Becoming a Mom...

I grew up knowing I wanted to be a Mom; that's the one thing I knew I would be good at. There was absolutely nothing specific I was motivated to be in the career field, even still to this day, unless I was to become famous, for no reason. Ha! I was always asked, "Haley, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I would always reply, "you know, I have no idea, " because saying I wanted to be a mom (to some people) would sound cliche, so I would just keep it to myself. As the years went by, and after college, I became turned off at the fact of having a baby. I think it may be because alot of my friends started having them and it seemed to be baby-mania everywhere; it was like every woman's new accessory. I was over it!

It wasn't until my Nephew, Colt Thomas, was born on January 22, 2009 that it all changed for me again, on my feelings of having a child. Gosh, I remember walking into the room after my sister had him, seeing his little face for the first time and getting to hold MY Nephew; it was the coolest thing. I started bawling, he was just the most amazing person to me from then on. I was obsessed with him; I would constantly post pictures and videos of him on Facebook and text my friends pics, like he was my own little boy. From then on, baby fever started; I knew I would hopefully be a mom one day in the future.

During the first year I got to watch Colt grow up, it was a very enjoyable adventure for me. I would only prefer to go visit my parents house, go to church, etc., if Abby and COLT were there. During our weekly family nights, I would wonder what we all did without his personality in our lives before, or how we even enjoyed family nights with him not being here. I definitely wouldn't have been as prepared or ready for a child without him being in my life, FIRST! I learned ALOT!!!

With that said, about a year later, Nick and I were shocked pleasantly surprised with finding out I was pregnant, on February 1, 2010. I had asked him to pick up M&M's and a pregnancy test on his way home from work, just to make sure I WASN'T pregnant, since we had just put a deposit down on a Mexico trip for that coming Summer for our friend's wedding that we were both IN. Needless to say, had to cancel and get the deposit back, because I would be too far along at the time of the wedding to fly. Anyway, Nick and I were both in TOTAL shock that I was pregnant; I can't count the times I had said that I thought I couldn't get pregnant (most every woman's fear!) I remember looking at the lines on the test in shock, it was like a dream. Then I walked in the other room, sat down on the couch and said, "Nick, put down your CHERRY fried chicken, I'm not kidding this time... I'M PREGNANT!!!" Oh my poor Nicholas Wayne, I just knew he was freaking out inside, poor thing; I'll never forget the look on his face. First person I called was my best friend, Danessa (she cried), and then, of course, I called my sister (she cried), then Nick called his parents and I told my close friends on the phone that next morning, but I saved the best for last and told my parents the next night at dinner. I was only 5 weeks along and SO confident; I told everyone immediately. I'm an open book, so whatever's going on in my life everyone will know about it. Not one ounce of me thought I would lose this baby; I even knew right away that it was a girl, I just knew, everyone close to me knew, too. I wanted a little girl SO, SO, SO bad!

I made it a point during my pregnancy to not be a "prego-zilla;" I didn't overly complain, I didn't make excuses to not go places because I was pregnant, and I went to every friend gathering I was invited to or hosted, just as if I wasn't pregnant. Pregnancy, to me, was not an excuse to not live your life normally, unless you are bed ridden or constantly sick and in the hospital, of course. I was blessed to have a great pregnancy, so I was able to function normally.

9 ANXIOUS months go by and 47 pounds later, I FINALLY gave birth to Hadley Ann Flores... 9/28/2010 @ 3:12 PM- 8lbs/1oz/20"; I thought she would never get here!!! P.s. the WORST part of being pregnant, to me, was the constant peeing!!! DIE! Anyway, I remember it like it was yesterday... induced -10 hours dilated at a 1- she was stuck - c-section... The whole time I was on the operating table, the two Doctors were talking about the Aggies football game! SERIOUSLY, I HATE sports, why did they have to be chatting about that subject?! Sheesh! Then a minute later they lifted her out of me, I could feel it; it was like a relief to my body, I COULD BREATHE AGAIN!!! :) When the Dr. showed her to me for the first time I said, "Oh my gosh, she looks just like Nick!!!" I guess I was expecting a blonde hair, blue-eyed little girl, with olive skin... Hey, Haley, you married a Mexican, remember?!?! I told Nick in the hospital later that I love her just the same, but that I was a little upset she didn't look like me. Anyway, he felt bad, but he did say that he used to pray that she would look like me! Super sweet! She does have curly hair like I do and she acts like me, so, I'LL TAKE IT!!! She's very impatient, silly, hilarious and stubborn... you're welcome, Hads, because you're momma is AH-MAH-ZING!!! ;)





One day old

To be honest, I did NOT like the infant stage, at all, because you can't communicate with them. As time went on, it got better and better; she did/does different things every day that just amaze us. Don't ever take a baby for granted, because they are smarter than you think, seriously, it's creepy! The first time I saw her smile at me (knowing she was smiling at ME), was the BEST, and that was around when she was 3 months old.

Nick and I don't ever think, "what did we ever do without her," because that's not true... We still have the same life we had before, but it's 100 times BETTER with her in it. Nick and I still do the exact same things we used to do when she wasn't here, but we either bring her with us or my parents babysit her. Hadley is blessed with alot of our friends and family whom love and care about her very much, and we are so thankful for that!!! Also, some parents lose themselves in their child, stop hanging out with friends and stop communicating with the outside world, and we make it a point not to do that, even though she is THE number 1 priority in our lives, at all times!

We are not "parent Nazis," we won't deprive our child from the normal things in life, but there will be boundaries with everything, of course. She will be raised in the church, knowing the Lord, like my sister and I were. We attend church almost every Sunday, with my family. I want her to have a great foundation, and the rest will be up to her when she is able to make her own decisions.

Hadley is 14 months now and she is just THE cutest thing, ever. I look forward to getting her out of her crib every morning and picking her up every day from daycare, to see her smiling face; it makes my day! It's funny, because I put her down every night at 7:00 PM, then, it's usually about 2 hours later that I'll go in there and wake her up check on her. I'll tell Nick she was already up when I went in there, but he knows I secretly wake her up, so I can just hold her again for a minute, then I put her back down to sleep. He he he...

Unsolicited advice from other mothers is expected, so beware! But, honestly, every baby is different in every way possible, so let some of it go in one ear and OUT the other. The best advice I give is, "don't let the baby control you," but that's only if I'm ASKED...

I've been asked when will I have another one, but I'm on the fence about that. I won't make that decision till she is about four years old. I want to enjoy every stage of hers and be focused ONLY on her, and then maybe one day she'll have a brother or a sister, you never know...

Nothing is an inconvenience or an annoyance when it comes to your child. Like, she could be fussy, poop everywhere, vomit all over me, sick with a fever, throw a fit on the floor, scratch the crap out of my chest with her "kitty cat claws," sneeze in my mouth, keep me up ALL night 2 nights in a row, but, to me, it's just more time I get to spend with her. "Enjoy the journey," as my mom always says. And you will NEVER know how your parents feel about you, or understand, until you have a child of your own. I love you, mom and dad, now I understand, but you still could've been LESS strict. Just sayin'... ;)

"A Mother's love for her child is like nothing else in this world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly everything in its path."

-Agatha Christie