Baby's First Crazy Hectic Christmas

by JB

We were tired but happy parents with a wide-awake baby on Christmas Eve beside a decorated tree and fireplace, celebrating baby's first Christmas.

What did I imagine our first Christmas with a new baby would be like? Apparently, something straight out of a Christmas card.

I couldn't wait to schedule the baby's first Christmas portrait. I already had adorable little outfits and photo props picked out in my head. I pictured peaceful evenings beside the Christmas tree, its lights twinkling while I gazed lovingly at my sleeping baby.

There was just one small problem. Nobody had explained these plans to the baby.

We'd celebrated with a Christmas baby shower just a couple of weeks before Christmas, and I was still floating along on all that excitement. Somehow, I had convinced myself that the rest of the holiday season would be peaceful and relaxing. Famous last words.

Before I could say "Ho, ho, ho," we were making the rounds from one family gathering to another, hauling enough diapers, blankets, bottles and spare clothes to set up a second nursery.

Naturally, everyone wanted to hold the baby. And naturally, our little girl eventually decided she'd had quite enough of being passed around like the guest of honor at a family reunion.

By the time we finally made it home on Christmas Eve, I was dreaming of a glass of eggnog, a comfortable chair and perhaps five glorious minutes of peace and quiet.

Our daughter had other ideas.

After being fussy through much of the day's excitement, she suddenly found her second wind. We were ready for bed. She was apparently ready to celebrate Christmas all over again.

But here's the funny thing about that exhausting first Christmas.

When we finally hung baby's first Christmas stocking personalized Christmas ornament on the tree, none of the chaos seemed to matter quite so much.

There we were, tired beyond words, surrounded by all the evidence of a holiday that hadn't gone exactly as planned, and feeling like the luckiest people in the world.

Would I do anything differently if I could have that first Christmas back?

You bet I would.

I'd make fewer plans, worry less about getting everything just right, and take hundreds more pictures. Not just the pretty Christmas portraits, either. I'd photograph the funny faces, the sleepy cuddles and all those wonderfully imperfect moments.

Because as it turns out, baby's first Christmas doesn't have to look anything like a Christmas card to become one of your favorite memories.

And that peaceful, picture-perfect Christmas I'd imagined?

I wouldn't trade what we actually had for it.