Mom to a Monkey: Meet Betsy

Hello fellow mommies! I am thrilled to be joining this community of smart, sassy, and beautiful Fairfield County moms. Let’s get started! By way of introduction, my name is Betsy. I am mom to a wonderful baby boy, who we call the Little Monkey, currently four months old.

I’m a new mom. I’m also a few other things – a stay-at-home mom (for now), a worrying mom, a Jewish mom, a silly and affectionate mom, and a mom blessed to have a wonderful co-parent in my husband, Jared. I’m a singing mom, a reading mom, a cooking mom, and once the Little Monkey has rules to follow, I’m sure I’ll be a strict mom. I’m a dancing mom, a doggy mom to our wonderful “first baby” George, a food-obsessed mom, and a mom who depends heavily on the wisdom and support of my fellow moms. Most of all, though, I am a new mom.

Being a new mom means that I’m learning as I go, like many of you. I am working on worrying less that every sneeze is a cold, that every nap that goes a little long means something is wrong, and that a day where the Little Monkey eats a little less doesn’t mean he won’t grow enough. I come from a long line of worriers, so trust me when I say I come by worry honestly, and that the amount of worrying I do is also something I worry about!

When I take a break from the worrying, there’s still more to learn. I’m learning about developmental milestones (have I ever cheered as loud as I did when the Little Monkey rolled over for the first time?!), about baby Tylenol dosages (we just had our four-month shots today, so this is fresh on my mind), about sleep patterns, stimulating toys, Sandra Boynton, and exer-saucers. I’m learning – or working to learn – about balancing being a mom with being a wife, about taking time for myself, and about not letting the mommy guilt overpower all of it.

Most of all, I am learning how to enjoy the best part of this whole mom thing – the part where you get to have a baby. The Little Monkey is often messy, sometimes loud, and always demanding. And to me, he is perfect. People told me the whole time I was pregnant that I could expect a love like I’d never experienced. But it’s kind of like childbirth itself – until you’re in it, there’s no way to prepare for it; until you’ve experienced it, there’s no way to understand it; and even when you’ve done it, you can’t come up with the words for it. It’s love that you feel in your guts rather than your head or your heart. And it is so much fun.

I’m happy you’ve found your way to our blog, and I look forward to connecting with all of you!