Rocking

17 Jan 2012 7 Comments

by Anna in Children are a Blessing, Mothering

Song for a Fifth Child

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

~~~~~~~~~

Each and every one of our babies have been fussy in the evenings for the first several months of life. The time in between the last nap and bedtime has just seemed to be set aside for screaming and fussing each night. It always starts around 6-7pm and continues on until bedtime. This period of time used to stress me out so much. I would get so frustrated with not being able sit at the table and finish my dinner with the rest of the family, or clean up the kitchen after dinner, or do anything that I wanted to do in the evening for months on end. I would try so hard to get each baby off to sleep on their own, only to have them start screaming as soon as I attempted to put him or her down. And so I would constantly feel as though I was being thwarted in my evening plans and it annoyed me to no end.

I would spend the evening alone in the baby’s room or another quiet room wrangling with the grumpy baby while the rest of my family continued on with the evening’s activities without me. I would feel sorry for myself and wonder “why me?”

Now that I’m in the midst of caring for my fifth newborn, I think I’ve finally figured it out.

I have mentally given in to the fact that my evenings are not my own right now and will probably not be for a few months.

And you know what? I’ve been enjoying my evenings much more because of it.

I’ve actually been enjoying the rocking and singing and hushing and swinging that goes along with that time of day right now. I’ve ceased to look at it as an inconvenience and have appreciated the extra snuggling time. I’ve left behind all expectations for that portion of the day. Dan takes care of the rest of the family in his own way (which is usually different from my way) and that’s O.K. Even if he doesn’t wipe the kitchen counters down when he’s done with the dishes.

I know that this probably sounds strange, but I finally feel like I’m starting to “get” being a mother. I feel as though I’ve broken through a wall of sorts. You wouldn’t think that it would take 5 children for me to get to this point, but for me, it has. (Maybe I’m just really slow.) I’m taking things more in stride and not worrying as much. I’m speaking more slowly and learning that sternness needs to be coupled with gentleness.

I’m so thankful that my heavenly Father is so loving and patient with me and has given me the opportunity to experience life with 5 children. It was something that I never knew that I actually needed. I can already tell that this year I will begin to understand love more deeply – and in turn, will be better able to understand God’s love for us, His own children.

Advertisement