How I wish they had been wrong.
March 12, 2010

It seems like I am constantly running into mothers whose children are grown and gone.  Enjoy it, they tell me, because this will pass quickly.  Cherish her while she is small, they say, because soon she will have a tiny one of her own.  Time flies, they remind me, and it flies fast.

When Charlotte was only a few weeks old, I was like WHATEVER, CRAZY PEOPLE.  It seemed like she would be that small forever.  Like I would always be sore from delivering her, like there would always be a small mountain of diapers at the end of a day, like breastfeeding would always be a source of immense pain.

This morning, as I was sneaking out of bed, I stopped for a moment to soak her in.  She smiled in her sleep and squeezed my finger and my heart swelled, and then I tiptoed out of the room to let her slumber.

And then I thought WAIT A MINUTE, since when does she squeeze my finger in her sleep?  When did she get big enough to hold on tight?

So I tiptoed back into the bedroom, snuck back under the covers, snuggled up to my precious love, and fell asleep.  My lips on her forehead, my finger in the palm of her hand, my nose breathing in the sweet scent of a much-loved child.  And when we woke up an hour later, we lay in bed cooing and smiling and blowing raspberries for an eternity before facing the day.

Suddenly I am realizing that this, the babyhood of my firstborn, really is flying by.  That my daughter will be grown in the blink of an eye.  That Time really is a stinky, thieving son-of-a-gun that I cannot slow down.

*** This week’s children’s book giveaway (Hello, Tilly by Polly Dunbar) winner is Beth.  Congratulations, Beth!


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(16) Comments | Permalink
Filed as Emotion Love Memories Parenthood Boobs Breastfeeding Parenting choices Co-sleeping Postpartum Fourth trimester Family life Charlotte Babyhood; 3-12 months Sleep Sleep sharing 

  1. By kerri on March 12, 2010

    this is so very very true. today is my little girl’s 11 month birthday…and i wish i could slow time down just a little…so i can savor the moments.

  2. By Cynthia on March 12, 2010

    I feel this exact same way, thank you for summing it up!  Time flies, enjoy the NOW of things :)

  3. By gretchen from lifenut on March 12, 2010

    Yes, yes, yes. Soak in every moment.

    I keep dwelling on the fact that in less than a year I will be registering my first baby for high school. We have to decide which is the best high school for her future CAREER (because different high schools have different programs/strengths).

    CAREER.

    Oh, to have that drooly, gap-toothed baby girl back in my arms one more time…

  4. By Elizabeth Mackey on March 12, 2010

    I hate when nerdy people tell me things like that, but it is so true unfortunately :(

    My youngest will turn 20 in a couple of weeks, and I look at her and say to myself, HOW!
    On their birthdays, I love to think about the day they were born, like how the weather was that day, my feelings, and what they looked like when they doctors first showed them to me. Lately I can’t even look at old photos, or I start to feel super old.

    You are doing everything right, though, and enjoy each age for what it brings and each milestone.

    Only time I would never relive again would be middle school!! give me high school any day, but those three years of middle school, I;m glad those are over.

  5. By Sarah@Crazy Love Gamble Style on March 12, 2010

    I always tear up when I see older kids, I am sure I will love Ava at that age too but PLEASE just let me keep her this little forever!!!

  6. By Stephanie on March 12, 2010

    I’m thinking we need to find this so called thing called “time” and shoot it. I don’t like it at all.

  7. By Beth on March 12, 2010

    Sniff, sniff, I’m having a lot of those moments lately.

    Thanks again, by the way!

  8. By Heidi on March 12, 2010

    It goes so fast, time.  I look at my older nephews and they are at such fun ages, but I am so in love with the cuddly baby stage.  My husband is excited that M is almost crawling, she laughs up a storm, she has teeth…but some days all I can think of is “where is the baby that would let me hold her for hours on end?!“

    I totally understand why people have multiple children.  I didn’t understand while I was pregnant and once my daughter was here - and every day since - I want oodles of babies.

  9. By on March 12, 2010

    The amazing thing is…even if you spent every minute of every day appreciating things….when you look back and these days are gone you will still feel like you didn’t appreciate them as much as you might have. So I guess the best we can do is the best we can do. And then enjoy the moment we are in right now. I think you are enjoying all of this nearly as much as I did my last child…and yet as I look back on it I feel like I might have enjoyed it more. That’s life. Pure and simple.

  10. By on March 12, 2010

    P.S.  The person above my comment said “I totally understand why people have multiple children….I want oodles of babies.“ and therein lies something no one tells you about. That is that a person can enjoy-the-moment less and less with more and more children because one can only spread themselves just so thin. The more children a person has to care for, the less time they have to spend it with each child. It’s simple math.

  11. By Dr. Leah @Singlemommyhood.com on March 13, 2010

    Just dropping by to say hello. And to confess that I’m one of THOSE moms who does lament how quickly my children’s childhoods have flown by ...one of my “babies” is named Sarah, too.

  12. By on March 13, 2010

    I think I’m one of those nerdy folks who makes that comment. My kiddo is 20 months, but when I see babies it feels like it was a lifetime a go that she was that little.  But there is so much ahead. Maybe one day when my girls have their babies and I am old I will be happy to send their babies home with them after spoiling them to let mommy and daddy deal with teething, dirty diapers, sleepless nights, fussing and the other not so fun “constant” stuff babies bring to families.  But yet, I know my heart will swell for the gazillionth time to watch my girls raise their own families.

  13. By Momma Bear on March 13, 2010

    I feel the same way!  I can’t believe my Baby Bear is already 7.5 months old.  It seems like just yesterday that she was a tiny newborn.  I tear up when I realize she’s never going to be that small again.

  14. By Melodie on March 13, 2010

    So true. I just saw a video of my 2nd daughter (almost 3) yesterday from when she was 11 months and it is THE ONLY VIDEO I HAVE OF HER! Suddenly I realized I didn’t remember those early days and it made me so sad that I didn’t better capture all those special moments. I have decided that from now on I will be more vigilant.

  15. By FC Mom on March 16, 2010

    That comment used to annoy me… mostly bc it irritated me that people thought I was too stupid to understand that it goes quickly (hello, I have two nephews and a niece) and to appreciate it (I am obsessed with my baby, of course I appreciate my time with him).  Now I see the comment more as THEIR emotion, rather than one they are trying to press onto me.  And actually, it’s a little sad that people have to say that, but it DOES remind me to focus on my baby rather than say on the dishes!!!

    ps I follow you on twitter!

  16. By Heidi on March 16, 2010

    This post made me wistful for my own childhood.


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