1. He was born four years late. Unfortunately, that landed his birth during the first Trump presidency (still can’t believe there’s a second).
2. I was induced at 40 weeks, 3 days. Almost 41 weeks but it felt like 49. On my actual due date, my feet swelled so much I had to prop them up on a chair while teaching math to my students on the rug. That was the exact moment the touring school board glanced through my window.
3. He stayed up all night the first four months of his life crying and cluster feeding.
4. When I returned to teaching, instead of using his daytime hours wisely, as you’d expect of an infant, he decided to observe sleeping hours during the day and waking hours when I got home from school. Then proceed to nurse off and on until the next morning.
5. The pandemic.
6. He often asks how long until his birthday but won’t accept the answer in months. You must convert to days.
7. Five minutes has vastly different meanings depending on who is asking for them and the context.
8. Soon he’ll turn seven and might not want to be my snuggle bunny boy, but I’ll keep holding him tight and wishing I could turn back time.