you can imagine, D was not a happy camper that day. She was cranky and didn’t even want to try her first ever bite of cake! I was stressed out, convinced that the party was a big failure because she wasn’t enjoying it, but I had to remind myself to just roll with it. D had no idea what was going on and besides, she wasn’t going to remember it anyway!

And of course, because this is just the way life goes, D woke up the next morning happy as a clam. No more fever, no more runny nose. It was as if nothing had ever happened!

Here’s D NOT enjoying her birthday cake:

Here’s a rare moment of D NOT crying that day (at least we have this one picture):

Hello Tiny Talk readers! I’m excited to be the first to post in the new guest series, Mom Talk. I became a mom last year (baby D turned one last week), and I’m excited to share my experiences with you. I love discovering new products and tips to help keep my life organized, which is especially important for me now that I’m a mom and working full-time. I can’t wait to share these tips and hear about your great finds as well!

To start, I thought I’d share my reflections on my first year of motherhood.

It’s hard to imagine that one year ago, we brought D home from the hospital, all of 6 lbs. and 14 oz. She didn’t do much except eat, sleep and cry. I was impatient and wanted to make eye contact with her, to see her smile and to play with her. Well, fast forward 12 months. D is now 19 pounds and while she still eats, sleeps and cries, she’s added many more interesting and cute activities to her repertoire, including barking like a dog (yes, seriously)! I’m going on the record to say that her first word is “Woof!”

The first three months were a total blur. We were sleep-deprived, walking around in a haze all the time. I thought to myself a lot those days, “Um…am I really a mother now? Am I qualified to take care of a baby?” I didn’t feel like I had any maternal instincts and was worried about things like sleeping through D’s crying (I’m a deep sleeper). But, as cliché as this will sound, the maternal instincts, along with mother’s intuition, kicked in as soon as D was born.

With every week and month that passed by I was continually amazed by D’s development and milestones. To see her transform from a mushy baby who could only lie on her back into an active, babbling baby who now refuses to crawl because she wants to walk (even though she can’t yet)—it’s just too amazing for words.

Sure, having a baby changed our lives, but we still do a lot of the things that we did before, like having dinner with friends, going on trips to see our family, even going to Tahoe this past winter. It’s important for me to share our experiences with D from an early age, so we pretty much take her everywhere we go.

Someone recently asked me if I would change anything in the last year and I said, “Absolutely not,” without any hesitation. I am extremely lucky and honored to be the mother of a beautiful, happy and healthy baby girl. I’m just as impatient now as I was when she born to see D take her first steps, to see her personality unfold and to hear her say, “Mommy” (and actually mean it). And, while I’m at it, I can’t wait for the day she sleeps through the night in her crib (we’re making progress) and when we don’t have to wash any more bottles!

Post contributed by Susan L.