For Real Mom

As E decided to get up twice in the middle of the night last night, I started to realize, wow, I really am a mom. No one is coming to pick up their kid at the end of the day. This baby really does belong to me (and Husband of course). While this may seem shocking to some, its not that wild. So, to explain why I swear I'm not crazy here's why this isn't that outlandish:

I've been an aunt for 12 years. I've been around babies for more than one-third of my life. And because its a fun mental exercise for me, here's a list of my nephew and nieces, just for a little more elaboration:
C1--12 years old
A1--8.5 years old
P--7.5 years old
A2--6 years old (today, actually Happy Birthday!)
J--5.5 years old
I--5 years old
O--almost 3 years old
C2--2 years old

You see, C1, A1, J and C2 belong to my sister. P and A2 belong to my brother. I and O belong to my other sister. And each time I was around one of the above, they went back to their parents at some point. If I ever took any of my nieces/nephew anywhere in public, people would always comment on how cute my baby was. I would politely say "thank you" instead of clarifying. I was basically a pretend mom. Since my E has been born, I sometimes think, ok, my sis/bro/sis is coming to pick up their baby soon. This has nothing to do with me not loving being a mom or anything like that. Its completely mental (and not crazy-mental). At first, it was kind of weird for me. Its nothing new to be around a newborn. But its definitely new for that baby to still be with me! And as that realization sets in, I love my new role more and more.

Its funny, too, because its kinda weird for my siblings as well to see their baby sister with a baby. Granted, I just turned one year older and am no where near a baby, but I can totally see how its different for them too. It was strange when C1 was born, but after that it was just normal when all the rest were born. I was always the "cool" (at least I'd like to think I was cool), single aunt. It might be a stretch to say I was the "fun" aunt, but, still, I was always alone. (Please, no sympathy cards.) And now, here I am with Husband and baby E. Since I'm now a mom-for-real, its nice to have something else in common with all my family. I'd also like to think that I'm not completely crazy for thinking, every now and again, my baby's real parents are coming to get her.