35 Milestones I Conquered in My First Year of Motherhood

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As my little one approaches his first birthday, I can’t help but reflect on the wild journey that has been this past year. While the day itself might be a celebration for him, it’s truly a monumental occasion for me as a parent. This past year has been less about cake and balloons and more about survival skills worthy of a reality show. Here are 35 victories worth celebrating:

1. I managed to spend 12 hours a day solo with a newborn and two napping cats.
2. I perfected the art of texting while nursing—bonus points for doing it in the dark.
3. By week three, I stopped worrying that my nipple had become a neighborhood gossip.
4. I only shed tears for five minutes when I realized I forgot my breast pads at Old Navy.
5. My son has yet to swallow anything that required a trip to the ER.
6. I limited my late-night Amazon shopping sprees to just twice a week.
7. I learned to make homemade baby food without poisoning him.
8. I occasionally bought non-organic food, and guess what? He survived.
9. I enrolled in “just a few” baby yoga classes solely for the free childcare.
10. I only dozed off while nursing every other night—no baby drops yet!
11. My son only peed in my face twice—what a win!
12. He has never pooped in the bathtub, which is a miracle in itself.
13. My little guy only face-planted into the iPad screen once during our binge of “Orange is the New Black.”
14. I accepted that diaper explosions and laundry have replaced my girl’s nights out.
15. It took me only seven attempts to master the Bjorn baby carrier.
16. We survived one incident of projectile vomiting—thankfully, not on me!
17. I only broke down once in Target while checking out.
18. I didn’t forget I had a baby and leave him somewhere in public.
19. I only wore mismatched shoes to work once—lucky for me, it was casual Friday.
20. My husband and I are still together (though I may have thought about divorce a couple of times).
21. My son hasn’t ingested cat litter (yet!).
22. He hasn’t dined on dog poop either; phew!
23. I’ve come to terms with the fact that half my wardrobe may be permanently out of commission.
24. I grinned and bore it when my son was the only child shrieking in joy during Gymboree class.
25. I only panicked and Googled “why isn’t my child crawling?” a few times before he finally took his first steps at 11 months.
26. He never fell through the bucket swing—thank goodness!
27. My son only bit one other child; I consider that a victory.
28. He figured out how to cough up anything he accidentally swallowed before it became serious.
29. We hit the beach, and I only burned myself—not the baby!
30. I kept my job, even while planning his birthday party at work.
31. I didn’t smother my husband during the night, despite his snoozing through our son’s 3 a.m. wake-up calls.
32. I resisted the urge to smother him when he said, “The baby was up last night? I didn’t hear a thing!”
33. I kept my cool with everyone who asked me if my son was crawling yet—calmly reminding myself that every baby develops at their own pace.
34. My son never once fell from the changing table, even without that pesky buckle.
35. I embraced my saggy boobs and graying hair as a fair trade for my adorable son.

So here’s to my first year of motherhood. Happy birthday to me!

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